Dept. of Homeless Services Revitalizes Hotel Ellington

By Robyn Schwartz

Spectator Senior Staff Writer

The block-lettered words "Hotel Ellington" have been lightly painted over to blend in with the awning that covers 610 West 111th Street, signaling the change in function and clientele that the building has undergone in the last month and a half.

Once a popular lodging for Columbia parents and tourists, the Hotel Ellington is now serving as a segment of the Family Services department of the City's Department of Homeless Services (DHS), as a result of increasing pressure on the DHS to expand its transitional shelter system.

Solely reserved for families with children, the Hotel Ellington, since it re-opened on March 1, has filled all of its rooms--close to 100--with clients absorbed by the Emergency Assistance Unit of the DHS. While temporary housing of this sort, classified by the department as "conditional placement," is only supposed to last for 10 days while DHS determines the eligibility of clients for Tier Two transitional housing, an overtaxed system has made it more difficult for families to move to this second phase.

According to the DHS website, most families then stay in transitional housing for about nine months before reaching the system's final stage, a permanent housing placement.

According to Rachel Levine, special assistant to the deputy commissioner for operations at the DHS, New York is the only municipality in the country that is obligated to provide shelter for homeless people who seek assistance. As of March 2001, there were 5661 families in the DHS system. One year later, there were 7337 families.

"[The increase] reflects a national trend," said Levine, adding that perhaps as more people become unemployed and their savings and benefits fall off, DHS will be able to attribute some client growth to Sept. 11.

There is some concern among community leaders, however, about the landlord's record on building code violations and client harassment. City Limits Weekly explained the sordid story of the building's connection to the Podolsky family, some of whose members were convicted of hiring men to "use any means--including larceny--to force residents out of one of their buildings" in the 1980s. When Jay Podolsky owned 610 West 111th Street, which then housed clients of the Division of AIDS Services and Income Support, he was cited by the city in 1996 for illegally subdividing studios, after which the agency withdrew its contract. Brother Stuart Podolsky's Amsterdam Hospitality Group took over the building and put the Hotel Ellington in place. Due to a drop in tourism, the Hotel Ellington stopped operating as a tourist hotel in early 2002.

Alan Lapes, who owns the Aladdin Hotel in Times Square, began leasing the building several months ago. Lapes came to DHS, offering the agency space in the building as a means to both supplement his income and help people in need, according to City Limits. Some members of the community remain concerned that the building is still controlled by the Podolskys--Jay's wife Sharon Olson owns it, according to the report in City Limits.

As reported in the March 17 edition of The New York Times, community representatives were also upset that they had not received notice prior to the Hotel Ellington's conversion. Councilman Bill Perkins told the Times that he only received official notification two days after the first clients arrived. Linda Gibbs, the commissioner of DHS, apologized for the delay, calling it a "goof-up" in the Times. There was also a fear that 610 West 111th would regress to its former state as a poorly managed single-room occupancy (SRO) building. Levine was careful to make a distinction between an SRO, which is more permanent in nature, and DHS's short-term conditional placements.

The inside of the building reflects its appearance to outsiders. A stroll through the building's foyer indicates that the building is run in good order, with new construction and routine cleaning very much apparent. Clients, who must purchase their own food, have access to kitchens and cooking facilities, which is mandated by DHS. Levine said the building's owner invested his own money to make such conversions.

Other residents of 111th Street, are less concerned about the building's new purpose.

Katherine Markham, School of Public Health/Social Work, lives on 111th, near Riverside Drive. Until speaking with Spectator, she did not know that the Hotel Ellington had become part of DHS, although she sensed that there had been a change in clientele. Markham, whose parents have stayed in the hotel, said she hopes the housing units, by being located on "a nice street," will remain in good order. She added that although there is so much environmental segregation in the city, it is important to have integration, especially in Morningside Heights.

Markham said she believes most of her neighbors have no idea the hotel is now being used by DHS, but she feels that as long as crime does not rise on the street, all will be fine.

"I hope there isn't too much hostility [to DHS being in Hotel Ellington,]" Markham said.

George Roper, who lives on Broadway and 111th Street, said that before the days of Hotel Ellington, when the building was an SRO, there was a lot of behavior there that "was not civil." Radios blared loudly at night, people calledto one another across the courtyard, and other residents argued loudly. Roper said he "hasn't heard anything" since DHS moved into the hotel in March. He added that some of his friends further down 111th Street have said it can get noisy.

Roper acknowledged that lack of housing for homeless New Yorkers is a problem not easily solved.

"They have to live somewhere," Roper said.

As for the future of the revamped hotel, Levine said DHS's goal is to get each of its clients on public assistance. Also, DHS intends to increase its educational efforts, which now includes a visit from a staffer from the Board of Education visits to straighten out any schooling issues that the children of clients might have.