This past year a public walk-thru of the Greenpoint Hotel, a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) at 1109 Manhattan Ave revealed mold, rats, and heat, hot water and electrical problems. The property has been purchased along with authority over ALL the tenant leases and there is talk that it may be demolished completely and transformed into a hostel.From an article by The Real Deal:
Investor and former Harlem hostel owner Gal Sela acquired the troubled, single-room-occupancy Greenpoint Hotel…Sela said he was open to buying out the approximately 200 tenants, who are mostly formerly homeless men.
The article also pointed to the new landlord’s less than stellar record as a hotel owner, specifically with his Harlem hostel that was overcrowded. Did the occupants at The Greenpoint Hotel just get a new slumlord who may end up kicking them out?
Does Greenpoint need a hostel? Is it a better alternative for the north end of Manhattan Ave then an SRO? Would you stay there? And what will become of the Greenpointers who call The Greenpoint Hotel their home?