Not the kind of ad one would expect for an SRO. Were it to continue, it might include, "On-site 12-step meetings, high school equivalency classes and case management; dining room serving low-cost meals -- and an association of tenants committed to supporting each other and staying drug-free and employed."

Most of the 74 studio apartments in the Peter Jay Sharp Residence are occupied by graduates of The Doe Fund's Ready, Willing & Able program. Men and women who bonded together on street-cleaning crews now meet in the communal living room when they come home from their jobs -- mainstream jobs -- jobs as doormen, cooks, stock clerks, mailroom assistants, receptionists, security guards, painters, porters -- good, but low-paying jobs -- first-rung jobs they hope, in time, will lead to promotions and pay raises. Until then, thanks in large part to The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, they enjoy the amenities of a Park Avenue building without the price tag. Their apartments rent for around $325 a month.

The neighborhood can be rough -- 117th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues -- an area known to be dangerous and drug ridden, especially at night. In fact, the Peter Jay Sharp Residence has increased property values and improved the neighborhood. As one resident put it, "People around here know what we're about. They know to keep their drugs off our block. We aren't buying."

While the Peter Jay Sharp Residence might be an anomaly among SROs, it is not so in the context of The Doe Fund. The philosophy of the program has always been to treat its participants with dignity and respect -- and that includes providing them with clean, safe and aesthetically pleasing surroundings. Anyone who has visited The Doe Fund's transitional facilities would be hard-pressed to think of them as "homeless shelters." They are immaculate; the mattresses are thick; the comforters soft; the food great.

"The quality of the facility has an impact on the quality of the people's lives and their sense of self-worth," George McDonald believes. "If you have a place that's first-class, they're going to feel they're being treated well and respond in kind."

What turned the Peter Jay Sharp Residence into a first-class facility, according to George, was a generous grant from The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, founded by the late Peter Jay Sharp, who once owned The Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue and 76th Street. A prominent New York real estate developer and builder, Sharp was a man of impeccable taste, a patron of the arts, an accomplished musician, a perfectionist, a philanthropist: a New Yorker. It is the mission of those who now run his foundation to support projects they feel reflect his spirit.

"The beauty of the building is what The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation paid for," George says. "The wall coverings and carpets, the furniture and art, the tiles on the floor. The Peter Jay Sharp Residence is The Carlyle for the working poor. The fact that we spared no expense to make it a first-class facility certainly follows in the tradition of The Carlyle -- and The Doe Fund."

"The success of a true 'grand-luxe' hotel lies in a certain standard in the way the rooms are put together," says Norman Peck, President and Director of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and a long-time friend and business partner of its founder. "The Peter Jay Sharp Residence was put together by people who were really thinking about what it is like to come home at the end of the day, having worked hard and struggled within yourself in an environment that is still rather new and, perhaps, threatening. It's important to live in clean, comfortable and secure circumstances, to have a sense that when you close your door, it's your castle."

The secret to creating that kind of ambience is in the details, Peck believes, a concept he learned from Peter Jay Sharp himself. "Peter was an extremist when it came to details," he recalls. "There was nothing that he overlooked."

The Peter Jay Sharp Residence is replete with carefully considered details. Peck's personal favorite is the soft leather recliner that is placed in every room. "That is a glorious touch," he says. "The idea of coming home and tilting back in your lazy-boy is a lovely and comfortable image. Peter would have been very, very pleased."

Peter would have been pleased overall, Peck says, with the way The Doe Fund has approached the problem of homelessness, which is in keeping with the way Sharp approached, both, his business and philanthropic endeavors.

Peter was a bottom-line kind of guy," Peck explains. "That's why the directors of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, which he personally chose -- Edmund Duffy, Jack Nash, Dan Lufkin and myself -- are all, basically, businessmen. You couldn't find more bottom-line kind of guys. We were all absolutely taken by what George McDonald was doing. The program was appealing because it took a pragmatic approach to homelessness, which, from our point of view, made a lot of sense. At the end of the day, The Doe Fund is making it happen because they are facing the realities and dealing with the underlying causes of homelessness. They're giving people a structure, which is work, to hang their lives on. It got a result and that result looked better than any other we have seen. The ultimate result is people who have been brought through their difficulties to a point where they can be productive and valued citizens of this city of ours. The bottom line is the successful restoration of individuals, which is a wonderful thing. There is no question that The Doe Fund would have appealed to Peter Jay Sharp. It's just his kind of thing."