Not many people know that a hotel in New York City’s Broadway area is being turned into a temporary shelter for migrants. New York City is still trying to figure out how to handle the large number of migrants going into the city. These migrant shelters will help them do that.
The Square Hotel, which is across the street from the Broadway theater, has been housing travelers in silence since it said it would be closing without giving a reason. On its Facebook page, the Square Hotel said, “To our valued guests: it is with great sadness that we announce the Square Hotel will be closed for the foreseeable future.” Thank you for your business, and we hope to see you again soon.
There is now a security guard outside the hotel who is turning people away who are trying to get a room for the night. There are 140 rooms in this hotel, which is close to Radio City Music Hall and only a five-minute walk from Times Square. This makes it a pretty famous and seen hotel in the area.
Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute said that hotel workers are being “lazy” by letting refugees pay them to stay there instead of tourists.
“These hotels could be doing a fine tourist business right now, but they are being lazy, and a sure-thing 100-percent occupancy on the city dime, and without having to provide traditional hotel services, is just too good a deal to pass up,” he said.
There was a special that let people inside the hotel and showed how it has changed so much that it is hard to recognize. There is food and diapers in the hallway, and the ballroom has been turned into a medical room. Migrants are sleeping on the floor or just hanging out inside the building.
Cities all over the US are spending millions to build more homes for migrants, and this is not the first one they’ve changed.