The Lucerne Hotel, located at 201 West 79th Street on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue, will soon be utilized as a “temporary de-densification site” to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at two East Village shelters. The anticipated move-in date is July 27, at which point 283 residents of these shelters will be relocating to The Lucerne. It has not yet been determined how long the stay will last.
JUNE 2021: COURT RULES TO SHUT DOWN LUCERNE HOTEL HOMELESS SHELTER
The residents will be coming from Kenton Hall Men’s Shelter, which houses “homeless men on methadone maintenance,” and from the Third Street Men’s Shelter, which “helps tenants to work toward health, sobriety, housing, and jobs.”
This news was announced in an email from Helen Rosenthal, and the upcoming shelter site will be overseen by Project Renewal. The organization will provide more than 50 staff members dedicated to operations, social services and security.
Project Renewal will also supply the Lucerne with masks for residents and staff, and will provide residents with three daily meals delivered to their doors. The non-profit states that all incoming residents will have gotten tested for COVID-19, and those who test positive will not be housed at The Lucerne.
Project Renewal has also informed the 283 oncoming residents of their “Good Neighbor Policy”, and states that those who do not adhere to it will be transferred to other shelter sites.
Nice Matin will be overjoyed
My immediate thoughts ?
…no question mark…just crying face
Always great for a safe community to import a pile of junkies, who will bring a ton more of baggage (robbery, assault, sexual offenders). Wonderful way to punish one of the most family friendly places in the city for paying their taxes.
XStacy: We CAN do this! I AM WITH YOU. I would absolutely love for us all to come together for a meeting. I will give all I have and all my energy toward this to save our sacred neighborhood.
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
This is really dumb idea. These people need medical care. Wouldn’t it be more helpful if the Mayor had his wife get involved and provide care for these people in a proper facility? I won’t hold my breath for such common sense or accountability. Residents are commonly seen wandering he neighborhood under the influence and without masks
That would be a great idea. However, the mayor’s wife would have to find the 850 million dollars her Thrive project was given..
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
This is a DHS issue. Sam Domb leased the hotel. He doesn’t know who DHS is housing. DHS employees dont look at the neighborhoods or the impact on the neighborhood. They are just trying to house these individuals. That’s why complaints do work. If it becomes a nuisance they move them.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/mail/html/maildhs.html
It’s DHS, but I spoke to Linda Rosenthal’s office today and the funding is 100% FEMA. This operation was planned and executed from D.C. If we listen to the executive branches constant criticism of liberal urban areas, it’s not a huge leap of logic to suspect this was intentional.
this is a really weak redirect, Feds would have nothing to do with this
Honestly does Rosenthal do anything other than having UWS taking in more homeless shelter residents?
It does seem to be her priority.
THANK YOU
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
This link does not work
Regarding Rosenthal’s: Linda B Rosenthal’s office is on this and working to help our community. Helen Rosenthal is term-limited out and a lame duck with no regard for the community she represents. Important to make the distinction.
Great. ?
I have no words. WHY?? The Lucerne? Really??
Sighing…hard…
I just…
;(
The UWS is becoming a dump. But maybe it will move the homeless men camped out in the middle of 82nd Street somewhere.
It’s breaking my heart…
And yes! You’re absolutely right…
Oh they will. Coming to a hotel near you.
/s
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
This will not be temporary believe me…. this is for good…
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
Why the upper west side? Rosenthal should take a walk right away around the W. 72 St. subway area to see how many homeless are there right now. Maybe she and her staff should camp out with them in Verdi Park.
Why did the owners of Lucene agree, if they did, to move from an upscale hotel to a another UWS dump? I bet the restaurant there will be closing very soon. The newcomers will not make for ideal customers.
Don’t ever vote for Rosenthal for anything. She’s just as bad when it comes to allowing bicycle lanes on the UWS.
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
Let the mayor’s wife build a residence for them with the $850 mil she swindled. Why do people keep voting these vomitus politicians in??
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
You have destroyed our home
It is truly devastating…a huge shame. We have kept things so sacred and beautiful and warm and safe here for an eternity. The ENERGY alone…
Sorry, not an eternity. Only about 30-40 years. This is just what happened when I was a child and they managed to turn the Upper West Side into a fear ridden “slum” by 1960. It didn’t begin to turn around till the mid-1980s. Could happen again. Certainly anyone who owns an apartment in the neighborhood should be very concerned.
Margaret – can you join our FB group? https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
I think you would be a terrific person to have on our TEAM:)
Jene, can you please just shut up!
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
Obviously a disaster. Seen this movie before. Where is CB7? Not helping residents, as usual. Lots of kids there. Lots of nearby businesses already under stress. Moving trucks fill our streets. Where is the money for these programs coming from next year when our tax base is withered by driving tax-payers out? ENOUGH!
Pls call Mark Diller at CB7 and Helen Rosenthal to complain! I have a call with her tomorrow to once again complain. I emailed Mark to get time (again) with him. We need to fill her and his calendar with calls to discuss this very issue so they have no choice but to actually do something!
There goes the neighborhood… literally.
Please….
The enduring beauty of the Upper West Side (resident on and off since 1975) is the neighborhood quality. Families walking their dogs; all the services you need to live, nearby; relative safety compared to other neighborhoods. On the outside a noble goal, but let’s read between the lines here. Has anyone done an impact study? Will the hotel remain open and continue to serve their customers? Who decided that this is the best and highest purpose for a “treasured landmark building erected in 1904”. There are lots of currently un-occupied properties that could fulfill this worthy mission.
Isn’t there anything we can do about this? Is there anyone who can stop this? If they are turning this beautiful neighborhood into a slam, at least reduce the taxes! This is an absolute shame
I would love to know if there is something we can all do as a community to come together to stop this…I would be 500% 24/7 on board with this and do all that I could to keep this extremely strong and very supported! This is hurting my soul…
Couldn’t agree more 🙁
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
Hoping you’ll join us!
ALL OF NYC IS BECOMING A DUMP..JUST WHAT SOCIALISTS HOPE FOR…
Please remember these are other human beings you are talking about, not trash. My hope is that their suffering will be relieved by this program and I’d like to welcome it to our neighborhood. Let’s give it a chance.
I agree. Helping people — all people — has been the shining star in this pandemic. Sorry, not everybody has a perfect life. Everyone needs help sometimes. It will be temporary, but there are no tourists coming to NYC now, so hotels are doing what they can. I wish we could just move homeless people into empty apartments, since most of their problems with drugs, mental health stress, etc. would be greatly reduced with the security of a home.
Yes, Lori…move them in right next to you in your apartment….you in your apartment and all the other apartments housing the homeless…you would like that?
Security of a home is nonsense. Do you know any heroin addicts? They don’t care where they live or if they eat – they only care about when their next fix is and where it’s coming from. They will do unthinkable things to get the money they need to buy their drugs – heroin is a vicious drug. This is coming from someone whose sister suffered for 7 years with an opioid addiction. It takes many failed attempts before a heroin addict gets clean…and stays clean.
Thank God ?…a reasonable voice among all the Hysteria!
No
The Third Street Men’s Shelter was the scourge of the neighborhood before gentrification got the upper hand in the East Village. Now we have that population shifted to the Upper West Side. First the Belleclaire, then the Belnord, now the Lucerne.
Helen Rosenthal is really leaving her legacy with us as she is term limited out and hopefully kicked to the curb.
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
Who owns this hotel and why are they letting this happen. They are going to ruin a good hotel, a nice restaurant and a great neighborhood . I think there is more to this story then what were seeing her.
Is there, perhaps, a very profitable government contract involved? I’m not a lawyer, but perhaps some of you who are should take a look at it. Aren’t government contracts open for viewing?
Yes, I believe it should be. I’m going to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act…
My sense is if you look at the Domb Family and their contributions to DeBlasio – you follow that money and it leads right to DHS’s doorstep and these contracts. I cannot figure out any other explanation for this egregious use of taxpayer funds.
They are probably getting paid well to rent their empty rooms to the city. Well enough that they are willing to take on the risk of potential damage. After all the owners don’t stay in the hotel rooms and tourists, whenever they come back, wouldn’t know a thing about it.
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
Never voting for rosenthal ever again for anything. I wrote her office. Her and deblasio need to go away forever.
AGREED. WITHOUT A DOUBT.
Pls call her office. Press extension 203 and you will get voicemail for her scheduler, Joanne. The outgoing message provides Joanne’s cell phone and you can request a phone discussion with Helen. Pls call – I think they just pitch our emails and letters! I have a call with Helen tomorrow after speaking with Joanne on Friday.
DeBlasio and his wife are destroying Manhattan bit by bit. The city needs to be run by either a Bloomberg-like business person or a pre-dementia Giuliani type.
What I’ve been saying for years. We need people who have had to work for a living, not someone whose only income has ever come from being elected to things. Career politicians have no idea how to run anything, all they know about is running for things.
We should have a big protest or a community board meeting
Yes – totally agree. I am demanding a community meeting from Helen tomorrow when I have a scheduled discussion with her. If she won’t do it, I’m going to ask Mark Diller to assemble one. They have no idea what a thorn in their side I will be until one is held.
I’m with you! What’s a good forum / platform to keep all Upper West siders updated about this and additional info about this issue? Other then this newsletters of course 🙂
I am with youand you are right, we need one platform to communicate with the greater community.
The Lucerne has betrayed us for profit. i am going on Yelp Expedia & Trip Adviser to let tourists know what they did.
OMG! I’m so sorry. I grew up on the West Side iin the 50s and 60s and will always think of it as home. This is exactly parallel to what happened before, in the late 50s. It destroyed the neighborhood, turning the West Side into a “slum” area. It didn’t begin to reverse until late in the 1980s. I guess you could call that temporary, if you dont mind waiting 30-40 years. But even then 79th street held out. This is a looming disaster!
Amen. Such horrid reactions, hence “reactionary.” Very — no, quintessentially — NIMBY, and very illiberal.
Incidentally, Rosenthal’s announcement says that homeless who cannot adhere to the so-called Good Neighbor policy “can potentially” be relocated, not “will be” relocated as the article above stated. There’s a big difference between the wordings.
Why is the Upper Westside continually being targeted as the ‘perfect place/location’ to house the homeless?? Especially people who are ‘recovering’ junkies and alcoholics? Aren’t there any available hotels on the Upper Eastside??
Let’s not forget about the men’s homeless shelter at 106 West 83rd St and how poorly that shelter is run.
I’m afraid it will take a child or an adult being attacked and/or seriously injured before anything is done to halt the influx of Homeless Shelters…..
This makes me weep. Sorry, but these homeless people deserve to live. They aren’t any different from us.
Ken, I don’t think anyone here is arguing they don’t. I think people are just wondering why, out of all the empty building in NYC, are they brought to luxurious hotels, located in the middle of a residential neighborhood, filled with children and schools?
Well said Anna!!! I just took a walk and here’s what i can tell you on Day 1
– we have already experienced petty theft among our local tradespeople
-an iphone was taken
– People are being eye-balled for their belongings
– RIGHT now folks are eating outdoors on Amsterdam and being harassed
– Men who are half stoned out of their minds are shuffling through the street and they are not fit to be in public – they need help that cannot be found on our pavement and sidewalks
– Pairs of 2 are buying up little bottles of alcohol and drinking them on the streets
But rest assured, they will enjoy the terrific digs at The Lucerne which certainly is running north of $250+ a night.
I don’t know how this rehabilites anyone – it just kicks the can down the lane and frankly takes us with it.
They are completely different from “us” (assuming we don’t make terrible choices and use narcotics). An astrophysicist and a bum on 75th street with track marks on his arm aren’t exactly the same thing.
Being a neighbor is about building and contributing to a community together, not just physical proximity.
So to clear about few things
1. UWS it’s not targeted, the whole city it’s been turned in to a slum by liberal politicians all because it’s presidential election year , hopping to get few extra votes
2. The are 140 + hotels turned in to homeless shelter ( supposedly because of covid ) . Nobody believes that, in a normal environment they’ll place this people outside for the city, far from the drug dealers on a decent price ( not 300$ a night )
3. Who is holding accountable this mayor for spending our money on luxury hotels , and let’s be honest how many of this people will rehabilitate . And also who’s holding the mayor accountable for the crime they’re committing everybody day
4. The message we send to our young ones is : regardless of your bad decision and behavior you’ll be in the better place then hard working people, that’s the message is been sent to them every day
Is this the world we live in ????
4.
And… The police are so severely restricted as to what they’ll now do, for fear of suspension or firing, that you’ll basically have a bunch of homeless meth heads running amuck smack dab in the middle of the Upper West Side, where countless families call home, and children walk to and from school. They’ll have no regard for the neighborhood – they have no personal connection to the UWS. I don’t need a crystal ball to know that this will be one big f’king disaster.
AMEN!!
It will be a horror show. They should build a shelter by Gracie mansion
EXACTLY!!!
I don’t have words for this. I work in Social Services and I’m all for helping other people — but that was a beautiful boutique hotel and I will greatly miss staying there.
I can assure you 9 out of 10 people will agree that this is a disaster and the whole neighborhood has been going downward even pre -covid. Problem is folks for some reason are afraid to raise the angst of a mob that contributes nothing to society. We just need one leader who will stand up and fight for normalcy. I guaranty upper west siders will fall in line. We need to vote out every single CB 7 member and local politician otherwise it will just get worse and worse. Why do we have to go through the 60’s and 70s again when most people DO NOT agree with these progressive policies!
Completely agree!!!! Only voting for new people who will stand up for their residents instead of allowing a beautiful neighborhood to turn back into a slum will change this situation. And this was going on pre-Covid. Please remember this when we VOTE. We need new strong leaders who will turn things around.
Is anyone open to holding protest? I would totally be beside you if you do.
Many of you complaining voted for these communist leaders that are destroying NYC. How deblasio got a second term boggles the mind. You made your bed, now lie in it. It will get worse, and BTW your property taxes will increase.
Perhaps we could start with bombarding Rosenthal’s email expressing our concerns? This is her email: Helen@helenrosenthal.com
Our friends and neighbors have already sent her several emails. She should know that the neighborhood community is against this and will not keep silent!
Instead please call her office – press extension 203 and the outgoing mssg has her scheduler’s cell phone number. Demand a phone discussion with Helen. I have a call tomorrow at 1pm and I told her scheduler to tell Helen that she better have better answers for me than the ones I’ve already heard. And to expect Helen’s calendar fill up for calls to discuss this issue.
Will do, thanks!!!
Let’s all start posting on the FB group so that we can keep everything in one place 🙂
please join Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
This email doesn’t work
Al of you complaining about this voted for this. You all voted for this pig of a woman.
Not me, I would’ve never voted for her
There are so many vacant properties in the city: school buildings, hospitals that closed. Why not use them? It will be cost efficient and will not destroy the fabric of the neighborhood. I can only imagine what the city is going to pay to the hotel for their services with our tax money. Maybe it is time to elect someone who is less radical and more caring about the city.
Really depressing seeing our beautiful, safe neighborhood slowly going down the drain. I stopped walking on Broadway because of the Belleclaire and Belnord “new residents”. Occupying the benches, often drinking and being loud. This is absolutely insane…
Welcome to the *new* NYC!
As a homeowner in Hell’s Kitchen, we have seen our neighborhood transformed overnight – 2,100 homeless New Yorkers have been placed here in recent months!
Panhandling is the LEAST of our issues – there’s an uptick in crime and a downhill spiral for our quality of life. Urban Pathways has not shown one bit of concern about enforcing the “good neighbor” policy.
PS – According to my Community Board rep, the city is paying ABOVE rack rates for these hotel rooms!
I called the cops the other day when 2 men was shooting up drugs and throwing needles on 78th street , and nobody showed up . Will be a lot worse then 70’s and 80’s , because now the police is restricted by the liberal politicians . We are on our own , as residents and tax payers we need to get together and fix this before gets worse . If we only complain and do nothing , things are not gonna change for better
Let’s arrange a protest and get everyone we know there !
What directives can a city council member give to the police within that member’s own district to control increases in crime, harassment, homelessness, etc…?
What police Eric? The police are being defunded. Perhaps you haven’t heard, but many call the police for minor incidences and they do not show up. We need to defund the marxist communists that run our city. We need to stand united as a people against these leaders….and we need to do it now. Look at deblasio’s background, and you will see who NYC voted as their mayor. It’s an outrage…the silent ones are waking up.
Any future council member governing the 6th district better damn-well pledge to immediately put a moratorium on any new homeless/drug rehab shelters – I’m talking first day in office. And give the city 90 days to re-home any existing residents elsewhere. Why should we, who work our tails off to afford a uniquely special place like the UWS, be asked to have our safety and well-being compromised? Since when does a recovering meth addict have more rights than those who make up the fabric of the community? And enough with this anti-police crap. Stop and frisk worked, and it needs to be brought back. And by the way, those who benefitted most from stop and frisk were the law abiding citizens living in the roughest of neighborhoods.
The classism I’m these comments is disgusting. You should be ashamed of your lack of compassion for other human beings.
Mike – call me after you are attacked by a meth head living in nicer housing than you are, and paid for by you.
We were considering moving out of New York City but were trying to hang on with high hopes. But this was the clincher. Why stay here now? I hope the homeless get the help they need even if it is in a luxury hotel. I mean, yes, let’s help the homeless, but not like this. Good-bye New York City.
If this were really about ‘helping people’ that would be one thing, but this seems to reek more about the almighty $$$. People lived in that hotel as tenants and others were employed as hotel staft, not security guards.
There are only ~200 rooms oin that hotel, some of them large suites, so I’m sure it will now be fully booked above rack rates. Having lived down the block from a methadone clinic in the past, I can assure everyone it is not fun, but I suppose recovering sobriety from heroin on the lovely velvet settees in the lobby of The Lucerne will make it all better.
This isn’t about classism or privilege or selfishness, so those of you who are ready to welcome your new neighbors, have fun. There a variety of other options and avenues to consider to actually provide rehabilitative services in a controlled supervised environment. I am neither wringing my hands nor up in arms. This is real. This simply does not bode well.
I would suggest that those who think this is a beautiful idea are in for a very rude awakening. As someone who saw this sort of thing destroy two different neighborhoods in the past, one of them this very area, current residents have my profound sympathy. At least it’s hitting you all at once this time, not creeping up as it did before. So you might have a chance to do something in time.
You supposed “woke”upper wealthy siders are all just ridiculous. Your over the top reactions are truly amazing.
To the minority who think us ,the concerned neighborhood citizens, are over reacting – have you been staying in the neighborhood these past few months? Are you still here? Or did you leave the City?
Let me tell you what’s going on here ever since they turned 2 lovely hotels to shelters – Broadway is a mess. There gatherings of the shelter tenets outside the hotels, and on benches along Broadway. Drinking, being loud, begging for money. And this is just during the day. I’m not even mentioning the increase in crime rate, which I don’t have evidence is connected, so I won’t make any assumptions – I’ll just say what I see.
I for one don’t feel safe or enjoy walking on Broadway anymore. And I’m sure it won’t get any better with turning Lucerne into a shelter as well.
Yes, we are still here. I have seen the same people asking for money on our streets for over 15 years. I have never felt unsafe waling our streets. And quite frankly there are so many places out of business and empty storefronts that are all a major part of the issue on the upper west side not these shelters. The upper west side is a ghost town because greedy landlords have run out family owned businesses that have been here for over 50 years – all for more rent. COVID has made it worse.
Wrong. I know people that own a business on the UWS and their landlord has been great. Most of these vacancies are not being rented because over the last year because the UWS has become an outdoor shelter of people yelling out for money while sitting in front of stores, usually drinking, fighting, yelling and spitting. Who would want to invest their hard earned money when they see this up and down the streets. I live there and this is exactly what I see, an enormous amount of shelters are being put in, and Broadway may feel safe to you, a man but excuse me, there are many women and children that deserve to feel safe too.
Couldn’t agree more!
15 years? I’ve been a full and part time Upper Westsider since 1947. That’s 72 years in case you can’t count. I saw the neighborhood destroyed and rebuilt slowly. You have no idea what could be coming at you.
Margaret – Badaboom! I know exactly what you mean because my grandma lived here through the bad days and i lived here with her to see it come out on top! WE know what this can turn into – Verdi Park WAS named NEEDLE Park for a reason!!
Remember it well. No fear as a little kid cause there wasn’t anything to fear. Then one of the mayors (not sure which one but pre-Wagner) dumped loads of very poor people on us. People left. Hey presto we were a slum and we got the West Side Urban Renewal Project which completed the devastation and made lots of money for the construction industry. We hung on as long as we could but eventually had to move. As a teenager I couldn’t put my nose outside the door after dark unless I was traveling by cab with at least one parent. And even daytime wasn’t entirely safe. By the time I was 16 we had had it. It was just too nerve wracking. I frequently visited the West Side even after moving, but there were only a few streets that were reasonably safe till well into the 90s. I’ve been so happy to see the turnaround so this is making me terribly worried.
You seem to be picking your particular bogeyman with the loss of retail shops which I certainly lament as well, but this has NOTHING to do with that! For now, there is no realistic legal recourse on storefronts, but the situation with these homeless hotels is strictly a political one, and must have a political solution!
Marisa Maack was also involved in the negotiations. She is taking calls to discuss her side, feel free to call her at 332 215 6132 to give your opinion.
Marisa Maack
Chief of Staff
City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, 6th District
She is useless and only advocates for the homeless – she has no interest in hearing constituent concerns. I’d like to protest outside her apt everyday until she starts making better decisions.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/homeless-man-death-punch-shelter-article-1.2585978\
A bit of historical background…
And some info on what will be going on AT The Lucerne – how methadone will be distributed and what concrete concerns they will face (from OD’ing, crime/theft of drugs from other homeless residents, and inconsistent care)
https://www.thecity.nyc/health/2020/4/26/21247076/methadone-delivered-direct-to-homeless-and-other-isolated-new-yorkers
FROM THE ARTICLE:
There are myriad logistical issues with this new approach, starting with the ability to keep the methadone supply at the hotels in a secure spot.
Buhle said that each patient will get their own lockbox and key “to prevent other people from accessing the medication.”
And since it is possible to overdose on methadone, it’s crucial that the dosage regimen be monitored by medical staff on site. City health staff will also be delivering supplies of naloxone, the anti-overdose drug.
DHS officials have said they have clinicians at all five of the hotels they’re using, though tenants have told THE CITY that coverage is spotty. And at least one shelter virus-infected resident DHS deemed had “mild” symptoms died while staying at a hotel.
Until recently, the Office of Emergency Management was relying on nurses to make phone “wellness checks” without actually being on site. That changed after three men died at a hotel in Times Square last weekend and Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered medical oversight to be improved at all isolation hotels.
This is the kind of place (as described above) – where 3 men DIED! Additionally, this is being located diagonal from a school and one block away from 2 others – what on EARTH are the folks in charge of relocation THINKING?
And where oh WHERE is all this money coming from? This stinks to high heaven. I cannot imagine where we have come up with the money to house homeless in prime hotel rooms on the UWS. I’m not sure which feels worse – knowing the absolute dread of what will face our community come Monday morning or the larger issue of how the city expects us to pick up the tab. I’m not sure i can stomach either and it’s the first time I’ve thought that in 30+ years…so sad to feel so powerless.
Suggestion if it’s helpful: Ronald Domb is listed as president of The Lucerne AND The Belnord. The Domb Family (father is Sam) owns The Empire Hotel Group, with various local contact #s.
Regent Hotel and its principal Sam Domb each gave the max $2,800
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-de-blasio-campaign-president-donors-business-before-city-20190718-iymtfwmjk5e4xnzse4wwket5cy-story.html
Big donors to DeBlasio – did anyone see that coming?!!!
Go on Yelp Expedia and Trip adviser and tell tourists about the Lucerne.
Does anyone know a journalist this whole story might be of interest to??
Jon Levine – NY Post is my best guess – i’ve tried to reach him on LinkedIn because i can’t figure out another way to reach him
The Ronald Domb Charitable Foundation is located at 201 W79th St, the address of The Lucerne. There are 3 principal officers and three avenues of income: Ronald, Michelle and Jay Domb. Their personally donated money is then re-donated to other actual agencies, as per 2018 filings.
So we are scandalized that they are philanthropists?
Ha! No, of course not. Don’t be silly
But there are regulations around needing to have non-invested family members on a Board and not solely donating/re-donating the same personal monies. It’s interesting, is all. Especially since they base it out of The Lucerne
Helen Rosenthal’s office will be holding a community Zoom meeting in the coming weeks. Pls sign up for her newsletter (https://helenrosenthal.com/contact/) where she will be posting details. Pls encourage everyone you know to sign up.
i spoke to Helen Rosenthal today. She told that the Lucerne owners ASKED for these people to be placed here. When I asked her to define “temporary”” she said when we have a vaccine, covid is over &Lucerne can function as a hotel. When I asked for a meeting, she said no meeting, no zoom meeting. She told me that the men can come and go as they please because they are humans. I asked what happens when they bring drugs and covid back to neighborhood. She said anyone can bring covid to neighborhood. Finally I asked what she will say to a family when a child or other family member is hurt and she said I don’t know.
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People, Elections matter no matter how big or small. Use your right to vote wisely.
Does anyone what recourse a community has if a councilperson jeopardizes the safety of the community?
We may try filing a petition with the city clerk to recall a council person. I believe it will have to be signed by a certain percentage of the constituents. I think we need an attorney or an expert on the NYC regulations.
I understand there is already a petition going around against this – trying to get it, and will post it here once I do.
Please post a link to sign the petition. We need to band together. In case you’ve not seen it yet, this issue got the cover of the Post tonight – let’s hope we get some action now!
Unfortunately there is no petition as far as I know, it was a mistake. But if anyone else knows of one please post here – I’ll gladly sign and forward to all my friends
I have never done this before but logically we need a leader(S) and lawyer(s) to get this petition going and filed with the right people and not chucked aside. Perhaps get journalists at NY Post involved. We are entitled to leadership that represents the community not the Mayor.
Our children have to go to school soon. Who will protect them? No NYPD in schools.
Rosenthal doesn’t show up. She should have been at Lucerne this morning talking to her constituents.
Has anyone tried putting comments on the Lucerne’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages?
Wishing I could help, but I no longer live in the district. I’m now across town. And they did this to the East Side too. The Bentley was converted a couple of months ago. I got to see the results when I was over at the Animal Medical Center to support a friend with a sick dog recently. Leaving well after dark we encountered a big bunch of rowdy men hanging out on the corner of York Avenue, which can be pretty deserted at the beat of times. Had to wait for a car to pick us up. They left us alone, but …….
Thanks for the TERRIFIC idea – just tagged the articles to their Facebook page:)
Considering there was zero notice provided:
Contact Community Board #7.
Call 212 362 4008 or email office@cb7.org.
Email Helen Rosenthal our NY Council member at helen@helenrosenthal.com.
Email Gale Brewer our Borough President at
info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov.
Who else can we reach out to?
Looks like we have a friend – email Steve Cuozzo/NY Post
https://nypost.com/2020/07/27/hotel-lucerne-on-upper-west-side-converts-to-homeless-shelter/
Thanks for sharing! Reading this makes me even more furious. Feel so helpless. What can we do other than calling Helen and the gang?!
Let’s all start posting on the FB group so that we can keep everything in one place 🙂
please join Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
Team UWS – Seems everyone is activated with nowhere to go/not sure how to follow. Given this – I would be happy to organize a zoom meeting or set up an outdoor meeting spot for all concerned. Please advise how best folks might like to get together and I will endeavor to find a medium to bring us together. We can do this – it is too important to not be heard and have our concerns addressed.
I think your ideas are fantastic and would happily join either meeting. The West 70’s through the West 90’s have such an excessive amount of shelters & supportive housing that it has already overrun our neighborhood. The permanent shelters in the 90’s are not managed well at all and their is no accountability. I told this to Helen Rosenthal in December and now it’s worse. I want these elected officials to hear we won’t stand for it anymore. We are maxed out.
Helen Rosenthal did the same maneuver with the conversation of the St. Louis on West 94th Street to a homeless shelter prior to her last election. There ws an excellent challenger in the primary following this who went virtually ignored by the solid majority of voters that incumbents almost always benefit from. There was a chance to get her out at that time but we lost it. I also detect a greater sense of urgency because it’s West 79th Street and not the West 90’s, which also has an unfair number of shelters.
Alan, you are 100% correct. The West 90s are overrun with shelters and it is disgraceful how much Helen Rosenthal allowed it to happen. This is why I ask our entire neighborhood – 10023, 10024, and 10025 to look out for each other because our UWS has done more than anywhere else and it can no longer handle the VOLUME of shelters. It’s time to keep our UWS the accepting but beautiful safe place to live.
HK resident Holly-Ann Devlin created a Neighborhood Action Committee and spotlighted our community’s uptick in harassment, crime, drug usage, panhandling, etc. via coverage on CBS News.
Sign up for her newsletter: http://www.nycfornyc.com
By working with elected officials and NYPD, she has secured 8 DEDICATED police patrols for the area for 8 weeks.
Team UWS: I will organize an online meeting as well as an outdoor meeting so that we can gather as many people and ideas as possible and also give folks alternate ways to meet. As I pull this together – I’ve located some resources online and from Helen’s newsletter that may be helpful to check into in the meantime (i certainly will do so before we meet):
NYS Tenants & Neighbors Information Service
call (212) 608-4320 or https://tandn.org/
Funding for Tenant Helpline
Mobilization for Justice
http://mobilizationforjustice.org/ or call (212) 417-3888
Funding for legal services for District 6 residents
District 6 Committee for Housing, Homeless & Human Rights: They are supposed to meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month but will not meet until September. Let’s reach out to them sooner. Here’s the head of the committee:
Carin van der Donk, Chair
https://cbsix.org/committee/housing-homeless-human-rights/
Will get up and be at this in the morning:) Feeling much better – feeling the UWS spirit:)
X Stacy please join Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
OK – joined the FB group (although i have left FB for a number of reasons – MZ being the chief one) but should not be a problem as i’m still “active”. Hoping through this medium we can set up the meetings in short order. I heard back from Helen’s office today – they were in disbelief that a neighbor felt threatened that someone eyeballed her necklace…really? That’s what resonated? I asked them to announce their visit (not come down here randomly so we could meet) and to have a real presence so that they could own this. Let’s see but in the meantime following up today with calls to District #6, Gail and the other places i listed to see who is interested in joining our cause:) LOVE THE ENERGY AND FEELING THE UWS LOVE!
Great. Let’s all start posting on the FB group so that we can keep everything in one place 🙂
Community opposition needs to be a unified effort. Random emails and phone calls to the officials responsible for this will likely go unanswered. There is strength in numbers. We are living in a time when protests are organized for every reason under the sun. This is our neighborhood. Our backyard, where we walk, jog, shop, dine and send our kids to school. This is a family community. Perhaps it is worth organizing a protest of our own. Neighbors standing united to voice our concern and opposition to this (following social distancing guidelines of course). Invite the media. Speak up with one voice. This is your home. Step up and protect it.
Thank you XStacy. Be heard Team UWS!
Please sign the petition to have these men removed from our community! And please send the link to everyone you know who is concerned and in support of their removal.
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/275/092/342/fight-for-safety-on-the-upper-west-side/
Signed the petition, but now link is not active????
Was it removed?
The petition site removed my petition – will be working to set up another one.
Let’s all start posting on the FB group so that we can keep everything in one place 🙂
please join Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
Stacy and those who support keeping our neighborhood safe. Please join facebook groups Upper West Siders for Safer Streets.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3199698486785596/members
This morning my mom received a response from Helen Rosenthal. We spoke on the phone at length. She made it very clear that the Lucerne requested homeless people to shelter to make up for lost revenue during Covid and that is why it was chosen. She told us that if we had problems, then we should call Project Renewal, not her. She also told us that the residents can go and come as they please because they are humans. She had no answer when we asked her what happens to the community when they return to the community with Covid. She also had no answer for my daughter when asked what happens if this experiment does not work and a child or anyone gets hurt. Also, when asked what temporary meant, she said until there is a vaccine for Covid. When my mom asked for a Zoom meeting, she said no zoom meetings.
I gave them 1 star on google maps & posted this:
Greedy owners, who are willing to destroy the delicate fabric of a beautiful residential neighborhood for some $$$. You should be ashamed of yourselves. The money you are getting from the city to populate the vacant rooms with homeless people and heroine addicts is directly from the tax we pay! Not only are you jeopardizing the safety of the neighborhood family and children, you are also hurting all the neighborhood business who will loose money because who wants to wine and dine aside homeless people shooting up heroine? We will never ever recommend anyone to stay here again, I hope you go bankrupt.
Ray I was told the owners of the Lucerne went to the Hamptons for the duration. We should also go on Yelp Expedia and Trip Adviser and let tourists know that this is being used as a mens homeless shelter. The city is going to use FEMA money to make any necessary repairs.
Someone said the Childrens Museum is closed and moving. these men could be moved there and then Helen can oversee them from her apartment in the Bromley across the street.
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Who’s up for renting a bus and inviting our new Lucerne neighbors to upgrade to a beautiful Hamptons property courtesy of the Domb family? Surely a few hundred drugged addicts won’t be a bother.
Cue the mob mentality. A Google review take down of a local business (who surely must pay a great deal in property taxes—a fact everyone here seems oblivious to) that just seems to be trying to survive this COVID economic crisis and the political regime that brought us to this point. Surely there are better ways to deal with your fear of homeless men.
Carter, you clearly do not own property in this neighborhood and surely no little about how property taxes work. This is not about a fear of homeless men…
Fnord
If you own any kind of real estate, you pay property taxes, yes? Why would they not pay taxes?
Carter aside from the danger they brought to the neighborhood. The owners of the Lucerne gave no thought to devaluing the one big asset I have, my apartment. Who is going to buy an apartment across the street from a mens drug addicted homeless shelter?
I worked 35 years for that. So excuse me if I don’t feel sorry for the millionaires counting their money in the Hamptons.
I think the last place that methadone addicts should be, is in a city where anything is easily obtainable. Why don’t we pay a rural town that’s struggling financially, and set up infrastructure, including housing, counseling, job skills, etc… The drug addicts can be housed in a place with much less temptation, the costs will be materially lower, and it would provide an economic shot in the arm to the struggling towns. I think there’s a real opportunity for a public-private partnership to make something like this work.
Helen Rosenthal’s recent email states: “Project Renewal has stated that shelter residents who cannot adhere to its “Good Neighbor” policy can potentially be transferred to other shelter sites.”
Can anyone please point to a definition of Project Renewal’s Good Neighbor” policy? This phrase is used but not specified anywhere.
Also, it it curious that residents not adhering to this policy *CAN POTENTIALLY* be transferred… what does this even mean?
So the owners of the Lucerne received $1 – $2 million in Federal bailout loans in April AND still decided to accept FEMA money in connection with Project Renewal for these drug addicted men? Can someone please investigate?
https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/201-west-79th-street-realty-corp-5061af7c36421c299f85e98662772b24?fbclid=IwAR1UvhQlKCwglUNPeWOmoOm3t3yiM18lb01vFb-0cZJGC9cMDsU4_2_5LzQ