A glitzy Manhattan hotel has opened its doors to the city’s homeless to ease crowding at shelters during the coronavirus.
Dozens of former shelter residents spent Friday night checking into the Bentley Hotel on the Upper East Side, where more than $200-a-night rooms offer stunning views of the East River and 59th Street Bridge.
The men marveled at the plush digs as they were processed through the lobby of the luxury hotel, grateful to leave what they described as dangerously crowded, drug-ridden shelters thanks to the non-profit DOE Fund.
“This a lot better. More disciplined. No one doing drugs [in the hotel], no one doing K-2. Much safer,” said Marvin Joseph, 47, who was waiting with about thirty other people packed in the hotel lobby at 62nd street and York Avenue.
Marvin had been staying at a shelter on Porter Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he said two people died of coronavirus.
The new hotel guests huddled closely together — with most not wearing masks — as they passed through a metal detector by the front doors. Any lighters or weapons were confiscated
Others were seen waiting for food delivery as dozen Dominos pizzas arrived for a late dinner.
“You still gotta be careful in here, wear a mask, wash your hands,” Porter said, gesturing to the crowd.
“I mean, look at this – all the people are close – I don’t like the way they have it.”
The hotel boasts a fitness center, cable, “premium” bedding, and close proximity to Central Park. It was not clear how many amenities, if any, the men would have access to.
The guests said they were under the impression that their stay could extend for six months.
“They said this may be seasonal,” one man said. “This just how we going to be living.”
The Manhattan-based DOE Fund helps find housing and work for homeless and formerly incarcerated men.
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