Elected Officials And Civics Announce Agreement With Hotel Owner

Queens, NY – This afternoon, Senator Avella, Assemblywoman Solages, and Councilman Grodenchik and community leaders stood together to announce that an agreement in principle was reached with the owner of Bellerose Inn and the Quality Inn of Bellerose that have been used by the City to house homeless families to begin to phase out their policy of accepting homeless families that the City places in their hotels.

This significant announcement answers the concerns that community leaders had for years. “As Chair of the Task Force on the Delivery of Social Services in New York City it is important to me to ensure that the City is doing the right thing for all parties involved when it comes to this issue. I have many concerns about the way the City is handling this situation. First, I worry that the City is putting homeless families into locations that do not have proper kitchen, or other necessary, facilities. Secondly, it concerns me that they City is not giving communities a voice in this process” said Senator Avella.

The agreement comes a day after the owner requested a meeting with Councilman Grodenchik to discuss the situation as it pertains to his hotels. “Homelessness has been on the rise for ten years. We understand that the City is working hard to help the sixty thousand individuals and families currently in the homeless services system.  At the same time, hotels are not suitable for families or for long-term residency.  The owners of the Bellerose Inn and the Quality Inn have indicated to us that they plan to transition their properties back to tourist hotels as they were built.  Going forward, we urge that the City continue to focus on developing long-term housing plans to address the homelessness crisis” added Councilman Grodenchik.

“Today's tentative agreement will allow us to come together and efficiently move toward a civil solution. I urge the owners of the Bellerose Inn and Quality Inn to continue the dialogue” stated Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages. “I commend all of the involved civic association leaders, as well as my colleagues in government -- State Senator Avella, New York City Councilman Grodenchik, and State Assemblymember Weprin -- for advocating to protect the suburban quality of life of our Homeowners in Nassau County.”

President of the Queens Colony Civic Association, Angela Augugliaro added, “Over the past three months we have worked hard to get this issue resolved and I appreciate Senator Avella and Councilman Grodenchik’s effort to work toward a resolution. I hope that the hotel owners stay true to their agreement and the hotels can get back to normal usage by January 1^st.”