City Will Move Homeless From The Lucerne

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — New York City has decided to move the roughly 300 homeless men staying at an Upper West Side hotel out of the neighborhood.

The men will be moved out of The Lucerne by the end of September, according to the Department of Homeless Services.

The decision comes after weeks of intense pushback from some local community members. A Facebook group called "Upper West Siders for Safer Streets" was at the forefront of the backlash.

The group, which has grown to nearly 15,000 members, regularly shares comments and photos of men acting poorly in the neighborhood, and consistently expresses safety concerns about the added homeless population to the Upper West Side streets.

Members of the Facebook group went on to create their own nonprofit called the West Side Community Organization, which operates under the creed that it "refuses to accept that nothing can be done to save our neighborhood."

The newly formed group promptly raised over $100,000 and hired the high-profile attorney and former deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, who threatened to sue to the city.

Mastro sent out a statement Tuesday saying that New York City will cease using The Lucerne to house homeless people, and that it has also committed to stop using the Hotel Belleclaire for such housing in the near future.

"While there is still more work to be done to repair the damage to this neighborhood and to address the many homeless individuals still left adrift at other SRO hotels, we are gratified that the community is being heard and concrete action is being taken to remedy this tragic situation," Mastro said in the statement.

Isaac McGinn, a spokesman for the Department of Social Services, would not comment Tuesday to the New York Times on whether the backlash from the Upper West Side community prompted the decision to move the men.

"As part of our effort to continually review and streamline the footprint of our shelter locations, while always ensuring effective provision of services, we're beginning to relocate individuals from several commercial hotel locations," McGinn said in a statement to the Times.

However, the West Side Community Organization and Mastro were not the only voices in the conversation surrounding the new homeless population on the Upper West Side.

A group called the UWS Open Hearts Initiative has actively supported welcoming the homeless shelter residents into the community by organizing supply drives, drawing welcoming messages outside The Lucerne, and writing its own letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio about wanting the homeless population to stay on the Upper West Side for as long as they need to.

Local politician Helen Rosenthal was also unhappy with the city's choice to move the residents out of The Lucerne.

"It's a sad day when the mere threat of a lawsuit can get city hall to reverse a decision it made," Council Member Rosenthal told the New York Times. "What message does this send that groups who can afford to hire high-powered lawyers are the ones who will get their way?"

There are still no concrete plans to move the other 400 shelter residents on the Upper West Side out of the Hotel Belleclaire and the Belnord.

This is a developing story, please check back in for updates.

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