What to Know
- The city has dropped its plan to convert a Holiday Inn in Queens into a shelter for homeless families after a backlash from the community
- Residents of Maspeth have protested the shelter plan for months and were out protesting again on Monday
- Instead of being fully converted for homeless families, the shelter will rent some rooms to 30 employed single men
City plans to turn a Queens hotel into a homeless shelter have been dropped after months of protests and growing resistance from the community.
Protesters rallied in opposition to the hotel again on Monday as the city announced that it would not fully convert the hotel into a shelter as planned.
"Due to local opposition to housing homeless New Yorkers, we have not been able to convert this site into a full shelter at this time," said Dept. of Homeless Services Spokeswoman Lauren Gray.
The city will however rent rooms to 30 employed single men, for whom it will provide onsite services and security, Gray said. The Dept. of Homeless Services began placing those single men at the hotel on Monday.
The change in plans isn't sitting well with everybody. Some have vowed to picket outside the homes of the officials who made the decision. Others, meanwhile, protested outside the hotel and held up signs lambasting the city and Mayor de Blasio
"They tell us they have guards on the inside and guards on the outside," said neighbor Frances Elcic. "If they need guards, why are they here? There's no place for them in this neighborhood."
Under the original plan, the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth was to be turned into a homeless shelter, with an opening date of Oct. 1. Residents protested the plan for months, coordinating rallies and expressing their opposition at community meetings.
Last month, the planned opening of the shelter was postponed as outrage over the hotel grew. Assemblywoman Margaret Markey made the announcement last month.
"This postponement gives us the opportunity to continue to bring pressure on the city to change its plan for Maspeth," Markey said in a statement at the time.
Officials with the city's Department of Homeless Sevices had tried to stress that the city has an obligation to provide housing and that the facility would be safe.
But neighbors and local leaders have resisted and filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against the city's actions.
