Midtown's Renwick Hotel To Be Converted Into Homeless Shelter

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A historic Midtown hotel will be converted into a shelter for unhoused families next month, representatives from the city and shelter providers told a neighborhood community board this week.

The former Renwick Hotel at 118 East 40th St. will become an adult family shelter, open to 170 homeless families without minor children. The city aims to open the shelter by Dec. 15, representatives from the Department of Homeless Services said Monday during a Community Board 6 committee meeting.

Monday's presentation attracted intense interest, with more than 200 participants joining the meeting at one point. The Renwick shelter will be permanent, unlike the temporary hotel shelters that the city has created to reduce crowding during the pandemic, and which have set off an intense backlash in neighborhoods like the Upper West Side.

Anticipating concerns by neighbors, presenters stressed that the shelter will be accompanied by a number of safety precautions, including 24/7 security, a dedicated phone line for community members to ask questions, and a "good neighbor policy" that each resident will be required to sign, prohibiting littering, loitering, playing loud music and other disruptive behavior.

Matthew Borden, an assistant commissioner for government affairs at DHS, said this type of shelter can fit in smoothly in any neighborhood, noting the widespread opposition to the city's plan to evict residents from the Harmonia, another adult family shelter on East 31st Street. (That plan was abandoned in September after weeks of pushback.)

"Adult family shelters are some of the proudest work that we do," Borden said.

The Renwick shelter will be operated by CORE Services Group, a nonprofit that runs dozens of shelters around the city.

The Renwick Hotel opened in 1920 and was once home to writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck, according to its website. It was most recently operated by Hilton, but stopped taking guests in March when the pandemic hit.

About 50 families have moved out of adult family shelters so far this year, presenters said, signaling progress in the city's efforts to help such families move into more permanent housing. As of July 2019, the city's overall shelter population stood at more than 58,000, including about 19,300 adults in families.

Board members mostly expressed support for the new shelter, although one member, Andrew Gross, told DHS he was frustrated by a lack of communication and safety concerns surrounding a temporary shelter at the Vanderbilt YMCA on East 47th Street.

Responding to one neighbor's question about how best to welcome the incoming shelter residents, Gordon Jackson, CORE's vice president for community affairs, suggested smiling and waving hello.

"Just treat these clients the way you would treat your neighbors right now — with dignity," he said.

Update, Jan. 11, 2021: After publication of this article, one of the property owners contacted Patch to ask that the following information be included in the article. Here is a statement from Bedford-WCR LLC:

“The Owners have leased the Renwick Hotel to a tenant under a 99-year lease and this lease requires that the hotel be operated as a first class hotel and does not permit use as a homeless shelter. Furthermore, the Owners have never agreed to allow the hotel to be used as a homeless shelter.”