Some questions answered about Fresh Meadows mystery hotel

From the Times Ledger:

Since a permit was given to build a hotel at 186th Street and 64th Avenue in Fresh Meadows about three years ago, there has been no contact with the owners of the hotel.

Fresh Meadows Homeowners Civic Association President Jim Gallagher had been told that the hotel would be used by transient Chinese students. This sparse information did not satisfy the local civic associations.

They were concerned that the owners of the hotel would use it for homeless families as has been done in other areas of Queens.

A regular hotel is definitely not the place for homeless families and other challenged homeless people.

The Liquor License Committee meeting was held on Jan. 10 at the Community Board 8 office. We learned that the Mayflower International Hotel Group owned the hotel and it is a Wyndham franchise and wanted to legalize a liquor bar on the main floor.

Since this was a hearing only for a liquor license, the civic leaders had to carefully phrase their questions to obtain some of this information.

The manager of the Mayflower Hotel, Blossom Ho, answered all questions from the committee and at a quick gathering which the leaders of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners Civic Association, the Utopia Estates Civic Association, the West Cunningham Park Civic Association, and the Meadowlark Tenants Association had with her after the hearing ended.

Ho explained that the hotel planned to serve families of local college students, businessmen visiting companies, tourists and the guests of people who were having events like weddings at nearby places. She did not know anything about the information that we had been given years ago that the hotel would be used for transient Chinese students.