NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Homeless men staying at the LaGuardia Airport Marriott said they were told to use a “poor door” in the back of the hotel.
Multiple men who were being sheltered at the hotel until about six weeks ago told the New York Post that they were directed to go to the back door.
One of the men, bartender Geraldo Rodriquez, said his mom tried to drop him off at the front of the hotel when a man at the front desk asked, “Are you coming from the shelter?”
When the 27-year-old told him, “Yes,” the man reportedly responded, “Oh, you have to go that way” while pointing to the back, where employees enter. “I felt so ashamed,” Rodriquez said.
A former Uber driver, Lu MaKonnen, told the Post he was also told to “go through the back” without an explanation.
Thousands of shelter residents were moved to hotels by the city amid the coronavirus outbreak in the spring to help prevent the virus from spreading in the homeless population. Nearly 100 homeless men were at the LaGuardia Marriott.
The men were eventually moved from the Marriott to the nearby Ibis Syles hotel, according to the Post, which reported the Marriott has been housing U.S. Open staffers and players like Naomi Osaka recently.
The Post didn’t hear back from Marriott representatives or from City Hall when it requested comment, while a hotel manager declined to comment.