Last night, the Department of Buildings shut down the L Hostel in Harlem, forcing guests—many of them stranded in NYC due to the volcanic ash situation— out on the streets. The Post says "order to vacate" was issued because the building apparently only has one staircase while NY1 reports the DOB says it's an illegal conversion. However, the owner says everything is on the up and up.
According to the DOB website, there are numerous violations for the building at 1961 Adam Clayton Boulevard (7th Avenue), like "ILLEGAL CONVERSION PEOPLE LIVING IN BASEMENT MORE PEOPLE RENTING SINGLE BEDS THERE ARE BUNK BEDS AND THERE ARE MANY BEDS IN THE BASEMENT..THERE IS NOT ENOUGH LIGHT" and "CALLER STATES 4 TO 6 PEOPLE SLEEPING IN ROOM THAT IS LESS THAN 130 SQUARE FEET."
The L Hostel's owner said, "I have the approved plan, and I was shocked by the fact that they are forcing us to kick people to the street with no reason." One guest lamented, "All the other hostels are kind of full because no one has been flying these last five days so it's hard already to find a place." And one Belgian tourist said she and her friends were initially stuck in Philadelphia, "We decided, why stay in Philly? So we came here."
