NY1 has obtained a September 4 letter from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) addressing complaints about the temporary hotel shelters on the Upper West Side.
In response to those who have argued that these temporary shelters are not offering the homeless residents with the services they need, the letter states:
“All of our facilities, including commercial hotels that are part of our congregate shelter de-density efforts, offer social services. On-site services include case management, permanency planning and housing placement assistance, referrals to medical and mental health services, independent living and life skills workshops, and residential services and support in finding and securing employment. Off-site service linkages continue to include primary healthcare, health/mental health services, substance use treatment, vocational training, employment placement, GED instruction, conflict mediation, and legal services.”
Lucerne Hotel Residents To Be Relocated
In response to concerns about some of the residents who have criminal backgrounds, the letter states:
“In addition to following State Law as relates to residency requirements, we have to follow the law on providing shelter to all who are experiencing homelessness, regardless of background, since New York is under court order to provide shelter to all those who need it – and it would therefore be unlawful to discriminate against individuals based on their backgrounds or prior experiences.”
Advertisement
One of the biggest and most common complaints has been the lack of transparency and community input. The letter addresses this by stating:
“Unlike a regular shelter siting where we have established procedures to provide at least 30 days prior notice before a shelter opens – and in fact do so – these and other temporary relocations from congregate shelters to protect public health by promoting social distancing have been implemented on an emergency basis as part of the City’s effort to flatten the curve of the virus.”
The DHS representative wraps up the letter by stating that while a relocation date is currently unknown, the agency does plan to inform the community once they determine when these individuals can be moved back to the shelters they previously resided at.
“Of course, at the point at which public health guidance determines that clients can be relocated back to our congregate shelters from the temporary emergency relocation sites, we will inform you and the community. We are continuing to work with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to determine when and how it will be safe to phase out the use of the temporary emergency relocation hotels and return to the congregate shelters.”
Read the full letter here.
I just saw a person take a shit in front of the North Face store. Idc homeless or not, nobody wants to be seeing this – fix it!
North Faeces
absolutely!
It’s unbelievably bad
The homeless people are being aggressive and demanding money from people. They are trying to come into other apartment buildings that they don’t live in. What about the people who have to protect themselves and their families?
Wow this has NEVER happened before! I’m SHOCKED!
Let them reside in the people’s apartments that are advocating for them
Dear WYPIPO, sorry (not sorry) your comfortability has been breached. Now that the UWS has poor people (who have been) in need of housing & economic stability, this should teach that although you have been in a protective (economic) bubble, it’s time to wake up from your wet dream of holier that thou & move back to suburbia. Loving the edible tears btw… May I have sommore sir!!
You’re smart, aware, and constructive in your criticism. And I’m expecting a Maserati from Santa Clause this Christmas.
Please enough of this homeless people, causing problems for people who live the neighborhood. I have lived the upper west side for fifty five years. I’m a black man so please stop saying its racism it’s about safe streets and clean neighborhood. We have to leave a safe and clean neighborhood. I’m truly tired of them all good riddance .
Please enough of this homeless people, causing problems for people who live the neighborhood. I have lived the upper west side for fifty five years. I’m a black man so please stop saying its racism it’s about safe streets and clean neighborhood. We have a right to live in a safe and clean neighborhood. I’m truly tired of them all good riddance .
The Trough is that The Undesirable and insert who you love to hate the most in this label, were always our neighbors. Except, now that you’re forced to see what’s always been there, I think it’s very uncomfortable to address the problem as Poor Vision. I’m indigenous here and every mother before me and whenever people learn I’m an Upper West Sider, that’s where History begins. Not with the rich. The poor are here always. Address It. Not them. (I understand this thread)
High time the libs got an actual taste of all they clamor for.
Well said Jimbo ??. Now unite the right, take a left at Wall Street… Your next you conservative republican. Your tears will be Especially Scrumptious… Mmmm, yummy
Very intelligent of you “black from Brooklyn”… unfortunately we shouldn’t have to move out of our economic bubble because we SUPPORT this economic bubble with our economic MONEY. We have every right to be concerned about our family oriented neighborhood being trashed with convicted felons. Most of us pay very high mortgages /rents to live in the community we once loved- Without the money of the Upper West Siders there wouldn’t be any public funding for DHS. I would strongly recommend you PRAY that the people of the UWS don’t move out cause once they do so does their tax money….
So the only tax dollars for the UWS that are used for ‘your’ neighborhood are your tax dollars spent? That’s not how taxes work. I pay NYC taxes that are shared to ALL NYC neighborhoods clown! So take your white privilege & leave! I think that would be the equivalent of RE-REGENTRIFICATION. OH THE WHITE SUPREMACISTS TEARS ARE DELICIOSO!!! Anybody else want this black american descendant of slave smoke? I got it for you too!!
I live on the uws and I’m not wealthy. I work 4 jobs (or did prior to covid) while pursuing a career in the arts. 3/4 of my money goes to rent. I chose the neighborhood as a woman who wants to feel as safe as possible in the city. There’s lots like me. It’s not all wealthy elite.
I’m sorry, why do we assume someone under the alias “Upper West Sider” is white? Why can’t someone living on the Upper West Side be Black, Hispanic or Asian?
Why is someone who is concerned about their community and safety a “white supremacist” as if no other race cares about themselves and their community? If I’m not white do you assume I can’t afford to live in the UWS too? Because THAT is racist.
I don’t know if you prefer to live next to sex offenders or people who relieve themselves on your building but I think ANYONE living ANYWHERE in their right mind would prefer to not have that. We all pay high taxes to live in these Burroughs, and I don’t understand if you enjoy giving your hrs earned money to the government and not seeing you dollars at work or what?
Not everyone on the UWS is “privileged” or better yet enjoying “white privilege”. There are people of all races in this community AND a lot of hard working people for that matter. I personally take offense to that assumption, and again that you assume someone is “white” as if no one else can afford to live here.
There is enough hate and racism being spread everywhere, we don’t any more of it here.
Sarcasm and anger get you nowhere. This is not about living in a bubble. There are lots of poor people on the upper west side and lots of black people as well. This is about the DHS putting mentally ill and drug addicted people in housing in our hood where they don’t have necessary oversight and care. This is not a black/white or rich/poor issue. Get informed.
Well said, couldn’t agree with you more
You are absolutely right. These people are insane. We end up paying for liberal bleeding heart disasters. Then people wonder why there is a backlash. The homeless could have stayed in the shelters because nothing will kill them unfortunately.
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been begging rich people to return to New York City from their second-homes so they can pay taxes to help offset the state’s growing coronavirus-related revenue shortfall……”
Don’t see him begging for your tax money Mr.Brooklyn, Im glad you pay your taxes tho thanks- we appreciate you. I’m not too sure why you’re on here in the first place does Brooklyn have website where you can relocate?
I also love how you automatically thought I was white- labeling me white privileged. And that’s the biggest problem. I’m actually African American & Asian. A lot of educated and well rounded African Americans live here and we would like to keep our neighborhood the way it’s supposed to be.
Thanks Mr Brooklyn.
The comment about the “way it’s supposed to be” speaks volumes. Pray tell what is “the way it’s supposed to be?” NYC is a space bridging all so economic statuses and all walks of life – your taxes are going to help protect a marginalized community – these are people who also are at risk of COVID like you and anyone else. That is the purpose of your taxes and we should feel privileged to be fortunate enough to help. Being educated also has nothing to do with this – this is basic human decency and lording both educational status and wealth status as qualifiers for why your opinion on this is most important is the definition of privilege, whether white or POC.
I don’t ever want to see a stoned guy masturbating on my block in broad daylight again. Or anytime of day. While i’m with my grandchildren.
This has nothing to do with entitlement.
The issue of offering the hotel residents social services is really not addressing the core problem. A critical mass of the people causing the problems – from criminal behavior to uncivil behavior, like defecating in front of North Face – are NOT going to use these services. Do you really think that the guy aggressively shaking you down and threatening you with his masklessness is going to attend a conflict resolution session? The cookie and chalk set need to get real. I will put my liberal credentials up against their’s anytime, but I worked in DoC forensic units and with criminals who were not mentally ill – just manipulative and dangerous – and don’t find anything useful or righteous about foolish naivety.
Instead of the hotels,put in jail overnight – illegal to sleep on the sidewalks,subways ets.It was no “homeless” in Giuliani era. If we don’t react,trying to help more and more smart bums will join them and screw the society.Attention,liberals – you’ll get what you asking for.
Dear Ark. Please remove your blinders. There were homeless in giulliani era. They were not put in the UWS. They were dumped in “other” neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that were just as concerned as the UWS. Unfortunately their complaints were ignored. Because the “other” neighborhoods were not respected by giulliani. No need to respond Im a NYer.
Linda Key:
Thank you for your post. For those unaware, here are the increases in homelessness under each mayor:
Koch: When he came in, he inherited 12,000 “original” homeless due to the emptying of the State mental hospitals just a couple of years prior. The number rose to 27,000, but then fell to 20,000 because of his creation of affordable housing.
Dinkins: Homelessness continued to fall, down to 18,000. However, it began rising again, and was at 23,000 when he left office.
Giuliani: Even with his draconian and often racist policies to bring the number down, by the time he left office, homelessness had reached 30,000.
Bloomberg: Here is where everything went way south. Bloomberg ran partly on a campaign to CUT homelessness by 1/3. By the time he left office, homelessness had risen from 30,000 to 51,000. Gov,. Cuomo had a small part to play in this, but it was mostly poor policies and poor implementation by Bloomberg that caused a near-doubling of homelessness on his watch.
DeBlasio: Despite claiming he wanted to reverse the Bloomberg policies, the number of homeless has grown to 63,000.
The number continues to increase. And as the various moratoriums on evictions expire over the next few months, we are going to see another bad spike in homelessness in late 2020 and early 2021.
I don’t remember seeing that much homelessness when Giuliani and Bloomberg were mayors. They were excellent. There ought to be strict loitering laws to get people off the street. They need help, hospitals, etc.
Harriet:
The numbers don’t lie. What you may have “seen” and what the facts are are clearly quite different. Bloomberg was responsible for more homelessness than any other mayor – by ALOT. He cut several housing programs, defunded others, and basically f—ed up the entire system. Then he gave the real estate industry and his billionaire friends tax cuts that starved the City coffers of tax revenues, thus leaving less money for social service programs.
You can look all this up if you actually want to educate yourself about FACTS.
I don’t know where you’re getting your info from, but when he was mayor I stopped seeing a lot of derelicts roaming the street. I was proud to be a New Yorker. He made the city along with Giuliani a much better place. The radical socialists have destroyed their good work and I pray we get politicians back who can make our town a great place again
Harriet:
I get my stats from a variety of sources, including the article below. Btu you are still relying on “sight” and “feeling” rather than facts. do you have a problem with facts?
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-mayors-koch-de-blasio-dealt-homeless-article-1.3826927
I don’t, depending on where you get your facts from. Do you have a problem with reality? Apparently you do. Stop and look around for a change
Dear DHS: in other words, you’re telling us the buzz-off.
The UWS is full of many shades of skin and economic range. Some people live on $900 a month. I know them; we are not all privileged. If the homeless need a place to live and we have a place, no problem. But they must behave decently. If I behaved as a handful of them do, I would be arrested or thrown from my home. I am sure most of them are decent people down on their luck. The ones who behave in a crazed or criminal way are giving the others a bad name.
We have an incompetent mayor and a corrupt governor. We can only hope that the next two elected in will do their jobs to keep us safe, our neighborhoods clean and find a way to resolve the homeless issue. A lot of them are so far gone, they need serious help a hotel with their particular services just can’t handle. I never voted for those two characters. Please vote wisely. Don’t vote for your party, vote for the most competent candidate.
Single (and in some cased convicted, and in other cases, sex offenders) men should not have been brought to the UWS in an area that has a high population density of families, period. There are homeless women and families in ‘the system’ as well. If this is an urgent need as DHS claims, then relocate the men to hotels in midtown or down on Wall Street where there isn’t a high family population density, and bring families and/or women to these UWS locations. These hotels are now ‘magnet schools’ for other criminal elements in NY. This is not about liberal or conservative, black or white, privileged or not, this is about good policy vs. bad policy, and right now DHS and DeBlasio have the shittiest solution (re: North Feces) for a solvable problem.
Blah, Blah Blah . . .
We own the neighborhood, we pay the taxes, we don’t want them here.
Get them out . . . Now!
A single question for all: How do you know for a certainty that the homeless person who is urinating or defecating in the street, or doing any of the other things mentioned is from one of the hotels? The question is, of course, rhetorical. YOU DON’T. When the MTA closed the subways, all of the homeless living down there were forced to the surface. That increased the number of STREET homeless by almost double. So it is AS likely if not more so that many, most or all of the things you are seeing have nothing to do with the homeless at the hotels.
Your PRESUMPTIONS that all of the things you mention are connected to the “hotel homeless” is just that: PRESUMPTION. You are conflating the street homeless with the hotel homeless. But, of course, you don’t care. As long as you have an easy population to demonize and scapegoat, that’s fine with you.
Sad.
Well said. They can’t. The racist, classist, stereotyping assumptions by many here are sickening.
Ian: It seems the Ians are in agreement. LOL.
How do I know? I watched them enter and exit The Lucerne. Security guards laughed as one of them pissed on the building. The guards also witness all the excessive drinking, drugging and drug dealing. How do I know? Because I talk with the guards every few days
Shovel the piles of human excrement from our streets, and relocate them to the steps of Gracie Mansion.
De Blasio is a bigger pile of shit than any homeless person could ever produce.
The worst mayor in this city’s history! The absolute worst.
UWSider: Agreed! i would rather have David Dinkins back than live with this clown another day.
Daniela: “You are absolutely right. These people are insane. We end up paying for liberal bleeding heart disasters. Then people wonder why there is a backlash. The homeless could have stayed in the shelters because nothing will kill them unfortunately.”
You are a very sick person. I’d rather have a homeless person defecating on my stoop than have you on the UWS. You really are sick.
Yes that’s a disgusting remark from Daniela. People who are already suffering in one form or another and you wish death on them? You must be a miserable person to spread hatred like that. Very sad.
People in this neighborhood are upset, and rightly so, not because they are heartless – And this is absolutely not about race, but because The neighborhood has become unsafe, and has deteriorated since literally hundreds of homeless, have been brought into this neighborhood and virtually dumped here.
Supposedly, they are here to properly distance which they could not do in their dormitory shelter, yet they gather in close proximity without masks.
Many, especially at the Lucerne, are addicts. An addict, requires more supervision and treatment, not just a room somewhere and then a free run of the street all day long. Many are commonly seen making drug deals on the street and involved in lewd behavior. Drug addicts are a magnet for other drug addicts. A jobless drug addict, always needing resources for their next fix, is a recipe for disaster.
The terrible management by this city is devastating to everyone, including business owners. When families leave, And they have been leaving in droves, they take their tax dollars with them that would be spent on local businesses, school resources, etc. – when businesses close, unemployment goes up, people move elsewhere.
Terrible how this was handled, for the neighborhood, as well as the homeless.
You are so absolutely right! Thank you
RJ:
“People in this neighborhood are upset, and rightly so, not because they are heartless – And this is absolutely not about race, but because The neighborhood has become unsafe, and has deteriorated since literally hundreds of homeless, have been brought into this neighborhood and virtually dumped here.”
You live in an anecdotal world. Crime is DOWN on the UWS, as proven clearly b y CompStat (the official crime statistics) and the 20th Precinct;’s numbers. You want to BELIEVE that you are less safe based on anecdotes and feelings. But it is simply not true from a factual perspective.
“Supposedly, they are here to properly distance which they could not do in their dormitory shelter, yet they gather in close proximity without masks.”
So do lots of “regular” NYers and UWSers. How come I don’t hear you complaining about THAT?
“Many, especially at the Lucerne, are addicts. An addict, requires more supervision and treatment, not just a room somewhere and then a free run of the street all day long.”
Howe many times do I have to post the FACTS about the services available to them and that they are taking advantage of ONSITE at the hotels? You are simply regurgitating misinformation. You are 100% WRONG here.
Many are commonly seen making drug deals on the street and involved in lewd behavior. Drug addicts are a magnet for other drug addicts. A jobless drug addict, always needing resources for their next fix, is a recipe for disaster.”
and you know that the people doing those drug deals are from the hotels, HOW? Do you carry a book of photos of the hotel residents and match them to the drug dealers you see? If not, you cannot possibly know whether those people are hotel homeless or street homeless. STOP SCAPEGOATING!!
“The terrible management by this city is devastating to everyone, including business owners. When families leave, And they have been leaving in droves, they take their tax dollars with them that would be spent on local businesses, school resources, etc. – when businesses close, unemployment goes up, people move elsewhere. Terrible how this was handled, for the neighborhood, as well as the homeless.”
On this we agree. The plan was badly thought out, badly implemented, and until recently, badly managed. Things have changed. The street conditions near the hotels have improved considerably. (In fact, you are describing conditions that existed 10-14 days ago.)
And I ask yet again as a general matter: How on God’s green Earth do you know that it is the “hotel homeless” who are responsible for all these conditions, and not the street homeless? The question is rhetorical: YOU DO NOT KNOW. Yet you continue to blame the hotel homeless anyway. THAT is what makes you so odious. That you ignore FACTS and lean on anecdotes and feelings, and that you blame a specific group of people for things they may not be responsible for.
GROW SOMR FUCKING COMPASSION, WILL YOU?
Ian….as to my response to you –
I have a lot of “fucking compassion“ , your words, for the homeless but also for the people in our neighborhood. Many are not wealthy but work hard to be in a neighborhood so their children can attend decent public schools and families can have a sense of safety. Businesses are struggling and going under as good families take their tax dollars and leave the city. What happens to the stores/shops in this neighborhood that are barely surviving and to their employees who need their jobs? These people need to be considered as well.
You can’t just plop 700 homeless people in a 9 block area, many,/ MOST with multiple issues including mental health issues, sex offenders and drug addicts and not expect multiple problems.
Great that they are receiving services. However, whatever they’re receiving is not going be nearly enough to ensure everyone that all of the drug addicts are free and clear of their addictions.
Even celebrities and wealthy people who have addictions and are able to get the “proper help“ in the best of rehab centers, are frequently readmitted even after 24/7 help in the best of places. Drug addicts roaming the streets all day in need of a fix and no income is a recipe for disaster; muggings, break-ins and stealing from stores. Sorry, but that’s a FACT!!
Drug addicts attract more drug traffic. Certainly, all of the drug stuff that we are seeing on the streets now are not just from the hotel Homeless but it’s just adding and attracting more of the same.
Why weren’t homeless women and children brought into these hotels instead of the drug addicts, sex offenders and the mentally ill? Wouldn’t that have made sense with the amount of schools and playgrounds nearby??
I appreciate your concern for the homeless – I also have concern for that population. But I also have concern about this neighborhood that we have lived in since the mid 1970s and remember when it was very rough and unsafe. I shutter to see it going in that direction again.
RJ:
In 1988, I was president of my block association (83rd Street, on WEA). That year – and this was during the time of the infamous Martinique Hotel (if you are old enough to remember that) – Mayor Koch and Cardinal O’Connor made a handshake deal to open up what they hoped would be a “Tier 3” facility, a model for all future transitional shelters in the City. It was to house homeless women with children, with the hope that the women would be moved into permanent housing within 18-24 months.
The day after that handshake, there were 300 NIMBYs in the street, protesting the very idea, calling it “a Martinique on the Upper West Side.” Without going into long detail, I was integrally involved in the ultimate creation and implementation of that shelter. It was eventually completed, and after a couple of minor “incidents” the first year, became fully and completely integrated into the UWS. It still exists, as the West End Intergenerational Residence, and is so successful that many of the women are now being moved into permanent housing w/i 12-15 months.
The point is that it doesn’t matter WHO is being moved in. There will be NIMBYs no matter what. And consider: one of their concerns, which i am certain the NIMBYs today would be using to stop such a shelter, is that these women have husbands, or partners who visit them and their children, so even a shelter housing women with children would be a “threat” to many of those currently targeting the hotel homeless.
In 55 years on the UWS, 40 of them doing community service, 25 of them working on the homeless issue, 12 of them working directly with the street homeless every day, I have seen it all. And while I wished I could believe that you are correct, I can assure you – from actual experience – that you are not.
Until the dems are gone, this will not stop! a no good governor and mayor who need to be replaced
LIES!!! The Lucerne has No Mental Services. The residents are forced to be out of the hotel most of the day with nothing to do but drinking, drugging, drug dealing and public lewdness. They need services to help them. Giving a hotel room isn’t helping them. It only exacerbates their problems. Statistical Facts
If there are services provided for these 700 Plus residents they are obviously inadequate and not meeting their needs. It is like putting a bandaid on a broken limb. Policing is not the answer either although it does help the neighborhood residents feel safer.
I am a mental health professional and find this present arrangement for these 700 residents not only depressing but bordering on neglect.
And yes, I have been accosted and see a man 40 feet from my home and across from a school masturbating.
I invite everyone to read the two posts below. They speak volumes more than all the misinformation and fear-mongering being spouted around here. Note that you will need to scroll to the top to fin the actual posts. It only takes a couple of seconds.
https://nextdoor.com/news_feed/?post=158641293&comment=461153535&ct=y1AFggLXW6piwgv3Vs9Ww8foLowUw4Bz0eJSqDyShF9DlZ9nCIHUwhrVnbnICQp4&ec=CUuITXfgC4y3JTZ2xRbYqsCEDVfj1pLaDEEEO8rW-uw%3D&lc=498
https://nextdoor.com/news_feed/?post=160326918&comment=461042338&ct=abkmyy8TrZqQS3Fnn-7x6axVBOYMMd6zP0OVfhWUEO9Vyv0ga2wIg2VhWn6RhdcX&ec=CUuITXfgC4y3JTZ2xRbYqsCEDVfj1pLaDEEEO8rW-uw%3D&lc=27
Who is the deranged guy on West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue? He does poops and peeps on the street and he makes no effort to hide his privates. I last told me that she saw him growing a tail and saw his package. That’s not right.
The city needs to lay down some rat poison and get rid of these animals … enough is enough. I don’t want them as neighbors ….
Ms. Rava:
“The city needs to lay down some rat poison and get rid of these animals … enough is enough. I don’t want them as neighbors ….”
You truly are a sick woman. I can’t understand why ANYONE would use you as a real estate agent.
Sally:
“Who is the deranged guy on West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue? He does poops and peeps on the street and he makes no effort to hide his privates. I last told me that she saw him growing a tail and saw his package. That’s not right.”
Can you describe him in more detail? I will be doing my rounds tomorrow, and will check it out.
Harriet:
Do you have a problem with reality? Apparently you do. Stop and look around for a change.”
What part of “I have spent over a decade working directly with the street homeless, and 20 years or more deeply working on the homeless issue” don’t you get? “Look around?” I don’t have to look around because I AM IN IT!
It’s been horrible here. The homeless situation is totally out of control. I ‘m sure you do admirable work, but there is just so much you can do. I want to keep my community safe and clean
Harriet:
Where EXACTLY? And what exactly are you seeing – right now, not 7-10 days ago, since conditions near the Belleclaire and Lucerne have gotten MUCH better in the past week to two weeks? I am more than happy to include your area in my daily rounds, and I do have powerful connections.
Let me know. Thanks.
I’ve seen encampments, men half naked, overheard a drug deal while I was waiting to cross the street near fairway, where the benches are. I’ve seen filth strewn all over. Fortunately, I seem to be one of the few who haven’t seen men defecating and masterbating. My friend was told where he would like to put his penis. My husband and I were walking through the little park by the 72nd st and a man spit at us. It was not easy calming my husband down to avoid big problems. All in all the quality of life could be better
Harriet:
With respect, not one of these things sounds like they relate to the hotel homeless, certainly not primarily so. Verdi Park has always had a large street homeless population of its own, and the Belleclaire residents rarely hang out below 76th Street. (I make two rounds every day of all the hotels, and am familiar with the residents.) If you are seeing people at 73rd and 74th (near Fairway) it is a safe bet that they, too, are street homeless, not hotel residents.
For example, what use would a person who has a room at a hotel have for an encampment? They are not even permitted to be outside the hotel after 10 pm unless they are working.
As for the rest, I suppose that SOME (possibly a small portion) of the conditions you describe involved homeless from the hotels. But, as noted, not primarily so.
You need to stop conflating the two populations, and thereby scapegoating the residents of the hotels.
I don’t think that our neighborhood needs anymore drug addicted, mentally ill, or sex deviants in our neighborhood. We have enough that aren’t in hotels. The hotels were ill prepared and they were in it for the fast buck and that was that