The Delight Stay Hotel., located at 53-05 Queens Blvd., is currently being used to house single men (Gmaps)
Sept. 29, 2022 By Christian Murray
A hotel on Queens Boulevard in Woodside, which for many years had been used as a homeless shelter to accommodate families in need, is now being used exclusively by single unhoused men, according to multiple sources.
The facility, formerly known as the Quality Inn and located at 53-05 Queens Blvd., had been used as a shelter for families dating back to 2016, when the de Blasio administration began housing people at the 72-room location without first notifying the community.
Last year, the Department of Social Services transitioned the shelter to be for single adults only—and then earlier this month it was designated for single men only. The building is now called the Delight Stay Hotel.
Community Board 2 chair Morry Galonoy said the board was notified of the recent change, although after it had gone into effect. Many residents are also aware of the transition prompting mixed opinion on social media.
The Department of Social Services, however, would not confirm or deny whether the facility was being used exclusively for men or by asylum seekers.
But the agency did say that it has seen an increase in need for its services, with it providing shelter for more than 11,000 asylum seekers including many single men.
“We are … seeing an extraordinary uptick in the number of single adult men seeking asylum and in need of shelter services,” a spokesperson for DSS said in a statement. “As we continue to add emergency capacity to the shelter system, we are also identifying ways in which we can more effectively manage our existing network of shelter sites to address the unprecedented need for shelter services for certain populations while making sure that we are prioritizing stability and continued supports for all clients receiving our services at all times.”
The agency noted that it has a legal and moral obligation to provide shelter to whomever is in need—no matter their immigration status.
“Our teams are working around the clock to provide shelter to recently-arrived asylum seekers and continue to open and identify emergency sites citywide.”
It is unclear how many men are currently being housed in the 53-05 Queens Blvd. facility.
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35 Comments
And right around the corner is a new building selling apartments for $500,000+.
Throw them in there. Give them nothing to do and nowhere to go and then unleash them on Sunnyside. Thanks Mayor Adams. Another great mayor.
They already hanging under the construction shed on 53 St & smoking weed & playing loud music. What to they do all day ?
I’m sure it is a delight stay there. Expect a rise in crime very shortly. I feel sorry for any women walking on queens Blvd with these predators around.
Let’s leave the borders open and see what happens to NYC and all the other U.S. cities that are okay with open borders. I predict this is just the beginning and every major city will be overrun with homelessness, drug addicts and others in need. JVB was a horrible councilman that caused harm to Sunnyside and now has a good job in the private sector and De Blasio and our current mayor are much the same.
Maybe get a “one-time payment” from Mexico? Would have been nice if Trump had that idea!
Julie Won is no prize either!! Why do Sunnysiders always vote for the woke progressives and then complain?? Vote wisely and more importantly, get off your butts and vote!!
This will quickly become a hotspot to meet single men for single Progressive women and gays.
Can’t wait to hear how my family members and friends who live around there are chased by vagrants or assaulted or robbed.
I have noticed the difference in the past few weeks. They are gathering outside, smoking weed and obviously planning their activities for the evening. This is going to be a disaster.
We should bus them down to Red states – migrants and refugees get a bad rap, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority work (and work very hard). It’s cynical to say it, but a bum is a bum is a bum. We should have resources for all, but there is a point where its a burden on the community and just invites backlash.
Send them to Martha’s Vineyard. The island is brimming with rich people’s unoccupied second summer homes they could be housed in. And quite frankly, except for the Obama’s, the lily white, liberal enclave could use a bit of diversity.
Aka “fiscally conservative”
Many homeless men are NOT bums. Some of them are mentally ill or just down on their luck. When you’re young & you make a mistake, you can fix it. Some of these men are old and have made mistakes. This doesn’t mean society is going to make them live on the street.
No disagreement there, but mental illness is, even with treatment, a permanent condition. A life of long-term poverty defines a person as deeply as language or culture. It’s extremely frustrating for anyone who lives in a city like New York to feel like their humanity is getting stripped away thinking of how to help people who really can’t be helped because they see this every day.
I recall the article here about the older woman who lived under the 7 train in Sunnyside. Well, she’s still on the street today. I think my only point of contention is that we are a community that’s trying to take an undue share of a national issue. If our whole culture in America is defined by our being competitive, cut-throat, and unsympathetic, then how do we respond to any situation where public safety and humanity have to be balanced? I hate to say it, but half the comments I keep seeing here are stopping just short of saying these marginal people are better off dead.
I really wasn’t trying to make any point other than to say that Sunnyside and Woodside are being used as part of the games of larger forces. Meanwhile, we have a quality of life that we’ve become accustomed to put at risk and are not in control of what’s happening. I realize that’s the definition of a ‘NIMBY,’ but there’s a difference between having a new apartment building being put up in a neighborhood, and a tenement filled with people who should be in some sort of secure hospital.
If you voted democrat, then you voted for this.
Enjoy the fruits of your party loyalty.
Providing shelter for homeless men is a GOOD thing. What would you want us to do, leave them on the street?
No. But there are less costly ways of housing them in hotels charging exhorbitant rates. There are plenty of buildings outside residential areas that could be used. Especially if those being housed are sex offenders.
How about we let them live in your apartment. They dont belong on my block .
Maybe our former and current councilperson can invite a few of them to live in their spare bedrooms. Let us see the progressive legislators do that.
Wow how many times have we homeowners called up CB2 & called Jimmy boy Breemer when he was in office about this hotel turned into shelter Complaints after complaints and nothing resolved . THANKS for nothing .We have to suffer even more
That’s why there are so many guys lying around and begging on the streets in Sunnyside. Thanks Mayor Addams!
…trust me kids, allot more of this coming.
Helping the homeless?! Not in my backyard!
A lot like the anti migrant xenophobes of Martha’s Vineyard n’est-ce pas?
Warehousing degenerate convicted felons from outside the neighborhood? Not in my backyard!
Per Webster’s: “give or apportion (something) to someone as a share or task”-so pound sand.
How many shelters are already in place in the immediate vicinity? They were built for the express purpose of getting hundreds of dollars a night more than if used as a real motel/hotel. I know of seven so far. You go on and help the homeless, put them up in your home if you’d like, but this neighbourhood has done enough.
In context that makes no sense, nice attempt to cover for not understanding the three-letter word “lot”
wait until one of them tries to stab you or pours their pee on you…then lets see how quickly you change your tone.
Allot as in allotment is most decidedly a word. It was used incorrectly in the above statement.
Single homeless men in shelters. To all the Democrat women your welcome.
dont worry, a social worker will call in 3 to 5 business days to answer the defunded police call after they get assaulted. leave a message after the beep! LOL
They’ll rape, assault and rob anyone.
Close it down. They throw the residents out during the day and they roam up and down QB panhandling, urinating and begging for cigarettes. Enough already. These hotels cost the tax payers a fortune.
Property for sale in the area will go on the market soon, and safety is no longer around in the neighborhood!