Harshad Patel faced massive protests.
An Indian American hotelier in New York City, Harshad Patel, has pulled out from a plan to convert a hotel into a homeless shelter in Queens after massive protests, but will rent out as many rooms as possible to house homeless men, city officials said, on Tuesday.
Social Services Commissioner Steve Banks moved to combat the perception the city caved in the face of pressure from protesters over the controversial shelter proposed for a Holiday Inn in Maspeth — saying a full conversion of the 110 room hotel will go forward regardless of opposition if the owner gets back on board, reported the Daily News.
Owner Harshad Patel ditched the shelter conversion plan after he, along with city officials, was targeted by protesters opposed to a shelter in their neighborhood.
Patel has also stopped renting rooms to the Department of Homeless Services at a hotel in Bellerose that sparked vigorous protests and pushback from Mayor Bill de Blasio, including a heart-tugging video about children living there, Banks said. Those families have now been moved out.
But the Maspeth hotel agreed to rent individual rooms, where the city placed 30 homeless men Monday night, while continuing to rent to regular guests.
Mayor de Blasio had vowed to take a principled stand against protesters who don’t want shelters in their backyards, whose tactics have included a raucous protest outside Banks’ Brooklyn home. “It’s not going to intimidate us,” de Blasio said.
Monday, the city announced the Maspeth conversion would not happen because of local opposition, but refused to answer whether the move was due to the owner pulling out or whether officials chose to change their plans in the face of the firestorm.
The city is grappling with how to shelter a near-record 59,928 homeless people and officials say they need new shelters around the five boroughs, so allowing opponents to scuttle a plan could set a tricky precedent, reported the News.