Fire Ignites In Cellar Of Shuttered Illegal UWS Hotel: FDNY

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A fire broke out within a former illegal Upper West Side hotel Monday morning that also required a hazmat response due to a propane tank, an FDNY spokesperson told Patch.

The blaze ignited around 9:07 a.m. within the cellar of the seven-story building at 117 West 79th Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus), the FDNY said.

The flames were under control by 10:01 a.m., but a hazmat response was also needed at the hotel due to propane tanks in the cellar.

The FDNY did not say if the propane tanks played a part in the cause of the fire. A spokesperson told Patch that the cause of the fire was under investigation.

No injuries were reported.

The city shut down the Park 79 Hotel at the address in 2016 after it was supposed to be used as single-room occupancy (SRO) housing, but owners instead operated it as a tourist hotel.

A deal was reached in 2020, though, on a planned $60 million conversion of the out-of-business and illegal Upper West Side hotel into an affordable housing residence for senior citizens.

The real estate developer Fairstead has partnered with the older adult service provider Project FIND to turn the Park 79 Hotel at 117 West 79th Street near Columbus Avenue into an affordable housing residence with 77 "high quality" units for senior citizens.

Read More: $60M Deal Reached To Turn Old UWS Hotel Into Affordable Housing