Funky Bed-Stuy Hotel Becomes Emergency Shelter

BED-STUY, NY — The self-proclaimed "hippest hotel" in Brooklyn was converted into an emergency sanctuary facility for unhoused families with children, city records show.

The city's department of homeless services on May 2 awarded a $7.6 million contract to a local non-profit, the Neighborhood Association for Inter-Cultural Affairs, to operate the hotel as a shelter, city records show.

"We are leaving no stone unturned as part of our emergency response, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure that we are meeting the needs of each individual and family that comes to us seeking shelter,” a Department of Social Services spokesperson told Patch in a statement.

The Hotel Association of NYC will seemingly be handling rent for the 147-room hotel at Van Buren Street and Patchen Avenue — which a worker told News 12 has not operated as a hotel in months.

The contract comes as the city scrambles to house incoming asylum seekers.

Over 60,800 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring, and over 37,500 were in the city's care, Mayor Eric Adams' office said on Friday.

Adams on Friday announced plans to send single adult male asylum seekers to hotels in Orange and Rockland Counties — a move that proved unpopular with local officials in the two counties.

"We have a legal and moral obligation to provide shelter to all who come to us in need, and as we respond to an ongoing humanitarian crisis, our teams continue to work around the clock to procure emergency shelter capacity," a Department of Social Services spokesperson told Patch in a statement.

In a statement Friday, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso called on electeds and the real estate community to step up and help meet migrants' housing needs.

"When our neighbors — whether down the street, across the country, or over borders — need help, our community must and will show up. That’s what Brooklyn stands for, that’s what New York stands for," Reynoso said. "The imminent arrival of more people and families seeking asylum is no excuse to go back on our values here in New York City. "