20 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 8, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Queens homeless shelter opponents again protest outside the Brooklyn home of commissioner Photo by John Calabrese Maspeth shelter protesters end nightly vigil at hotel By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@qns.com @robbpoz After nearly three months of nightly protests, opponents of a proposed homeless shelter at a Maspeth hotel have decided to end their picket and take a more personal approach to their tactics. Members of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force had been gathering outside the Holiday Inn Express located on 55th Road every evening since mid-August to protest the proposed conversion of the hotel into a shelter for homeless adults. While the city announced in October that it was backing off on the proposal, it did rent rooms at the hotel to house 30 homeless men; the task force now says as many as 100 men live at the hotel, some in rooms with two sets of bunk beds. However, according to a Department of Homeless Services source, 78 homeless individuals are being housed in 39 rooms at the Holiday Inn Express. Each of these rooms has two beds. Nevertheless, the nightly vigil by protesters continued through Friday night, Dec. 2, when those gathered voted unanimously to end the evening protests. Instead, the task force will begin protesting outside the homes of Harshad Patel, the hotel’s owner, and his business partners beginning this weekend. According to Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association and a task force member, the change in tactics comes as Patel and New Ram Realty, the holding company that operates the hotel, find themselves being sued by the owner of the property where the hotel stands. The lawsuit alleges that Patel and New Ram, in agreeing to rent rooms to the city for homeless men, violated the terms of the initial lease, which mandates that the property be used only for hotel or retail purposes. Holden also acknowledged that the protesters realized their nightly vigil was responsible in part for “keeping paying customers away from the hotel, which in turn freed up more rooms for DHS (the Department of Homeless Services) to rent.” “By bringing the protests to the doorsteps of Harshad Patel and his cronies, we will let them know that we are not backing down until they end their relationship with the city and Acacia Network at the Maspeth Holiday Inn Express,” Holden said in a statement. Protesters outside the Bellerose home of Harshad Patel, owner of the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth. (File photo/QNS) The first such protest is scheduled to take place this Sunday, Dec. 11, at noon, outside Patel’s Bellerose home. The task Protesters of a proposed homeless shelter at a Maspeth hotel have ended their nightly rallies outside the establishment. force and other homeless shelter opponents rallied outside Patel’s home back in September. It also rallied twice outside the Brooklyn home of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks; the most recent rally occurred on Saturday, Dec. 3. When contacted by QNS, the Department of Homeless Services issued a statement acknowledging that while it considers hotels as “not a suitable longterm solution,” they serve as “the only Photo: Anthony Giudice/QNS immediate alternative to the street” for many homeless New Yorkers. “We’ve moved nearly 50,000 people from shelter to housing and prevented tens of thousands more from losing their homes,” according to the DHS statement. “To address a problem that has built up over many years we are building 200,000 units of affordable housing and developing a fair, comprehensive shelter plan to meet this citywide problem.” By JAIME DE JESUS editorial@qns.com The battle of the homeless shelters marches on. Community groups from Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn, gathered with victims of homelessness outside of Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Steven Banks’ home in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn on Saturday, Dec. 3, to protest the increasing number of homeless hotels in their neighborhoods and demand a solution. Members of Elmhurst United and the Maspeth Middle Village Task Force had a strong showing among the boisterous crowd. Protesters blew whistles, banged cowbells and offered chants opposing Banks and Mayor Bill de Blasio, including “Part-time mayor, full-time dope!” and “Dump the dope from Park Slope.” “Warehousing 800 people in small rooms in the Pan American Hotel is shameful,” said John Schaffer of Elmhurst United. “Warehousing homeless people without even providing them with the services to get back on their feet is disgraceful. Warehousing families with small children right next to level three registered sex offenders is absolutely reprehensible. Why does de Blasio fail to understand this? “This is not helping the homeless and it is only encouraging developers and property owners to build more hotels and motels to convert into shelters instead of building residential housing, which is what we need,” he added. “Look at what is happening in Maspeth, Sunset Park, Jamaica and Elmhurst.” “We are here because our property is losing value,” added Phil Wong of Elmhurst United. “Meanwhile, the homeless are not getting help. We have people with mental health issues that just classify as homeless; we have drug addicts that classify as homeless; we have veterans classified as homeless; and they need help.” Residents also spoke of the hardships they have experienced living in the shelters. “I’ve worked my whole life and I have a handicapped son that comes first,” said shelter resident Samantha. “When I went through my divorce, I couldn’t afford anything. I wound up where I am. Because of my son’s condition, he needs stability, but at any given time, they can knock on my unit door and tell me it’s time for me to go. Where’s the stability in that?” “Steven Banks has been an advocate for homeless for decades, obviously, but he wasn’t a manager,” said Robert Holden of the Maspeth Middle Village Task Force. “He brings more people into the system without the space.” He went on to call Banks “a failure who should resign.” Guardian Angels founder and talk radio show host Curtis Sliwa, who is rumored to be considering a mayoral run next year, also spoke out in support of the protesters. The city defended its approach when contacted by Brooklyn Reporter. “This administration believes that every community must share responsibility in housing homeless New Yorkers, and because the most effective tool against homelessness is preventing it in the first place, we’ve increased the number of tenants who’ve avoided eviction by 24 percent,” responded Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokesperson for the mayor in a statement. “An additional 45,000 residents have either exited or avoided shelter through our programs, and we’re building new affordable apartments in Sunset Park such as the Sunset Park Library project through partnerships with local elected officials.” Robert Pozarycki contributed to this story. Organizations from Sunset Park and Queens protested the city’s homeless shelter policy outside the Windsor Terrace home of DSS Commissioner Steven Banks on Saturday, Dec. 3.
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