Two opposing lawsuits may arise in response to the city’s handling of the temporary hotel shelters on the Upper West Side, NY1 reports.
On behalf of the West Side Community Organization, attorney Randy Mastro has given the city 48 hours to commit to a timeline to relocate the new residents. If they don’t make this commitment, the group has threatened to sue.
Lucerne Residents to be Relocated
In an August 25 report by ABC 7, Mastro states that “What the city has to do legally is house this vulnerable population in proper shelters, where they will get support and supervision and social services they will need.”
The ABC 7 report quotes the DHS as stating that “New Yorkers experiencing homelessness are our neighbors – and the notion that they are not welcome in some neighborhoods for any reason is an affront to basic decency.”
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#BREAKING: If @NYCMayor caves to the racist NIMBYism from some residents of the UWS and forces vulnerable NYers from their hotel rooms back to congregate shelters before it is safe to do so, we will see him in court. https://t.co/WMKBHYQ1Nk
— The Legal Aid Society (@LegalAidNYC) August 27, 2020
As a POC I bristle at the ACLU’s description as “racist NIMBYISM.” It is a fact that 79th Street has deteriorated: There are open drug deals even with police present and people are nodding out next to establishments. There is a full racial array across the spectrum of drug users; please do NOT make this racially charged.
Thank you CONCERNEDUWSER for your above comment! It is the truth!!
The Legal Aid Society clearly lacks knowledge (or is ignoring it) of the history of the UWS from circa 1970-1982 when co-oping began. The present “Hotels” were then SRO’s with fires and gun shots every evening. From around 72 St to 82nd St & Broadway was Drugville which then became the Red Light District up to 86th St. Then came the mugging blocks well up to 110 St. Presently during day hours the homeless are hanging out on the streets, and mattresses are hiding in the bushes in RSPark. In the evening the mattresses come out and the rats have taken over enjoying all the garbage that the priviledged UWS is left with. The sanitation dept cut backs and the hotel distributions have not been mathematically rationed. Dear Legal Aid Society, before you go to court take a walk on the UES and then the UWS.
In the meantime I suggest we begin by IMPEACHING our Mayor and handing his power over to our Governor. Sincerely, a born and raised New Yorker.
Nobody should have to pay money to feel safe. However the people on the upper west side feel they don’t have to deal with issues like drug use, drug dealing, prostitution, cat calling, stalking, public nudity, violence, crime and more… just because they pay higher rent. I have witnessed this for years. Also my children grew up witnessing this their whole childhood. Maybe we wouldn’t had to witness So much of this behavior if the homeless weren’t so cramped in my low income neighborhood and others. NYC should make everyone feel safe not just the upper west siders. People with homeless problems should be spread out in all neighborhoods. This would benefit both homeless and the residents who live near shelters. It’s not fair to put homeless in only low income neighborhoods.
Thanks for putting my own words into this post!
It’s like we live in different realities. One that cares about facts and goes for walks around the neighborhood like any summer (albeit masked), and one that watches Fox News probably from their summer home in the Hamptons. I walk around every day and have not had any issues.
Sitting on a Broadway median bench, masked, is not a crime, even if you’re a low-income Black man. If there is actually a crime, then file a police report. The rest are inflammatory allegations and rumors.
And yes, it’s about race, class, and gender. Nobody has ever complained about the unemployed people we usually have on all our UWS corners, standing around and talking, apparently with nowhere productive to be. It’s because they are white women in Lululemon pants.