Pols actually work when pressure is on them

From the Times Ledger:

Nearly 50 demonstrators rallied for the removal of the homeless families shelter at the Westway Motel in East Elmhurst Saturday, a day after a convicted child molester was removed from the facility.

Shouting “Westway, No Way” and carrying posters that read “The Westway is not the Best Way” the protesters demanded the closure of the shelter, at 71-11 Astoria Blvd., even after the Department of Homeless Services announced plans for a new policy change.

“We really put the squeeze on DHS,” state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said. “Costa Constantinides, Aravella Simotas and then Joe Crowley got involved. We jumped on it and in a day and a half he was voluntarily transferred.”

Constantinides is the councilman from Astoria, Simotas is the assemblywoman for the area and Crowley is the congressman for that part of Queens.

State Sen. Michael Gianaris’ Astoria office received so many phone calls from angry constituents that he joined the battle even though the Westway Motel is in Peralta’s district. “The continuing lack of information and transparency surrounding the Westway is extremely troubling and validates the community’s concerns about this location from the start,” Gianaris said.

Another homeless hotel opens up secretly

From DNA Info:

The city has taken over a number of rooms at a hotel near the AirTrain station in Jamaica to house homeless people — the latest lodging in Queens to be used to shelter the city's booming homeless population.

The move comes on the heels of a resolution passed in December by a local community board, asking the city not to open more homeless shelters in the area, which already has the largest number of shelters in the borough.

It was unclear how many rooms have been booked by the city, and for how long, at the former Quality Inn hotel, at 94th Avenue and 143rd Street, two blocks away from the JFK AirTrain station.

Last year, the hotel was listed for sale by CPEX, a real estate firm, but on Friday a representative for the company said they were no longer marketing that property.

The hotel has also recently changed its name to “Retreat Inn.”

A person who answered the phone at the hotel on Tuesday said that the facility is currently under renovation and is not accepting guests.

A person who picked up the phone on Friday morning denied that the building is being used to house homeless people and said that it’s a regular hotel. The price for a standard room ranges from $100 to $110 plus tax, she said.

One of the homeless residents, who did not want his name to be used, told DNAinfo last Thursday that he has lived at the hotel for about two weeks and was transferred to Jamaica from a shelter on Randalls Island.

Yet there's another new "hotel" scheduled to open in the same area.

And at least one sex offender is being housed at the Westway.

Westway Motel shelter going permanent

From Astoria Post:

Residents will get their say at a public hearing next week about the Department of Homeless Services’ plan to turn the Westway Motel on Astoria Blvd into a permanent homeless shelter.

The Department of Homeless Services’ plan to convert the shelter into a permanent facility comes six months after the agency unexpectedly turned the hotel into a 121-family facility for those needing long-term shelter. The agency was only given a six month contract to offer shelter for 121 families in this fashion under an ‘emergency contract’ with the city.

Westway, located at 71-11 Astoria Blvd, has traditionally provided the homeless with shelter for one night only—and that has mainly been when other city shelters were beyond capacity.

The city, however, must approve the Westway ‘contract’ before it becomes a permanent facility. As part of the process, the city is required to hold a public hearing.

The public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15 at 10 am, at 125 Worth Street. The public is encouraged to attend and is free to give testimony.

The Comptroller’s office will then review the permanent ‘contract’ and then render a decision, according to a DHS spokesperson.

Homeless shelter imperils 125-year old business

From the Queens Courier:

For more than a century, one East Elmhurst family has been helping their neighborhood bloom.

Donhauser Florist, located at 71-01 Astoria Blvd., was established in 1889 by Hans Donhauser, a German florist who immigrated to the United States. While working at a Brooklyn cemetery he heard that St. Michael’s Cemetery in Queens was in need of a florist.

He then moved to East Elmhurst and built a greenhouse on 71st Street and Astoria Boulevard. After a few years, 12 more greenhouses were added and a flower shop was built on 49th Street and Astoria Boulevard.

Donhauser’s family worked at the shop, including his sons, daughters and even his great granddaughter Gladys.

“When your parents are in the business, you’re in the business,” said Gladys about working at the shop since she was 12 years old. “It’s all I’ve known.”

Donhauser Florist moved to 71-01 Astoria Blvd. and replaced one existing greenhouse, while the other 12 were later sold to become the Westway Motor Inn.

Gladys, who grew up at the house currently still standing next to the shop, has owned the store since 1977 together with her husband William Gray, who initially started working at the 49th Street shop.

However, the Grays, who have been married for 60 years, say business has been up and down ever since the city’s Department of Homeless Services decided to first use the Westway Motor Inn, located right next door, as a temporary homeless shelter.

“It was once an exquisite hotel with beautiful rooms and a pool,” Gladys said. “Since about a decade ago we started to have problems with it. People were afraid to come around the shop.”

Two weeks ago, the city approved converting the motel into a permanent homeless shelter housing more than 120 families.

Queens getting more homeless shelters

From the Queens Courier:

A community is outraged and looking for answers as they learned the city went behind their backs to turn an East Elmhurst motel into a permanent homeless shelter.

Last week, the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) approved the conversion of the Westway Motor Inn, located at 71-11 Astoria Blvd., into a shelter to immediately house over 100 homeless families, according to officials. The shelter will be managed by social services provider Women In Need.

“The agreement was that the homeless people would be bused in at night and out in the morning, no permanent housing,” [Rose Marie] Poveromo said. “We have no voice, the government doesn’t follow the will of people.”

“We are deeply troubled by this decision and find it disturbing that neither elected officials nor community leaders were informed or consulted beforehand,” a group of elected officials wrote in a letter to DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor after being told about the plan the day before the families were expected to begin moving into the motel. “While we appreciate that DHS is legally required to provide shelter for the homeless, the agency’s failure to provide any notification to the people currently living in the area who are impacted by its implementation is unacceptable.”

The emergency town hall meeting on the Westway Motor Inn homeless shelter will be held on Wednesday, July 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum of the Moving Image at 36-01 35th Ave.

Then there's this from the Daily News about a shelter in Rockaway:

The city's plan to quietly convert a former Rockaway rehab center into a homeless shelter has enraged residents and officials, who say their peninsula is being used as a dumping ground.

“Without any talk of essential services being added to Rockaway, this is not a good proposal,” said City Councilman Donovan Richards. “We have done everybody’s share for the last 30 to 40 years.”

The Department of Homeless Services is set to begin housing 155 homeless families at the site of the former Daytop Village drug rehabilitation center on Beach 65th St., officials confirmed Wednesday.

The city drew up a contract with Housing Bridge, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that operates 16 shelters throughout the city.

Shocked local leaders said they were misled by the city and had no idea the agency was eyeing the site for a shelter.

An official from the Department of Homeless Services told Richards’ office in June there were “no plans to build anything there,” according to emails obtained by the Daily News through a Freedom of Information request.

I've lost count, are we up to 4 shelters for Queens this year, 2 of which the City lied about? It's funny how Comptroller Scott Stringer signed off on these secret shelters then scolded the DHS in a letter for opening them without community input.

This crisis may be due in part to "migrant children".

Vallone opposes shelter; supports development

From the Daily News:

Community opposition has torpedoed a proposal to turn a western Queens motel into a full-time shelter for homeless families.

Elected officials and local leaders had urged the city to reject Housing Solutions USA’s proposal to transform the Westway Motor Inn into an around-the-clock shelter. The facility straddles the border of Astoria and East Elmhurst.

The city Department of Homeless Services announced Friday that the agency has no plans to change over the facility.

“The Westway is just not the proper location for a homeless population,” said City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria). “The area surrounding it is made up of one- and two-family homes.”

The former hot-sheets motel has been a shelter for years, much to the dismay of the community, local leaders said. Families in need of emergency housing are currently bused to the facility in the evening and they leave in the morning, city officials said.

“This has been an issue for as long as I can remember,” Vallone said. “The solution may be to have somebody buy it and tear it down.”

Vallone said he is working with a developer interested in building homes on the site.

Westway housing the homeless again

From the Queens Gazette:

City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. said the city Department of Homeless Services has informed him that the Westway Motel is “once again going to house overnight single males”.

“I called [Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Seth] Diamond and was told it’s only going to be until January, due to overflow population,” Vallone said. But when he attempted to get the temporary deadline in writing, the wording changed to “as soon as we can”. “This is not acceptable to me,” Vallone said at the October meeting of the United Community Civic Association (UCCA).

Previously, only homeless families with children were sheltered at the Westway, 71-11 Astoria Blvd. Homeless Services refers families with children, adult families, and single adults for overnight shelter. On October 21, there were 8,164 families with children, 1,305 adult families, and 8,339 single adults seeking shelter in New York City, according to the daily census posted on www.nyc.gov.

“I’ve been getting [complaint] calls about panhandling and people on the streets,” UCCA President Rose Marie Poveromo said.

A representative for the Westway Motel said, “This is a sleepover facility. It is not a fulltime facility. They come in and they spend the night. They are bused in at night and they must leave by 10 a.m.”

The Westway Motel security director said people staying overnight had a 10 p.m. curfew. “People can walk to the corner store,” he said.

Deputy Inspector Stephen Cirabisi, commanding officer at the 114th Precinct, said, “My suggestion is if aggressive panhandling or blocking traffic is happening, you’ve got to call 311 so that we can document it.”

Vallone said, “Hopefully, we can mobilize and get [Commissioner Diamond] here to explain himself. We’re going to continue to fight this.”