Posted on July 8, 2014 by Anna Altman in The New York Times The New York Times, By Anna Altman On June 30, hundreds of Elmhurst, Queens, residents gathered to protest the sudden transformation of a neighborhood hotel, the Pan American, into an emergency homeless shelter. Families rallied outside a meeting between shelter operators and the city, and they brought their children, who flashed signs in Chinese and in English — “No Homeless Shelter in Elmhurst” and “2, 4, 6, 8, who do we NOT appreciate? Hobos hobos hobos!”