‘This right here is a great move’: hundreds of homeless checked into ritzy NYC hotel to ease shelter overcrowding amid coronavirus
A Manhattan hotel rolled out the welcome mat for hundreds of homeless men on Friday, offering them spacious digs with sweeping views of the East River as part of an effort to ease crowded conditions in city shelters amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
The men, some of whom shivered in the unseasonably cold May temps, formed a line that stretched around the block as they waited patiently for hours to get checked in to the luxurious Bentley Hotel on the Upper East Side.
With their personal belongings stashed in big black bags, the men stared up at the soaring glass building and marveled at their rare piece of good luck.
“We get our own room, bathroom (and) amenities," said Jeffrey Johnson, 44, who came from a Harlem shelter run by the DOE Fund, a non-profit that helps formerly incarcerated people re-enter society.
“This right here was a great move. It’s pretty much a luxury hotel," he added, as he stood in a mild drizzle waiting for his turn to step inside.
“It’s a two-man room instead of (us)being (with) 13 guys,” said Trimaine Neal, 43, a resident of the Porter Ave. shelter in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“Right now it’s all about safety,” he said. “I feel like this is the best place to be.”
The men were moved as part of a pre-emptive effort from the DOE Fund to prevent coronavirus from spreading among its facilities.
Participants in the DOE Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able residential work program include people on state parole and others who are homeless. Members have helped sanitize bus stops, outdoor kiosks and other areas in Midtown throughout the pandemic as part of their rehabilitation program.
DOE Fund founder George McDonald said he welcomed the opportunity to house program participants at the Bentley to keep them safe during the outbreak.
“The hotels are empty and they’re going to be empty for a while,” he said. This is the smart thing to do... it’s a life-saving move."
The men said they got word three days ago that they would need to pack up and get ready to move. But most never dreamed they would wind up at a fancy hotel that touts its “tastefully appointed guest rooms” on its website.
Kenny, 27, who declined to give his last name, said he would reserve judgment on his room until he got a look at it himself.
“I haven’t seen it yet,” said Kenny, who came from a shelter in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The city’s Department of Homeless Services will monitor the hotel stays, according to the men, who said they were told their sojourn at the Bentley could last up to six months.
All the men said the DOE Fund shelters had been trying hard to practice social distancing by controlling the number of people at meals and in common areas.
But in the dormitory-style rooms where people sleep, it was impossible to maintain a safe distance, the men said.
Jose Duran, 56, said along with the great room at the Bentley, the men got car fare to the Upper East Side hotel, and will be given MetroCards, three meals a day and all the other elements that are part of the DOE Fund’s program for its residents.
“All I was doing was job searching,” he said about his stay in the Brooklyn shelter. “Over there was more like 12 or 14 in a room.”
A spokesman for the city’s Department of Homeless Services said the agency has contracted with a number of hotels citywide to provide temporary shelter and stop the spread of COVID-19.
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