UWS Community Board To Host Virtual Forum On Homeless Shelters

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Upper West Siders over the past month have used dining room tables, Facebook groups, and Twitter threads to discuss the lightning-rod subject of neighborhood hotels getting used for temporary homeless shelters.

On Monday, Community Board 7 is giving engaged residents a chance to voice their viewpoints in the form of a virtual public forum about the subject.

Community Board 7 encompasses the neighborhoods of Manhattan Valley, the Upper West Side, and Lincoln Square.

The Zoom meeting will take place on Monday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and will include brief presentations made by residents with first-hand information about the shelters. The forum will also include brief comments from local elected officials and questions and comments from designated representatives.

"The goal will be to hear from as broad a spectrum of viewpoints and positions as possible, and to seek answers and positive action steps," Community Board 7 said in an email to the Upper West Side community.

You can register for the virtual public forum here.

Due to the anticipated large size of the session, the community board said it will be too difficult to hear questions and comments in a town-hall-style format. Instead, Upper West Siders can submit questions or concerns in two ways:

• In advance by email to cb7shelters@gmail.com
• During the session by using the "chat" function in Zoom

Submitting a question or comment will increase the chance you hear an answer during the session, but like-minded topics will be consolidated.

Here's a breakdown of the number of homeless shelter residents at the three Upper West Side hotels.

• Belleclaire (77th and Broadway): 288 clients, 100 of which are women; nearly a third of the residents go to work every day. The shelter's focus is on job placement assistance.
• Belnord (87th and Broadway): 100 clients, all-male, specializes in mental health and crisis intervention programs.
• Lucerne (79th and Amsterdam): 283 clients, all-male, serves those with drug addictions and other mental 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