Homeless housing comes to Broadway (update)

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Some 54 homeless men have been quietly staying at the long-troubled Van Cortlandt Motel since October, according to the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), but the agency said today that it plans to relocate the individuals within the next four months.

This use of the 6389-93 Broadway motel did not draw notice until recent days, when rumors that homeless men were staying at the location began to circulate among Riverdale residents. Local elected officials were furious eventually to learn that DHS was helping house homeless men in the area without having informed the politicians.

However, Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks said in a Tuesday statement that Mayor Bill de Blasio is “committed to phasing out the decades-old practice of renting rooms at commercial hotels to shelter homeless New Yorkers.”

“As part of this commitment, we are relocating the working homeless individuals placed at the Van Cortlandt Motel to affordable housing or transitional shelter with onsite social services within the next 120 days,” the statement continued. “This is part of our overall effort to move the more than 3,100 homeless individuals currently in commercial hotels into affordable housing or alternative transitional housing."

A DHS spokesperson confirmed that the city has been paying $175 per night to house homeless men at the motel since October. She added that “54 DHS employed or employable clients” were staying there as of Tuesday, in reference to the homeless individuals.

The spokesperson noted that the service provider working with the city, called NAICA, has four employees and a supervisor providing case management and other services to the homeless men.

On Monday, one of them, Nolan McGarrah, said he previously stayed at a Park Avenue, Bronx homeless shelter run by NAICA, but was moved to the Van Cortlandt Motel site since he has shown promise of finding a job and his own shelter in the future.

“This particular set-up here is really designed for people… such as myself that have shown that they are willing to work,” said Mr. McGarrah, adding that he meets with a caseworker about every two weeks.

Suspected robber’s refuge

The homeless men appear to have gone without notice since the fall. However, a spokesperson for the 50th Precinct said the suspect in two February robberies on Riverdale Avenue was believed to have been staying at the shelter at the time.

“When the bank robbery happened, [suspect Paul Taylor] was chased and [the Van Cortlandt Motel is] where he went into the parking lot,” Det. Mindy Ramos said.

Wendy Reyna, who owns a restaurant inside the 6393 Broadway part of the motel, said she has observed homeless people staying there, though she was unable to recall when she first noticed them.

“It has affected our sales. Outsiders used to come, rent a room and order food,” said the owner of the Caribbean Grill Restaurant. “Now the people here get their food, they get everything [from NAICA] and they’re taking the space of the motel.”

A director for NAICA declined to comment. A website for the organization described it as a non-profit that helps the homeless, indigent and people at risk of losing their homes. The website appeared to mention only one location, at 3339 Park Ave. in the Bronx, as a transitional housing facility, saying it has a capacity of “200 employable homeless men referred by the Department of Homeless Services.”

News that the Van Cortlandt Motel was being used as a homeless facility appeared to catch local elected officials by surprise. They previously called on the owner of the location to sell the building to a community-friendly buyer.

“To add another 60 or more people with very serious issues to the mix in that area is, I think, very poor public policy and the fact it was done in secrecy is spitting in the face of the community and, frankly, it’s like telling the community to drop dead,” said northwest Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

Laura Spalter, who helps organize a grassroots group that has fought some development in North Riverdale, was livid that the city has helped establish a homeless shelter there without first informing local elected officials or community members.

“People are very upset… We feel that it is a terrible siting,” she said.

Ms. Spalter noted that the Van Cortlandt Motel is on the same block as Riverdale Manor, home to about 256 people with mental health issues,  across the street from the site of a future playground at Van Cortlandt Park and paces away from the Susan E. Wagner Day School.

Last March, local politicians welcomed news that the motel was going up for sale. It was long known as a place for assignations and possible drug use, with one rape, two larcenies and one harassment case reported there in 2014.

“Given concerns over the existing property and its future, it is our hope that you engage with the community and local elected officials regarding any future purchaser of your property,” Mr. Cohen, Mr. Dinowitz, Rep. Eliot Engel and Mr. Klein wrote to motel owner Vishal Patel in March 2015.

Mr. Patel could not immediately by reached. Motel manager Arjun Venukrishnan declined to comment. 

Van Cortlandt Motel, Department of Homeless Services, Shant Shahrigian

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