A New York castle owner’s plea to the mayor has reportedly gone unanswered after he proposed a housing solution for illegal aliens in New York City.
The unaddressed crisis at the southern border has only compounded ongoing problems in leftist strongholds. But while progressive DAs have ignored crime, President Joe Biden’s administration sued Texas for defending national sovereignty and economic recovery is handicapped by regulatory overreach, one hotelier suggested a way to work on two problems with the same solution.
Gary Melius, the owner of the Oheka Castle hotel and catering hall in Huntington, Long Island, a popular event and wedding venue with rooms ranging from around $500-$1,300 per night, has seen another one of his properties suffering amidst a faltering economy.
To that end, he spoke with the New York Post about his proposal to NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) to bus nearly 200 aliens up toward the Canadian border where they could be housed at his Quality Inn in Massena, New York.
“I keep trying,” he said in an interview. “We could take 180 people. I don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“My place is ideal,” Melius explained of the property close to the St. Lawrence River that has only been able to maintain an occupancy rate of about 40 percent. “This would be very good for me, it would be very good for the city and very good for the migrants. It’s a win-win.”
While not as luxurious as the accommodations at Oheka, the hotel owner noted that the location of the Quality Inn satisfied many of the issues that activists had previously complained aliens were faced with as they were carted off the shelters on the outskirts of the city.
“The hotel is in the center of town. You don’t need any transit once you get here,” said Melius.
Meanwhile, Adams appeared poised to shuffle illegals back to Randall’s Island after previously shutting down a shelter that had been constructed there. However, this time Hizzoner eyed occupying soccer fields regularly used by children, a move decried by the Randall’s Island Park Alliance co-Chairs. “Surely a less precious space can be found, rather than alienating parkland, perhaps by using private rather than public space.”
Mayor Adams considers soccer fields to house up to 2,000 migrants — at expense of sports leagueshttps://t.co/xJePsnDqBt
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) August 3, 2023
As it happened, the city had already pooled hundreds of millions into establishing contracts with more than 100 hotels to act as impromptu shelters, but the problem that has led to almost 100,000 illegal aliens being transported to New York since early last year has remained ignored.
“We’re leaving our door open. People should come in the right way,” the hotel owner aiming to strike a deal to occupy his roughly $120 per night upstate property told the Post.
The idea looked to be the brainchild of Melius’ lobbying representative Brad Gerstman who explained, “I want to help the city I love, so I scoured all my clients and those I have other business relationships with to find more space for the migrants.”
“I hope the Adams administration can move on this opportunity,” he added.
Former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato (R), who was unseated by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D), added his support for the proposal and told the Post, “It makes sense for Gary and the mayor.”
“The city is overwhelmed,” the former legislator added. “This is the federal government’s fault for not securing the border, and it will keep getting worse if they don’t get the border under control.”
Though a direct response to Melius’ offer had not been made, a spokesperson for the mayor heaped on finger-pointing as they told the Post, “As we’ve said multiple times, with more than 95,000 asylum seekers coming through our intake system since last spring, all options remain on the table. We continue to call on our state and federal partners to provide the necessary support.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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