Hotel Owner Melius Offers Massena Hotel to House Migrants

The owner of a local Quality Inn is apparently considering accommodating a new group of long-term residents – migrants from New York City. The New York Post, revealed that Gary Melius, a prominent figure from Long Island with ownership of several hotel properties in New York, has been “begging” NYC Mayor Eric L. Adams to relocate some migrants, currently straining the city’s resources, to his 115-room, two-star establishment on West Orvis Street in Massena.

The St. Lawrence Hotel Corp. owns the hotel, and its registered mailing address is linked to Oheka Castle. That luxury hotel is another property overseen by Melius, where he is also believed to occasionally live, situated in Suffolk County.

The New York Post reported that Melius believes the struggling inn, which he mentioned has around a 40% occupancy rate, would be an ideal location to accommodate the immigrants for whom NYC authorities are urgently seeking housing. As more people arrive in the city from the southern border, officials have been securing agreements with hotels and motels within and near the city, and are progressively expanding their search to more distant locations to find additional space.

“The hotel is in the center of town,” Melius is quoted saying in the Post. “You don’t need any transit when you get here.”

He said that the Quality Inn facility itself has a restaurant, catering hall, and guest-use kitchens.

“This would be very good for me, this would be very good for the city, and very good for the migrants,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”

Massena Mayor Gregory M. Paquin expressed concerns, suggesting that the village of Massena might be at a disadvantage with such an arrangement. He highlighted that Melius has outstanding taxes for the St. Lawrence County property spanning at least two years. Additionally, there seems to be uncertainty regarding how long Melius will retain control of the property to even host the guests he’s proposing to bring in.

“The last date of redemption is this upcoming week,” Paquin said. “The owner has given no indication that he intends to come here and pay what he owes in back taxes. Obviously, we would be dead set against this plan. I feel his other property, Oheka Castle, which goes for $400 to $1,200 a night, would be much better suited for his plan.”

In the Post article, Melius confirmed he has no intention of offering rooms at his luxury hotel, a site associated with a 2014 attempted murder incident. Mayor of Massena described Melius as not having a beneficial impact on the community. He has accumulated around $380,000 in unpaid taxes, owed to the village, water and sewer district, school district, and county for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. Melius has been the owner of the property since July 1999, having acquired it for $1 million.

“I seriously doubt this individual has ever been here or ever intends to come here,” Paquin said. “It is these absentee landlords with no connection to the community and no care for their properties that give us the most troubles, time and again.”

The Adams administration in NYC has yet to give the green light for relocating migrants to Massena. They seem to be hesitant about resorting to housing solutions located at such a distance from the city, as most of the services provided to immigrants have been centered within the city itself. On Monday, a spokesperson from city hall acknowledged being informed of the proposal and mentioned that it’s currently under review.

“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,” a mayoral spokesperson said. “We continue to call on our state and federal partners to provide the necessary support.”