By JOSEPH KELLARD
Nassau County¹s Department of Social Services has dramatically increased the number of families it has placed in the 67-room motor inn on Austin Boulevard, from three last year to 22 as of last week.
On Sept. 27, Town of Hempstead building inspectors issued owner Charlie Goldgrub 17 building-code violations for providing occupancy to families for more than 30 days, which is against town code. In addition, the inn was issued 19 violations for having cooking appliances such as microwaves in sleeping areas, six for over-occupied rooms and 10 for various other infractions.
Goldgrub, whose father, Sam, purchased the motel in 1991, indicated that the increased number of families at the motel shouldn¹t alarm people. ³The numbers fluctuate,² he said. ³... Most people who come here are nice people, and as long as they abide by our rules, we don¹t discriminate.² He added that social services officials regularly solicit him to house people at his motel.
Some neighbors of the motel are concerned that it could mimic the Oceanside Motel ‹ which housed homeless families as well as sex offenders and drug users and dealers before it was condemned and demolished last year.
Linda Bonacasa, who lives with her husband and children behind the motel on Nevada Avenue, said that some people sheltered at the motel often hang out in the back by her house, and she finds drug paraphernalia and empty beer bottles on her property and notices cars pulling in and out of the parking lot at night, which suggests that drug transactions are taking place.
³Seems like we call police every night...,² Bonacasa said. ³It¹s gotten 100 times worse. It¹s to the point where I¹ve had enough of it and we¹re going to move.²
Anthony Tascarella has a ³For sale² sign posted outside his Jamaica Avenue home, across the street from the motel, where he has lived for 38 years. ³It¹s a hell hole,² he said about the lodge. ³This was a quiet neighborhood. Not anymore.²
Tascarella said he often hears families arguing, cursing and playing loud music. Also, during the summer, he said, several men often sat in lawn chairs along his street and drank Colt 45s, with their empty bottles sometimes ending up on his property. ³They have no place to go, so they mill around here,² Tascarella said.
Both Goldgrub and General Manager Sandy Hamilton said the residents¹ charges were untrue. Goldgrub said that, at worst, the motel gets ³a little noisy,² and added that ³at any motel you¹re going to find [drug activity].² They said they give the social services families a set of rules when they come to live there. The rules consist of a few warnings, such as ³Unlawful activities by any and all guests will result in termination of temporary housing.²
At one point, as Goldgrub spoke with the Herald in the main office at around 10 a.m. last Friday, a motel guest entered the lobby smelling of liquor and slurring something about crack cocaine while he used a vending machine. Goldgrub said the man was only staying there a day. To show that the motor inn is no Oceanside Motel, Goldgrub said he is there every day, and allowed the Herald to view some of the motel¹s hallways, a laundry area and a single room, all of which were kept clean. During the tour, a maid was cleaning one room in which garbage, food and crayons were strewn across the carpeted floor.
Meanwhile, Tascarella said he has noticed that police responses to the motel have increased in the past year. A 4th Precinct crime analyst, however, said that while responses were up, no arrests were made of families living there.
Another neighbor, who declined to be identified, said that she has not had any unpleasant experiences with the motel residents, although she recalled that one man knocked on her door and asked to borrow money. ³I think when they closed the Oceanside Motel, they shifted over here,² she said. ³Now I see school buses come each morning to pick up kids.²
Hamilton said that since most of the families living at the motel are black, the residents who complain have a racial prejudice against them, adding that some people called or came into the motel with such complaints. ³They don¹t want black kids going to their schools,² she said.
Some Island Park residents discovered that the motel was housing many homeless families when they learned that 24 children had been registered this year in the district¹s Hegarty Elementary School, Lincoln Orens Middle School and West Hempstead High School and the motel was listed as their address. ³... In the first two weeks of school, we received a significant number of children who appeared at the door for education services,² said Island Park Superintendent Ed Price.
Dr. John Imhof, social services commissioner, said that state law requires students¹ original school districts foot the bill to educate them. ³Their [new] school districts send vouchers back to the other schools and get reimbursed for all of the children¹s services,² he said.
Price pointed out that the state reimburses the district for any students who become homeless that come from another state. ³And we have some of those students as well,² he said.
In response to residents¹ calls, Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford (R-Long Beach) said she, too, has reservations about people living at motels. ³A lot of the motels don¹t have kitchens, so how do you cook?² she said. ³We have to look into that.²
Motels and hotels are among various shelters that social services agencies consider when seeking temporary housing for homeless people. ³When there is a hotel or motel that provides decent, clean housing and they are willing to accept payment for the housing, then that¹s housing we have to consider,² Imhof said.
Imhof noted that case workers from social services meet with families regularly to try to find permanent, affordable housing for them. He said that a homeless person typically lives in a temporary county shelter an average of 160 days.
³We are aggressively trying to move them on as quickly as possible and get them permanent housing. ... We don¹t want people setting up permanent homes in hotels and motels. That can¹t be done ... It¹s not healthy for them; it¹s not good for the community. It¹s one of our top priorities here.²
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
