Judge temporarily bars conversion of Jericho hotel to transitional housing

A state judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday to stop the conversion of a former Jericho hotel into a temporary shelter for homeless families. 

The Town of Oyster Bay sued the owner of the former Hampton Inn hotel, 120 Westend LLC, on Thursday, alleging that converting the property at 120 Jericho Tpke. into a shelter would violate zoning codes and a special-use permit issued for the hotel.

State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Diamond in Mineola issued the injunction to halt construction and prevent the property from being used for transitional housing.

The conversion “creates a serious and imminent danger to the life, health, safety and welfare of the public,” the town’s outside attorneys said in a court filing.

Community Housing Innovations Inc., a nonprofit with offices in White Plains and Patchogue, plans to provide temporary transitional housing to homeless families on the property under an agreement with Nassau County.

Howard Avrutine, a Syosset-based attorney for the nonprofit, said in an email that neither the owner nor the tenant had an opportunity to make their case Friday.

"We believe the court erred in issuing the [temporary restraining order] and will make our legal arguments to the court in due course," Avrutine said. 

120 Westend LLC purchased the hotel in July, Nassau County records show. Mortgage records list Joel Shafran as a managing member of the company. Attempts to reach Shafran on Friday were unsuccessful.

The town said in court filings that the property would house about 80 families for six to eight months. 

About 200 people gathered Saturday morning at Jericho High School to protest the proposed shelter.

The group known as Concerned Jericho Parents held signs that read, “TRO Granted,” and ”No Shelter without public hearing.”

Marc Albert, a parent of three children who have been enrolled in the school district, said 2,000 parents have signed a petition opposing the project and arguing that developers did not weigh the impacts on the community and the school district.

“It’s pretty clear a lot of us moved to Jericho for the community and great schools. What’s transpiring is concerning and upsetting by all of us,” Albert said.

Parents believe 20 to 30 new students could come to Jericho in the fall and would continue to have the right to attend Jericho schools once they leave temporary housing.

Xinfang Zhang, 32, who has three children in the district, said she was not aware the hotel could be converted into a homeless shelter until recently. “Everyone’s voice needs to be heard," Zhang said.

Organizers said they were not holding an anti-homeless rally. There are three shelters in Jericho where parents have donated food, but Zhang said there were concerns about who would be living at the new shelter, including whether sex offenders would reside there. 

“The intended use is illegal at that location," Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a statement. " … The recent court action demonstrates our commitment to upholding the law and protecting Town of Oyster Bay residents.”

Nassau County spokeswoman Christine Geed said in an email that the county was not a party to the lawsuit and had not reviewed it. 

“It is a legal requirement of New York State that the county provide shelter and services for qualified residents,” Geed said. “Nassau County, however, is not directly involved with any issues purportedly being raised by the Town of Oyster Bay.”

Geed also said that most of the families expected to be placed at the shelter have chosen to have their children transported to their current school district. "The few students who do attend Jericho schools will do so at no cost to the Jericho school district taxpayers as the student’s current school district will fund those costs.” 

In a July 31 letter to Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Community Housing Innovations, Oyster Bay chief deputy town attorney Frank Scalera wrote that the facility is “subject to all applicable town of Oyster Bay zoning and building codes and that construction and operation of the proposed facility without compliance with those codes is unlawful.”

Alexander Roberts, executive director of Community Housing Innovation, said in an email that the motel and three other motels in the Jericho area have provided housing to homeless families for years.

"The difference is that for the first time, these families facing the trauma of homelessness will receive the counseling and services they need to quickly transition to permanent housing," Robert said.

With John Asbury