UWS Pol Gives Update On Hotels Getting Used As Homeless Shelters

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — No other hotels on the Upper West Side will serve as temporary emergency shelters for homeless people, City Council Member Helen Rosenthal said in a new update on the city's efforts to re-house homeless people amid the COVID019 pandemic.

In an email to the Upper West Side, Rosenthal said that the Department of Homeless Services told her in a meeting on Wednesday that no other hotels in the neighborhood will serve as temporary emergency shelters for homeless people.

Specifically, the Milburn Hotel on West 76th Street and the Beacon on West 75th Street will not be used.

Rosenthal provided a specific update for The Lucerne, Hotel Belleclaire, and The Belnord.

The Lucerne

• Seven residents were transferred out of the building for not adhering to the shelter's "good neighbor" policy and/or shelter rules.
• The City's 10 p.m. shelter curfew is strictly enforced. Residents who do not comply may lose their bed for the night, and may be transferred to another facility. Residents seen entering the building after 10 p.m. are doing so because of night shift work and other legitimate reasons.
• The Lucerne shelter security team conducts joint patrols twice daily with the Belleclaire shelter's security team.
• The Lucerne has just completed two days of COVID-19 testing — so far, we are seeing minimum to no outbreaks among shelter residents.
• The Lucerne has added more robust programming for shelter residents, and is speaking with Goddard Riverside Community Center about access to additional space for programming.
• DHS reports that an individual who showed up on the State Registry as a Level 3 sex offender and staying at the Lucerne was never a resident there. The individual in question was a client of Project Renewal at their downtown location until February 2020, and he then became homeless. DHS has advised New York to correct the registry.

Hotel Belleclaire

• Shelter residents are high-functioning — 30 percent are employed and 30 percent are women.
• Residents are moved out if found to be non-compliant with shelter rules.
• The Belleclaire conducts security patrols around the block several times each day.
• Both Project Renewal and Help USA have spoken with the two local public school principals in the area, as well as other school leaders.
• The Belleclaire shelter offers robust services within the building but lacks sufficient common area space. Help USA is hoping to partner with local organizations to obtain more daytime programming space, job or volunteer opportunities, and donations of items like clothing for job interviews for their clients.

The Belnord

• Services are provided within the building.
• Yellow vested/high visibility security patrols are conducted regularly on neighboring streets.
• The shelter has received no recent complaints.

Rosenthal has also worked with the NYPD's 20th Precinct on the Upper West Side to enhance safety measures in the area.

As a result, the local police force has added extra officers from 72nd to 86th on Broadway every day from noon to 8:30 p.m., coordinated with local schools to ensure added officers during student drop-off and pick-up times and also recommended to residents to call 911 if they see any illegal activity.

Additionally, Rosenthal joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and other elected officials in sending a letter to the Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Steve Banks about ensuring each shelter has sufficient resources.

You can read that letter here.

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