More than 175 residents and parents gathered virtually Tuesday evening to discuss with city officials the safety of students and the temporary homeless shelters located at three UWS hotels.
City Council Member Helen Rosenthal and New York Police Department Captain Neil Zuber of the 20th Precinct provided answers to questions about whether convicted sex offenders are still residing in the shelters, how much police presence will be available during school commuting hours, and what is being done about quality of life issues – and more – during the 1.5-hour-plus meeting via Zoom.
Lucerne Residents to be Relocated
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Rosenthal began the call by addressing head-on the issue of convicted sex offenders housed in the shelters.
“There are no Level 2 or higher sex offenders in the shelters,” Rosenthal said. “It’ll take time for that to be reflected in the registries.” However, she added, there are no guarantees that they won’t be placed in shelters in the future.
Two schools, PS9 and PS87, are within blocks of the three hotel-shelters, and parents have been vocal about their safety concerns due to what they say is an increase in open drug use, public lewdness and acts of violence, in addition to the presence of convicted sex offenders. Furthermore, critics of the homeless shelters say that more people are moving out of the neighborhood due to the homeless residing in the shelters and not just because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for heightened police presence during school commuting hours, Zuber said that while the precinct cannot ask for more police officers beyond what the precinct already employs to patrol the school zones during drop-off and pick-up hours, all officers will be deployed to oversee children getting to and from school safely as much as possible.
“The officers we have, if we have 5 cars on patrol, and if [there is] no emergency, they will be on directed patrol,” Zuber said, adding that police officers will change their paths to accommodate a change in foot traffic if the majority of children going to school decide to take a route that is, for example, away from West 79th Street, the location of the Lucerne Hotel.
“If they’re more comfortable on West 77th than on West 79th, [for example] they’ll follow where the children are,” Zuber said. “If there is a 911 emergency call, they’ll have to pull out. If there’s no emergency, they’ll be there.”
Police officers from the 20th Precinct respond to a call regarding a strange adult at the Tecumseh playground. Photo: Lee Uehara
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“Curfew is 10:00 p.m.,” Bower said, adding that while all residents are expected to be back by 10:00 p.m., they are not required at all to leave the premises. And if the curfew is not honored, they “will be bussed somewhere else.”
Other questions asked about shelter residents included whether anyone has contracted Coronavirus and details about security. Only one person has tested positive and was removed but must quarantine for 14 days before returning, Bower said. At the Lucerne, there is security with about 20 guards and two supervisors who make their rounds, Bower also stated, adding that the Lucerne makes two daily rounds with the Belleclaire.
Organizations overseeing the shelters have been speaking with principals as well as other school leaders, Rosenthal said, and that work is being done to better respond to 311 calls as well as trying very hard to “add extra security outreach.”
Interspersed throughout the first hour were questions about crime and quality of life concerns, such as lewd acts, urination in public, open drug use and litter containing syringe needles as well as whether there have been arrests at the shelters.
“There have been no arrests at the Lucerne,” Zuber said. What people might have witnessed are police officers aiding in a medical emergency, he added. “There hasn’t been a crime.”
For other criminal issues such as indecent exposure, urinating in public, lewd acts, open drug use and other infractions, they need to be reported right away by calling 911, Zuber said. “For violations, for us to act on them, a police officer has to observe it.”
Zuber went on to say that people seem to take pictures of such acts and then send those photos to the press and the mayor, but then fail to call 911 and report them in real time. He said that receiving such information is useful for the precinct in being able to take action.
“Be willing to talk to the police officers,” Zuber said. “But if you call 911 and say, ‘I’m witnessing this crime and want to be anonymous,’ our hands are tied.”
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“It’s a huge quality of life issue as well as a prosecutable crime. I can’t promise 12 arrests every day but as we go out and make this impact…” Zuber said. “That’s where 911 calls come in…”
As for other less serious quality of life issues, the reality is that they’re not being prosecuted, Zuber continued. “We have a directive to not to waste resources to enforce them.” And for other concerns mentioned, such as litter and the discarding of syringe needles on the sidewalks, Zuber said that the city’s sanitation department is responsible for addressing those things.
At one point the meeting took a quick turn when a mother asked Captain Zuber how to handle children being traumatized if they were to see too much of a police presence.
“Police presence is traumatizing children?” Zuber repeated, and without skipping a beat: “I have no idea how to respond to that.”
Lee Uehara is not only a journalist and documentary-style photographer, she is also the host of the podcast, House of Lee NYC. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and many other news outlets through her work as a former reporter for The Associated Press. You can usually spot her in the neighborhood walking her dog with a camera in hand. Visit HouseOfLeeNYC.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Regarding that last paragraph, good for Zuber for handling that mother’s hysterical (not “haha” hysterical) question. If she and other parents would teach their children to respect/look up to law enforcement, our society wouldn’t be in this mess! God Bless the NYPD & other first responders and thank you for your hard work. (Thanks also to your excellent neighborhood reporting on this blog)
“Zuber went on to say that people seem to take pictures of such acts and then send those photos to the press and the mayor, but then fail to call 911 and report them in real time. He said that receiving such information is useful for the precinct in being able to take action.”
This tells me that absolutely everything should be reported to NYPD. Everything.
If you see something, make that call. The 20th Precinct phone should be ringing off the hook.
Charles:
You seem to have missed Capt. Zuber’s point. The idea is to call 911, NOT the precinct. doing the latter will have no effect. The point is that the precinct can only follow up is a 911 report is filed.
Can someone please look in the mirror. Homeless (700)in hotels on UWS and defunding the police is a receipt for disaster. Please move the homeless out for betterment of them and the UWS. There is no end in site until you do this and stop talking about it. Do it!!! The police are needed to protect our community. Deblasio you said temporary so give us a date to “DO IT” Rosenthal should be looking for a new job she talks in circles . Fund the police and move the homesless out . You are destroying our city …and our lives
RJ:
The FEMA contracts expire in October. So currently the transfer date is late October. However, the City cannot, by law, put the homeless back in congregate shelters if it is not safe to do so. And right now, it it far safer being socially distanced at the hotels than forced together cheek to jowl in the shelters.
So now we see the general consequences of prosecutors not prosecuting and police not arresting. Those are two very sensible reactions by public servants to decisions made by our very liberal state legislature — which the Governor resisted as long as he could recognizing the political realities he faced — to abolish the cash bail requirement. So when the drug dealers are arrested in our local neighborhood, it is only a matter of hours before they are back there. I do not think we are dealing with middle class people who might care if they have an arrest record since it might impact their future education or employment. They have no prospects in that regard, so another entry on their rap sheet is no big deal to them so long as they are not locked up. What do you think should be done? Is a one party system locally in NYS working well for all of us?
Gary:
Not sure what you mean by a “one-party system.” The political demographic of the five boroughs is 56% Democrat, 26% Republican, and 18% independent. That is far from a one-party system.
Maybe, but the thieves who count the votes and steal the elections are 100% democrat.
UWS Mom:
Nope. The only four cases of voter fraud that actually led to indictments were perpetrated by Republicans. The most recent was an actual Congressman. Nice try, though.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/507832-gop-lawmaker-steps-down-from-committees-following-voter-fraud-charges
https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/10/29/trump-supporter-charged-in-voter-fraud-case
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/10/west-virginia-mail-carrier-guilty-election-fraud-altered-ballot-requests/5412010002/
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/30/746800630/north-carolina-gop-operative-faces-new-felony-charges-that-allege-ballot-fraud
Politicians like Rosenthal and Alterman are deaf to the concerns of the citizens of the UWS who pay premium rents for the safety and protection of our families. These new residents are not following social distancing protocol and despite being provided with toilets in their rooms continually litter our streets with their waste. The department of homeless services is just another City bureaucracy staffed by political patronage whose least priority is the well being of the residents of the UWS.
Locorto Thomas:
The number of ways in which you are wrong is staggering.
First, I am not a politician. I am a resident of the UWS just like you. I have lived here for 55 years and know a little something about the neighborhood.
Second, the homeless who are urinating on the street are NOT the “hotel homeless,” who, as you point out, have perfectly fine bathrooms to use. They are the “street homeless,” whose bathrooms (libraries, Starbucks, etc.) are not available at this time.
Third, the residents of the building have more social services – health, case management, etc. – than they do at the shelters from which they come.
You might want to actually do some research and arm yourself with FACTS instead of bogus information.
Appreciate that you are a lifetime UWS resident. However as a guardian of a 5 year old, I am very concerned about her having to walk past the filth on West 79th St and do not have the confidence that the bureaucracy is screening out sex offenders from occupancy. I wasn’t aware that there are different categories of homeless. Hotels near the airports in non residential neighborhoods could just as easily accommodated the overflow from the shelters. The safety and well being of children must be given the highest priority over any other social issue.
Mr. Thomas:
You are describing conditions as they were 7-10 days ago. 79th and Bway has been quiet and clean for some time now. Virtually no activity whatsoever. I go by there two or three times a day at different times. The only thing I have seen in the past 7-10 days is a couple for a few men sitting on the median bench, smoking cigarettes. And even Karl has been remarkably quiet, sleeping most of the day, and hanging out with his friends. I have rarely seen him “up” and “railing at the world” in the past 7-10 days.
This calming down is the result of three things. First, the social service provide at the Lucerne getting itself up to full speed. Second, the posting of four extra security officers; two near the building (“eyes on the street”) and two patrolling 79th< and Bway /w 79 and 80. Third, the NPYD increasing both vehicle and foot patrols.
You might actually want to take a look NOW rather than describing conditions that no longer exist.
Thank you for pointing this out. In the majority of the articles and comments I’ve read, folks fail to make that important distinction. And if those folks have their way, people who need the safety, shelter, and care you mentioned will be uprooted, but the problems plaguing the neighborhood won’t likely end.
“There are no Level 2 or higher sex offenders in the shelters,” Rosenthal said. “It’ll take time for that to be reflected in the registries.” However, she added, there are no guarantees that they won’t be placed in shelters in the future.
First off, there is almost no relationship between level system and dangerousness. EXCEPT in that, the higher level one is placed in, the more instability there is in a life, which leads to HIGHER rates of offending.
Where did these level 2’s and 3’s go, that can’t stay in a place of last resort? (a homeless shelter). They are thrown on the streets to live for public safety? Is THAT the argument?
I left the registry. It is so irrational and so dangerous to public safety that to NOT register is infinitely safer for the community.
What a stupid question- how to respond if children are traumatized by seeing police officers?
You should be concerned they find out that there is no Santa Claus but a bunch of drug dealers in the City.