Travelers looking for a convenient place to stay near La Guardia won't be able to book a room at LaGuardia Plaza Hotel for much longer. Located just one mile from the Queens airport, the hotel will close in March of next year.
The 358-room property at 104-04 Ditmars Blvd, which boasts an indoor pool, has had a troubled past.
In 2004, its owner, Martin Field, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the property and another one he owned, a Holiday Inn, located near John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to published news reports at the time, Mr. Field defaulted on more than $87 million in city-backed bonds that originally financed the hotels' construction.
The hotelier also appeared on a list in 2000 of companies and their officers who owe the city business taxes. The city said Mr. Field owed more than $1.2 million in occupancy taxes for a Days Inn hotel near LaGuardia Airport.
Over the years, there have also been labor walkouts at his properties. Local 6, which represent hotel workers, won an election at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel but it has never been able to secure a contract with management, according to sources familiar with the situation.
“There has been picketing at that hotel for years,” said one source.
The LaGuardia Plaza Hotel, which employs 64 workers, will close in March 2012, according to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor.
A hotel manager declined to comment and Mr. Field did not immediately return a phone call. The reason stated for the closure is “economic.” The property used to be part of the Crowne Plaza chain, but last year it became and independent hotel.
The parent corporation for the property, Field Associates, is located in Valley Forge, Pa.
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