The deed is done. We'll keep you posted when we receive updates from our attorneys about the progress of this case. As mentioned previously, the total sum paid for legal fees up to this point is $17,500. First retainer for research and counsel for a zoning lawsuit was $10,000 and the second retainer for this Article 78 was $7,500. We'll have more answers to questions by Monday.
For those of you with children that applied to Maspeth High School buit did not get in please send your name and e-mail address with phone number to community activist and CBM trustee Alicia Vaichunas, who is working on the issue:
avaichunas1974@yahoo.com Text to: (347) 601-1265 A prenote compliance conference has been scheduled for August 11th, 2017 for KCM Realty's lawsuit against the owners of the Holiday Inn Express. We understand that people want immediate action to remove the homeless from the Holiday Inn Express but the legal system doesn't work that fast. In the meantime, CBM's attorneys have prepared the Article 78 against the City of New York and that should be filed next week.
March 16 - Juniper Park Civic Association meeting, 7pm, Our Lady of Hope
March 28 - 375th Anniversary of Maspeth, 11am, Maspeth Federal Savings There is also a Polish Night celebration in the works tentatively scheduled for April 9. Check back for more details. We have signed a $7,500 retainer with Klein-Slowik to proceed with the FOIL lawsuit. This represents the only money we have spent this year so far besides postage. The law firm will be sending us a larger legal bill soon that will encompass the rest of the money owed for the first 6 months of representation, which should be ~$15,000.
De Blasio shifts policy, to close down hotels used as shelters
Today Mayor de Blasio announced a major policy shift which will end the City’s use of hotels and cluster sites as homeless shelters. The City now plans to build shelters in individual communities sized to accommodate the number of homeless that originate from them. This means homeless families and individuals will be able to remain in their own familiar neighborhoods while they rebuild their lives. The Mayor also said that the City will also provide better notification and include elected officials and the community in shelter placement decisions. This is what the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force, as part of the greater NYC United Civics coalition, had been asking for since the beginning of the protests that traveled from hotel to hotel in communities from Sunset Park to Bellerose. The coalition also held a City Hall press conference in October and their last protest in December was outside the home of DHS Commissioner Steven Banks. Several homeless people and families joined the protests to expose the reality of life in the shelter system. “There’s no doubt that our traveling protests influenced the mayor’s decision,” said Bob Holden, President of Juniper Park Civic Association, a member of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force. “It is inhumane to warehouse people in hotels and we are glad we helped the administration see the light on this. Everyone agrees that the homeless from their communities should be helped locally, and this announcement is definitely a step in the right direction.” The Task Force held nightly protests for more than 4 months outside the Maspeth Holiday Inn Express, the location that sparked the formation of the citywide coalition. These protests prompted the landowner to step in and forbid a shelter at the hotel. Harshad Patel, one of the hotel owners, announced he was backing out of a deal with the City for a permanent shelter on September 9th. The landowner subsequently filed a lawsuit against Patel’s group to force them to stop renting rooms to house homeless men. As per the City’s Department of Homeless Services, there are now only 42 men staying at the Maspeth Holiday Inn Express, down from a high of 100 during the coldest part of winter. With the new policy shift, the Maspeth community should only be responsible for the homeless that come from Maspeth, which in 2014, was a total of 8 families and 7 single men. The city has refused to release more recent numbers despite repeated FOIL requests. As Mayor de Blasio faces a maximum of 4 more years in office should he be re-elected, it is important for communities to stay vigilant to make sure the City actually follows through with these plans, which are expected to take a decade or more to be fully realized. by Christina Wilkinson I originally was planning to include the sale of the Grand Motor Inn as a short piece in the March 2017 [Juniper] Berry Bits Real Estate edition, but then the rumors of another homeless shelter opening there started swirling about. The most convincing account came through the grapevine from an employee of the hotel who said that the new owner had already broken the news of a conversion to the workers and that the City had visited the property in early February. This required a bit of investigation. The Besen Group listed the property as being in contract and had marketed it thusly: “An operator can upgrade the property, rebrand with a flag it to bolster the occupancy and increase the average daily rate (ADR) substantially. The property also lends itself well to reposition for senior housing, assisted living or shelter, which meets an underserved need in the community.” This in itself sent up a red flag. I decided to try to contact the realtor to see what information, if any, they would offer about the buyer. One of the realtors responded on Valentine’s Day and confirmed that the property had closed that day. I asked who the buyer was and he told me that he would reveal the information that Friday, but I didn’t actually get an answer until Tuesday, February 21st. The response he sent was, “Owner: Grand Hospitality LLC. Fully intend to renovate and remain as hotel. It may become a flag in the future.” (In real estate jargon, a flag is a name brand hotel that is part of a chain.) I looked up who Grand Hospitality LLC was on the NYS Division of Corporations website. It didn’t give much information, but included a P.O. Box address. I forwarded the information to Assembly Member Brian Barnwell and copied COMET president Roe Daraio and JPCA President Robert Holden. I asked Brian if he could use the power of his office to find out from the state who registered the LLC and he agreed to do so. He also made some phone calls to the Grand Motor Inn, but the employees would not divulge who had bought the hotel. It was all very suspicious. I awoke on the morning of February 22 with the idea to run a search on the P.O. Box that had been listed as the corporation’s mailing address. I came up with another LLC called “Emmons Hospitality” (note the similarity in name) with an address that traced back to a Best Western in Sheepshead Bay. I looked that property up in the City’s ACRIS and DOB systems and found the names of some of the partners. It appeared from the paperwork that they also own a small non-brand hotel in Brooklyn. I forwarded the information to Brian. Just before lunchtime, we received an email from Brian informing us that he had gone over to the Grand Motor Inn and briefly met with Sailesh Gandhi, one of the partners, who denied they had plans for a shelter but initially indicated that the City had met with the partners to discuss the hotel. His answers were inconsistent and vague, which Brian felt was mainly due to a language barrier. He told Brian that he wanted to work with the community and asked Brian what he should do. Brian responded that if he cares about working with the community and being a part of it, then he should not run a homeless shelter. Brian’s email about the encounter ended with him saying that he would try to set up a meeting between the owners and community leaders within the next couple of days. A few hours later, Bob Holden was preparing for work when Brian had called and told him that the owners were unavailable to meet on Thursday or Friday and wanted to meet right then at the hotel. Brian and Bob then met with Sailesh and Vikrum Gandhi. Upon questioning, they both denied that they had met with the Department of Homeless Services but clarified that what Sailesh meant when he said the partners had “talked to the City” was that they sat with the Department of Buildings regarding renovations they were planning. They claimed they never had any intention of converting the hotel into a shelter and want to work with the community. Bob and Brian explained the Holiday Inn Express situation and the partners said they knew who Harshad Patel (the owner of the HIE) was, but stressed that they were not involved with him in any way. The City has hired brokers to find more hotel rooms in which to stash the homeless, and the partners promised to inform the community if they are in any way approached by them. They seemed sincere, but they also insisted that they were new to the hotel business, which doesn’t appear to be the case, since I found their names listed on mortgage records for other hotels. For the time being, we are cautiously optimistic that they plan to renovate the place and enter into a franchise agreement with a hotel chain, which should end its use as a hot sheets motel. We’d like to thank Brian Barnwell for his proactive leadership, which is a refreshing change. One thing is for sure: We’ll all be keeping an eye on the GMI. The Besen Group has confirmed that it sold the Grand Motor Inn property at 72-51 Grand Avenue on February 14th. It was listed as "in contract" for $8.5M. Although it was marketed as a hotel, they also had the following as part of the listing:
"The property also lends itself well to reposition for senior housing, assisted living or shelter, which meets an underserved need in the community." Realtor Amit Doshi has confirmed that the new owner plans to keep the site a hotel and that it may become part of a name brand chain in the future. He did not reveal the owner's name. We're keeping an eye on property transactions to find out who the buyer is and we'll keep you posted. |