Sit-In Protest Planned Outside The Lucerne As Families Displaced

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A protest and sit-in at the Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side is set for Friday night in response to the city's decision to move homeless residents out of the neighborhood hotel and into a Midtown shelter.

The protest is organized by the United Front Against Displacement, an organization of housing activists that fight displacement across the country.

The sit-in outside The Lucerne will start Friday at 8 p.m.

A flier for the event posted to social media highlights four points the protest will focus on.

• Fight scare and hate-mongering directed at residents in hotels and shelters.
• Bathrooms and washing facilities for all New Yorkers.
• Stop police harassment of people in parks and traffic mediums.
• Boycott the NY Post for abusive and invasive photos of homeless residents and their friends.

For folks in #NewYork !! Join us for a protest and sit in! pic.twitter.com/iYVir4TrYn
— the United Front Against Displacement (@TheUfad) September 11, 2020

Tempers have flared in the days since the city announced Tuesday night that the 283 homeless residents staying at The Lucerne would begin getting transferred to the Harmonia shelter on East 31st Street.

On Wednesday, a collection of local politicians, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, and State Senator Brad Hoylman, ripped Mayor Bill De Blasio for his decision to move the residents out of the Upper West Side shortly after a newly formed nonprofit called the West Side Community Organization hired a high-profile lawyer and former Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who threatened to sue the city if the residents weren't moved out of The Lucerne.

Neither the mayor nor the Department of Homeless Services has commented on any connection between the lawsuit and the decision to move the shelter residents. However, both parties have explained the decision as part of the overall goal to move shelter residents out of hotels and back into shelters.

Anger has also mounted over the displacement of at least 150 homeless families that will be moved from the Harmonia shelter to make room for the men from The Lucerne. Judith Jackson, chief of staff at shelter provider Services for the Underserved, told Patch, that of the 338 people that make up the 150 families getting displaced, about half have severe health issues.

Read More:

• UWS Hotel To Become Temporary Homeless Shelter For 283 People
• Remove Sex Offenders From UWS Hotel, Council Member Demands
• UWS Pol Changes Stance On Sex Offenders In Neighborhood Hotel
• Dueling Hotel Homeless Shelter Petitions Divide Upper West Side
• UWS Community Board To Host Virtual Forum On Homeless Shelters
• UWS Pol Gives Update On Hotels Getting Used As Homeless Shelters
• 'We Do Not Have A Definitive Timeline': DHS Talks UWS Shelters
• Legal Org Calls UWS Residents 'Racist' In Handling Of Shelters
• City Will Move Homeless From The Lucerne
• Local Pols Rip Mayor's Decision To Move Homeless Out Of Lucerne