Eric Adams outlined a plan Monday that involves converting economically distressed hotels in the outer boroughs into supportive housing. He held a press conference to announce the plan outside the boarded-up Phoenix Hotel in Brooklyn yesterday (Eric Adams via Twitter)
Sept. 21, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams wants to convert 25,000 outer-borough hotel rooms into permanent affordable housing.
Adams outlined a plan — during a press conference in Sunset Park Monday — for the city to acquire economically distressed hotels in the outer boroughs and convert them into supportive housing.
The mayoral candidate and Brooklyn Borough President said he would utilize city funds as well as state and federal dollars to purchase and convert hotels.
Adams said he would also amend city planning rules and building codes to speed up the conversion of hotels as part of his plan. He also proposed including on-site services for homeless New Yorkers at the converted hotels.
Adams said converting existing hotels into housing is a cheaper and quicker alternative than building affordable housing from the ground up.
His plan focuses on hotels in the outer boroughs since hotels there have been slower to bounce back from the pandemic than hotels in Manhattan. The hotel industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic and resulting shutdown — about 50 hotels have permanently closed citywide, according to the Hotel Association of New York City.
“The combination of over-development of hotels in the outer-boroughs and the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to convert empty, distressed hotels into desperately needed permanently affordable housing–and we must act quickly,” Adams said.
He estimates that his plan would create 25,000 supportive housing units in the outer boroughs like Queens. Queens has a large share of the city’s hotels as it’s home to the city’s two major airports.
Adams was joined by State Sen. Michael Gianaris at the conference outside a dilapidated hotel in Brooklyn.
Gianaris recently shepherded a bill through the state legislature that sets aside $100 million for such hotel conversions. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill, called the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity (HONDA) Act, into law last month.
“New York has seen a decades-long affordable housing crunch exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic and ensuing economic devastation,” Gianaris said. “Converting failing buildings is a good way to tackle the dual problems of distressed properties and lack of affordable housing.”
He added that he was excited to work with Adams to implement his plan.
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33 Comments
The shelter is located at 71-11 Astoria Blvd N, Queens, NY 11370. Two mins away from hazen st by foot.
Sorry this comment was in response to “Just google neighborhood and zip code maps” below.
Fay- 2 minutes hahaha. Through LaGuardia Airport then across two sides of a six lane highway. Good thing we wouldn’t have to cross Astoria Blvd.
VOTE for Curtis Sliwa.
Stay away from sunnyside….literally go by the airports.
Good idea if enough supportive personnel and security are provided and they are truly affordable
Hmmmm…from what I understand Eric Adams has not been elected as our new Mayor. So what’s with all these “plans”?? Is what he really is saying is that it doesn’t matter whether any NYC folks vote in November because I already won!! Talk about a rigged and corrupt system. And the media is holding hands with him and celebrating his victory as well.
1. Adams is almost certain to win. 2. He is campaigning. Campaigns usually come up with plans and proposals so that voters have some idea of what they might be getting should that candidate win. 3. One would hope that ANY candidate who is serious and stands any chance of winning would be making plans for what their administration is going to do, rather than just flying by the seat of their pants when they suddenly realize that winning a job like mayor of a massive, global city brings with it very extensive and serious responsibilities.
These will just be permanent homeless shelters called affordable housing. Most rent will be paid by tax dollars with some low income people paying low rent. Just another way of bringing homeless and low income people to middle and working class neighborhoods. There will be little resistance to this in western queens.
The resistance will be in the form of people leaving due to a very rapid and observable decrease in quality of life. Many (most often people who are unaffected) will applaud this departure. Strange world.
Stop with this nonsense. Nobody is entitled to live in a place they can not afford. Nobody. You move to a place you can afford. It’s not a complicated equation. My friends and relatives all did it and when they could afford it, many moved back to the area.
I believe that some of these hotels will turn into community jails.
Maybe Ocasio Cortez, fresh from the Met gala, can house people in her mansion,
Please stop with the Fox idiocy and focus on a simple topic of conversation.
You have the top (they can afford it) and the bottom (NYC is freebie heaven) staying put, for now. Middle class is leaving.
Welcome to pack and stack housing
I hope i find a hotel apartment with a gym, pool, parking space and spa. this is great news!!
NYC is housing illegal aliens and homeless people in hotels and now they are buying hotels for the poor. Well, let’s start raising taxes even more. What could go wrong?
Please provide proof of illegal aliens being housed in hotels.
Gianaris is the best!
Disaster waiting to happen. They gonna turn all of Western Queens cuz progressives will not oppose it into the projects. They will just get up and leave when things get worse. Planning to move by end of winter. Good luck fellow New Yorkers.
My sister lives by the Westway motel in Astoria and now she wants to sell her home and move. I told her to sell when it turned into a temporary shelter but she did not listen.
Ellen (hashtagger)1- Westway is permanently closed. 2- Westway was in East Elmhurst.
Westway hotel is in upper ditmars aka astoria heights. And yes its a permanent homeless shelter soon to be affordable housing. At leat i think it will become affordable housing. Most of those folks use the markets stores transit parks etc in the 11105 zip code which is within a very short 3 to 5 min walk. You can see them throughout Ditmars.
Fay – Flat out wrong. Westway Hotel Laguardia Airport
72-05 Astoria Boulevard, Queens, NY 11370, United States 113 70 zip code is the Flushing zip of The East Elmhurst
Astoria Heights/Upper Ditmars is bounded roughly by Steinway Street to the west, Bowery Bay to the north, 82nd St to the east, and Astoria Blvd to the south. Depending on who you talk to, the western borderline of Upper Ditmars/Astoria Heights could be either Steinway or Hazen St. The 11105 zip code ends at 49th St .zip code 11105 is the LIC zip code for Upper Ditmars and Astoria Heights
Evict my non paying tenants and put them there!!
Yes! This would be a Godsend for so many. Think of the low income worker who lost his/her job and most likely lost his housing. Where will they end up…on the street. Not exactly what tourists or residents want to see and deal with. Let’s get these people housing!!
I hope they can manage to pull it off, it’ll be great. Looking at apartment listings in Western Queens has become depressing. Its so unaffordable.
This is the best thing that can happen for the homeless community. Thank you for caring!
Cuomo is gone, deBlasio has a foot out the door…there is finally some hope!
Not in my backyard. I don’t want drug addicts, mental patients. Let’s put them all in Gianaris neighborhood.
There goes the neighborhood.
Make people pay for the amenities that everyone else has to pay for.
No more homeless hotels!