You are reading

Residents holding protest, calling for Westway to be shutdown

Removal1

Feb. 6, 2015 By Michael Florio

A peaceful protest is expected to take place Saturday in front of the Westway Motel calling for the shelter to be shutdown.

The protest, which was planned earlier this week, originally called for the removal of James Bryant, a level two sex offender, from the shelter. However, the public was informed yesterday that Bryant had gone.

The protest is now calling for the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to close the shelter.

Posters have been placed throughout the neighborhood—such as on car windshields and on walls– urging residents to attend.

The posters state that the community has lost faith in DHS and it needs to be closed.

“DHS recklessly endangered our children’s safety by housing a convicted child molester…against the wishes or consultation of local residents.”

The organizers of the protest, who have be unavailable to reach, wrote on the poster:

“We have succeeded in forcing DHS to remove this sex offender. But our goals are not fully met,” it reads. “We demand the closure of Westway Motel as a DHS operated homeless shelter.”

The residents are not alone in expressing their outraged over recent events at the shelter.

“The presence of a sex offender at the Westway was the latest example of DHS’ continuing pattern of failing to properly inform our community of developments related to this location,” State Sen. Mike Gianaris said in a statement this morning.

He added that he will continue to work with other local politicians to resolve the troubling actions being taken at the Westway Motel.

“We deserve better,” he said.

 

email the author: news@queenspost.com

5 Comments

Click for Comments 
anon o mus

Great Job! I would love the place torn down and proper housing put in its place. It does not belong here

Reply
Anonymous

I live in the hell hole, the west way hotel. This place is horrible no one should live in these condition, half the time there is no heat or water the food they serve is terrible it makes the children sick all the time , the staff only cares about their paycheck. We don’t having a housing specialist to help move families out of here and the number one thing they don’t care about our children, they never told us they had a sex offender in here. This place needs to be torn down . I agree with the residents out here and I wish you would come protest everyday

Reply
Ben Dover

Their will be a protest feb 14 2015 at 10am. We are urging the westway residents to come out and protest with us. Let’s stand together as one community and expose DHS and WIN. Let our voices be heard that we cannot and will not treat our homeless this way. Spread the word at westway to join our protest this saturday

Reply
anonymous

I WISH I HAD KNOW ABOUT THIS PROTEST, I WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH BELLS ON. THIS BLIGHT ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD MUST BE SHUT DOWN. CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER, WHAT IS NEXT MURDERERS? SHUT THIS HELLHOLE DOWN NOW!

Reply
Ben Dover

Their will be a protest every Saturday at 10am from now on, till we close this place down. Your welcome to come, if you love your community and bring friends and family!!!

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Catch the fall vibe at these western Queens breweries

Sep. 3, 2025 By Jessica Militello

September rings in the start of Oktoberfest from mid-September through October, featuring special brews, fun events and more fall fun. Western Queens is filled with breweries to enjoy seasonal brews, fall flavors and the start of cooler weather as Autumn approaches, making it a perfect time to meet up with friends at these local spaces.

Op-Ed | Four years after Hurricane Ida, Queens deserves real climate resilience

Sep. 2, 2025 By Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas

Four years ago, Hurricane Ida tore through our neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights, leaving behind devastation we will never forget. We lost neighbors to the floodwaters. Families saw their homes destroyed, their basements wiped out, their lives upended. Immigrant families—so many of them undocumented—were hit the hardest, often excluded from relief altogether. Ida was not just a storm; it was a wake-up call.