I will take the designer quarantine package, please!
Some happy New Yorkers who stayed at taxpayer-funded quarantine hotels in the city received gifted designer items from the Coach as a farewell gift for the safe completion of quarantine.
Sam Sabo, 32, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was staying at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in Queens in November when he was presented with what looked like a $ 350 Katy Satchel Coach bag on the way out after completing an eight-day quarantine.
“It was very strange,” Sabo told New York Post regarding the receipt of the luxury item – which is no longer available on the company’s website, but can be purchased at a discounted price of $ 140 in the Coach Outlet.
“In the end, they gave me a free coach bag as a thank you for staying in this quarantined hotel. So, a strange experience, but generally difficult to complain about.
In addition to receiving a free designer bag, Sabo received his own “private room, three meals a day and really good care from the nurses.”
“I have to say that the whole system is incredibly impressive,” he told the New York Post.
The hotel also had a range of heels, moccasins and other bag options for residents to choose from – all donated by the Coach Foundation as part of a $ 2 million community support initiative. Most of the designer products were distributed in quarantine hotels.
A NYC Health + Hospitals spokesman told the New York Post that free bags were part of a recent initiative in March 2021, when the Coach Foundation offered to make a one-time donation of its products to help New Yorkers receiving coronavirus care in the city. . public health system.
Scroll down for video
Sam Sabo, 32, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, received a Katy Satchel Coach bag (pictured) on his way out of his stay at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in Queens in November.
Katy Satchel was originally retailed for $ 350 from the brand, but is now only available on its website for a reduced retail price of $ 140
The 32-year-old performer chose to stay in the quarantine hotel – which is available to all eligible New Yorkers – after catching the virus to isolate himself from his roommate and being pulled away by staff while waiting for his free taxi at home and was informed that he would receive the luxury item.
“They said, ‘The taxi driver has to go, but we have a parting gift for you if you want to take it,'” he told the New York Post.
“I was so tired of being here at the time, but [I thought] “Okay, okay, whatever this parting gift is, cool.” So I drop my bags in the cab and they lead me to this table, which is full of Coach purses.
“To go from something that is so limited – a hotel, but with hospital facilities, very spartan, efficient and clean, absolutely no luxury – and then go out with a bag – was a surprise.”
The Coach Foundation has teamed up with NYC Health + Hospitals, which is responsible for quarantine hotels, such as the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in Queens, to offer a one-time donation of luxury goods to help those who receive city-funded coronavirus aid.
He had stayed at the hotel (pictured) for eight days near Thanksgiving to protect his roommate from the virus. He received the bag as a farewell gift from the hotel
“Now I have this Coach bag. That’s a really good story for the icebreaker, “he told the New York Post.
Sabo was not the only guest to receive the bag.
A 34-year-old man who spoke anonymously to the New York Post said he also received a designer item.
“When you leave, they arrange your laundry and then they tell you that you have a gift that comes from the coach, which is the funniest thing – why would you get a gift for this whole thing?” – said the man.
– You take the elevator to the lobby and just when you are discharged, behind a retractable rope there is a pile of bags of the coach and you go up and choose what you want and someone behind the rope hands it to you.
“It is already a gift that the city takes care of you to such an extent during this crisis and, on top of that, you are being rewarded for it,” he told the newspaper.
The man, who was visiting California, chose a wallet key and gave it to his brother’s girlfriend. When he received COVID-19 again a few months later and stayed at another hotel, he did not receive a parting gift.
Who is eligible for the free quarantine hotel in New York?
New Yorkers who test positive for coronavirus can choose to stay for free at one of the city’s partner hotels.
Residents must meet certain requirements in order to qualify, such as living with roommates or family members.
The city says residents are eligible if:
- Your home has no place to stand six feet from the others
- You share rooms or a bathroom
- You live with someone who is vulnerable
Rooms are also available to those who are not infected but live with someone who is.
To get started, call 311 or 844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692) and the service provider will go through the next steps after assessing the patient’s symptoms.
Source: New York Government
DailyMail.com contacted Coach and Szabo for comment.
At the same hotel, some residents not only received a free designer bag, but can bring cigarettes and weed.
Residents are allowed to carry cigarettes and marijuana with them, which must be handed over to the nurse on arrival.
Patients will be allowed to smoke during their three daily breaks. However, alcohol not allowed inside the residence.
Jonathan Martin, 21, of Queens, who stayed at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in January, said staff had taken his lawn and put it in a plastic bag when he arrived. He was returned to his rest.
Martin, a cafe manager, stayed at the hotel for five days until he completed his quarantine. He said he was grateful to be able to bring marijuana with him to help him “relax.”
“It’s nice to relax when I’m stuck in a room … alone for five days,” he told the New York Post outside the hotel, where he was watched by staff during his 15-minute break.
He also said staff carefully inspected his sealed bottle of pomegranate juice when he arrived to make sure there was no alcohol in it.
At one point, the city was considering allowing staff to serve, finding that guests refuse the quarantine option when alcohol is banned, leading to harmful exposure to the virus to people they live with.