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| November 16, 2000 | |
| A Hotel for the Homeless Designed for Dignity | |
| A single room occupancy hotel does not have to be bleak. Since July, formerly homeless men who now work full-time have been moving into the Peter Jay Sharp Residence in East Harlem. By New Year's Day, 74 men will occupy the six-story, 32,000-square-foot brick building, designed by Herbert L. Mandel. The air-conditioned bedrooms have private baths and kitchenettes. There is also a communal kitchen, dining room and gymnasium. This is the first S.R.O. built in New York in 50 years, said George T. McDonald, the founder of the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan devoted to helping the homeless. The Doe Fund used $5.5 million in private and public funds for the Sharp house. "We built this as an example of first-rung housing for the working poor," said Mr. McDonald, who used to feed the homeless in Grand Central Terminal. One of the men he fed was Mr. Rashid, who now has a master's degree in social work from Hunter College. Sharp house is at 223 East 117th Street. | |
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