Protesters made their message loud and clear on Sunday, particularly when it comes to the city's decision to house homeless men at a hotel in Queens. NY1's Shannan Ferry filed the following report.
"Solutions, not shelters" was the message that protesters had for the city on Sunday.
"Some are criminals, some are mentally ill, others are just stuck, but it's all unleashed on us," said protester Dan Lobel.
More than 100 people chanted in front of the Holiday Inn on Brookville Boulevard as part of a rally.
Participants argue that two floors of the Rosedale hotel have been rented out to house 150 homeless men.
They also claim that the men are forced to leave the hotel during the day, which leaves them to roam the streets.
"It's effecting the property owners, the commercial business, more effectively humanely it isn't helping the homeless situation," said protester Diane Kirchner.
People from different neighborhoods, including Maspeth joined in as well. They said they are facing the same issue in their own community.
"We have 200 people destined to go into Maspeth hotels, we have 100 or 200 in this hotel," said Robert Holden, who participated in the rally.
Aaron Irizarry said he is housed through the shelter system at the Quality Inn in Floral Park. He joined the rally, and said hotels are not the place for homeless families to live.
"You guys aren't bad guys, you are trying to help us," Irizarry said.
Lauren Gray, a spokeswoman with the Department of Homeless Services, told NY1 the agency is "currently renting some rooms in this commercial hotel to help meet its legal obligation to shelter homeless New Yorkers."
Gray added, "There are no plans to convert this location to a shelter and no requirement that clients who staying there leave for any time period during the day. It is unfortunate that misinformation regarding this location is being spread, and we will continue to correct the record while we care for our fellow New Yorkers."
A spokesperson with the Holiday Inn said the policy of the hotel is always to respect the privacy of its guests, and therefore they will not comment on any individual guests or group clients.