The temporarily homeless residents of The Lucerne Hotel will now begin to relocate, and are expected to be moved out by October 5th. They’ll be moving to a site in the Financial District, rather than the Harmonia shelter in Midtown, where they were originally expected to be placed.
HOMELESS LUCERNE HOTEL RESIDENTS MUST LEAVE, COURT RULES
Residents of the Harmonia will no longer have to move, and Council Member Keith Powers states that those who were moved before the temporary pause will get to return, Patch reports.
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The following statements have also been released by UWS Open Hearts and the West Side Community Organization.
Corinne Low, co-founder of UWS Open Hearts (who is not happy about this news):
“We are so proud of the shelter residents who bravely stood up to the city and through their advocacy reversed the terrible decision to close the Harmonia. But we are beyond devastated that the Mayor is persisting in displacing the men at the Lucerne, this time to a vacant hotel downtown.
“What does this accomplish? If there is a vacant socially distanced site available, shouldn’t it be used to house those still in congregate settings on Ward’s island? The Mayor’s decision is the pinnacle of cowardliness. The Mayor has made a full transformation from so-called progressive Park Slope dad to Upper East Sider, siding with his neighbor Randy Mastro against the most vulnerable people of the city, people he ran claiming to represent.
“The only thing that is accomplished through this move is further trauma. Project Renewal will need to reboot again in this new hotel location. How can they better serve their clients in a hotel site downtown than they can in one on the UWS? The answer is they can’t. This whole nonsense about services is a facade to cover for simple selfishness. If Randy Mastro’s clients actually cared one iota about the people involved, they would not want to put them through a traumatizing move, that will disrupt their care and put them at risk of relapse.
“We have built transformative community bonds with the shelter residents at The Lucerne. They have told us they feel embraced and supported by their community in a way they have never previously experienced. Why has the Mayor made it his singular mission to destroy this? Doesn’t he have better things to do? Couldn’t he be improving lives, instead of disrupting them? This move is supposed to happen October 5th – the Mayor has 10 days to decide if this is what he wants his legacy to be.
“We will be holding a press conference at 1pm Sunday at the Lucerne, before continuing to serve our neighbors at our Free Store event at 2pm at The Belleclaire.”
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“From the beginning, I understood and believed the City Administration would do the right thing and move this vulnerable population out of the Lucerne Hotel and into a proper shelter where they will receive the services they need. And today, the City Administration has done just that, confirming it will be moving folks out of this SRO hotel and into a proper shelter over the next 10 days in close proximity to the services they need and deserve. This is a win-win for all parties and something everyone who truly cares about the homeless should be supporting.
“The City is also following the recommendations of its own 2017 Turning the Tide on Homelessness report “to finally end the broken system that for too many years relied on . . . commercial hotels” for a variety of reasons, including “not having adequate space for onsite social services.” It’s high time the City recognized that what was supposed to be “temporary” now needs to change, thanks to improving health outcomes, because this vulnerable population requires housing in proper shelters with needed services.
“To his credit, Mayor de Blasio has honored his commitment and kept his word. And in the process, he has recognized two fundamental truths: SRO hotels are not where we should be housing the homeless. And what has been happening on the Upper West Side as a result of housing so many homeless adults in three SRO hotels in such close proximity is simply “not acceptable.” So, today’s announcement is a major step forward in doing right by this neighborhood and this vulnerable population. But there is still much more work to be done. We look forward to continuing our constructive dialogue with the City Administration, we appreciate today’s developments and look forward to even more progress in the weeks and months ahead.”
I’m absolutely heartbroken. I am going to miss our new neighbors. I have made so many new friends at the Lucerne. My life will forever be changed by the relationships I have built with these individuals over he past few months. They brought a diverse and colorful presence to our neighborhood. How very boring it will be around here without the sights, sounds and smells associated with their presence. The positive influence that they have had on our children. They really are heroes. Fierce, brave, gifted heroes. I stand with Helen Rosenthal in supporting our wonderful neighbors. I have nothing but love in my heart for every last one of them. I curse myself in the mirror each morning for being privileged. I must work harder, so I can give even more.
I am available if anybody would like to organize a “Bon Voyage” party for our departing neighbors. Perhaps collect some gifts of needed sundries, etc.
have some local restaurants donate food for the occasion. Just a thought.
Emily, at first I thought you were serious! Good one!
What is so unfortunate is that I, too, had to give a second read before the satire registered. With only slight embellishment, this really is how Helen Rosenthal and her fellow travelers speak publicly about the bums staying at the hotels who have ruined the UWS with their sordid behavior. Good riddance.
Good one
Clever!
Sometimes sarcasm hits a sour note, Emily. This is one of those times.
Nooooo, she was right on point
Sounds like Ms. Low has failed to receive the memo that DeBlasio has already decided his “legacy”.
The men that have been staying in these hotels that were turned into TEMPORARY shelters are homeless with no ties to the community. It was always understood that this ‘living arrangement’ had a specific end date. The Legal Aid attorneys make it sound like this men are being ‘ripped’ from their ‘permanent’ home…
I love how these drug addicted pests living for free, paid for by me, are called “clients” by advocates. Um…. Clients pay for services received. The only person they are a client to is their dealer. And I’m pretty sure the allowance they get comes from the city (there I go again with my generosity!) or the people who hand them money in response to incessant begging and fear. So… Still no.
Well one hotel down and three to go . Let us empty out the other 3 homeless shelters on the UWS. The streets are unsafe , dangerous and hostile . I was in a restaurant yesterday outside and a homelss man started screaming at the table next to us and would not stop. The women , children and I were “ scared of violence did you get that Deblasio did you get that Helen soon to be unemployed Rosenthsl . Useless public officals .
How DARE somebody yell and disturb your privileged dinner! There is no freedom of speech in this neighborhood! Shut them all up and ship them out! Now we know who the real garbage is.
Take the screamers into your home and enjoy
I have an abundance of unused clothing from my now closed clothing store. Would love to donate x
Hey Jay freedom of speech what plant are you living on we were eating diiner and thought this man was going to get violent . Maybe he should punch your family member in the face .Smell the coffee
Hope they eliminate the shelters on 95th street that Ms. Rosenthal facilitated to fill with homeless mentally ill individuals. I would gladly organize a bon voyage party! I will miss the homeless urinating in front of cvs, stealing flowers from the Korean grocer, and inviting rats to feast on all the food that the community minded upper Westsiders share with them when all they want is money to buy drugs.
I can’t believe what a free for all it has been. Oral sex in the street/ doing & selling drugs/ no masks/ no social distancing/ urinating /crapping /masturbating . How did any of this help prevent covid spread? These bleeding hearts should make some rules and get people the right help for drugs or mental issues. If not it will just keep happening and the city will be a total shit show.
My experience during a family stroll on the UWS this past Saturday afternoon: (now some people who do not live here might say this is not what they experience but it can be at times really bad like it was on Saturday).
I walked up Broadway maybe around 4:30pm with my daughter and we experienced the following…
Men on Broadway middle bench area sitting with their loads and loads of belongings, some not wearing masks, several of them staring at us. It smelled of urine and other things! We walked up north on Broadway for 15 blocks and had a minimum of 8 panhandlers, several begging aggressively by getting very close to us and not taking no for an answer, a few with no masks. A woman on the sidewalk talking to herself laughing out loudly and doing an animal walking impression, clearly not of a sound mind. We then saw one person passed out on the sidewalk surrounded by urine and no mask, a group of men again on the bench playing loud music, one person passed out and drunk, two smoking. We experienced jeering and stares by two homeless men, one looked like a druggie. We then got to a block where two men were fighting, shoving and name calling each other, a few watching this. So we turned around to cross Broadway only to notice more men congregating on the bench saying “h-e-l-l-l-oo” to us. We then saw about 2-3 EMT cars and a few police cars in the middle of broadway and 79th street across from where Carl is, picking up a man from the bench in an ambulance.
My daughter then told me that maybe she should not be walking the streets by herself.
When people and politicians with agenda incite and mislead people and say that we have to accept this kind of life and harassment in a neighborhood, they are full of it. The Open Heart people seem to be crazies.Yes we should help people in need but that does not mean that we have to live like this every day. If this is how they want to live, then form a community somewhere where this can be the norm but make sure that you live in it and not just talk about it. The crazies like Corrine Low and a fake opportunist like Helen Rosenthal. They don’t appear to want to move on since their mere existence hinges on their propaganda. Open Heart group, you think it is right for me and my daughter to experience this 15 block walk on a Saturday afternoon? If so, you are “crazies” and you should not been leading any community or group. This is what happens in history when crazies take over.
https://abc7ny.com/society/exclusive-longtime-tenants-feel-trapped-living-alongside-homeless-men/6601735/
According to this report on WABC 7 NY there are permanent residents that live in The Lucerne along with the homeless. Apparently it is not the utopia some people have claimed it is. I’m sure someone will accuse the person interviewed for this story of lying.