Saturday, January 19, 2013

Renovation of Loews Regency Benefits Sandy Victims

The Loews Regency Hotel, which closed for renovations at the beginning of January and is scheduled to reopen by fall of 2013, had planned to sell all of the hotel's furnishings to a liquidator. However, after Superstorm Sandy devastated the area, Loews Hotels & Resorts decided to donate more than 3,600 pieces of furniture to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.

A Coney Island senior center badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy on recently received a truckload of refrigerators, rugs, conference tables and televisions that, until recently, serviced the Loews Regency Hotel.
[see ElectricWeb | Blogger, Nov 12, 2012]

"A week after the storm, we realized that there was going to be a tremendous need to help people rebuild their homes and community centers," explained Jonathan Tisch, company chairman.

"We made a decision to work with the Mayor's Fund and give them access to the entire building. "

Some of the donated items will be used in temporary housing, while others will be donated to nonprofit organizations that were affected.

"A significant part of the city's rebuilding effort is focused on providing the necessary support to nonprofits and service providers in the most storm-impacted communities," said Mayor's Fund president Megan Sheekey.

This week, some of those furnishings went to the Surfside Senior Center in Coney Island, which was flooded with more than two feet of water when the storm hit and has not yet reopened. .

All of the hotel's furnishings are less than 10 years old, and as four-star hotel, are in excellent shape,

"As we started to see the pain and dislocation that Superstorm Sandy was causing, we immediately knew that we needed to donate as much as we could of the pieces that were coming out of the hotel."

TheElectricWeb.com applauds the decision by Loews Hotels & Resorts to put people ahead of profits.