A recently shuttered house of ill repute will becomes a new school if Sunset Park lawmakers Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and City Council Member Carlos Menchaca have their way.
City, State and Federal authorities busted and closed the Sunny 39 Hotel on 39th Street off 5th Avenue on Oct. 15 after a several month investigation of a prostitution ring that included alleged international human trafficking and sex slavery. The owners of the hotel were among the people charged in the illicit operation and thus is it was shuttered.
Ortiz and Menchaca as well as the community organization, Friends of Sunset Park, cheered the bust last week prompting Ortiz to fire off a letter Friday to Mayor Bill deBlasio asking the city to turn the hotel into a public school.
“This hotel is now in our past and we need to move on. I ask that you look into preventing this building from operating as a hotel and to covert this site into a much needed school for Sunset Park’s ever growing population, already overcrowded into too few facilities,” wrote Ortiz.
In a statement, Menchaca said that Sunset Park residents have spoken clearly that the need for more schools and truly affordable housing is non-negotiable, and that the bust provided an opportunity to make necessary gains on one of these key local needs.
“In the wake of a federal and local investigation of the hotel site on 39th street, I am calling on the City to move quickly in conducting a thorough survey of the potential communities uses that the site presents, and to provide information to my office and to this community about how we move forward to ensure that the site is used to its fullest potential in support of our children and our families who need homes. My office will be sending communication today to City agencies with this request in writing,” said Menchaca.
