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When Covenant House/Under 21, the respected organization founded by the Rev. Bruce Ritter to shelter and aid runaway youth, purchased the Times Square Motor Hotel three years ago, its legion of fulltime residents applauded the move.
"We thought it was great. Since it's a church-run operation, we'd get a lot of compassion from these people," said Pat Carden, a hotel resident for 13 years.
Another resident, Laura Engle, envisioned a hotel that would welcome longterm, single-room occupancy residents and add Covenant House administrative offices. "There was a lot of talk about how we would be safe," she recalled.
Instead, Carden and Engle contend, they and about 330 other permanent residents were subjected to a pattern of poor service, verbal harassment and physical separation from higher-paying, transient occupants of the West 43rd Street hotel.
In July, a dozen tenants rebelled, launching a rent strike. Last week, the hotel management sued to recover back rents, promising the dispute will be resolved in court. Another 25 or more have refused to pay rent, citing complaints about service or other...