Lucerne Hotel residents allowed to remain
on Upper West Side for now, court rules
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
AND ROBERT
POZARYCKI
The men living in the Upper West
Side’s Lucerne Hotel will not be
forced to leave the homeless shelter
after a New York state Appellate Court
decision issued on Jan. 5 granted them
an interim stay for the remainder of their
appeal process.
The decision means that the 200 residents
can stay possibly for six months at
the shelter, blocking a city order to move
them to relocate them to the Radisson
Hotel in Lower Manhattan’s Financial
District. The city is, however, permitted
to relocate those residents who seek to
relocate voluntarily.
The stay is valid “on condition the appeal
is perfected” for the Appellate Court’s May
2021 term.
Residents had been placed in the Lucerne
to socially distance during the pandemic
but neighboring residents, claiming
residents were hurting their quality of life,
Neighbors of the Lucerne Hotel and from Vocal New York showed their
support for the homeless living at the Lucerne despite the mayor seeking to
move them to another hotel in downtown Manhattan.
soon called on the city to move the men to
another shelter.
The city had sought to close the homeless
shelter at the Lucerne Hotel and relocate
all residents to the Radisson Hotel, after
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
receiving myriad complaints from Upper
West Side neighbors about conditions at the
hotel. Opponents claimed it was inadequate
to support the needs of the residents, many
of whom were said to suffer from addiction
and mental health issues.
Even so, the Lucerne shelter residents
had gained the support of many Upper
West Side residents who rallied to their
defense. Some have decried the opposition
as a case of NIMBYism, claiming shelter
opponents simply did not want homeless
residents in the area.
On Nov. 25, state Supreme Court Judge
Debra James ruled in the city’s favor, but
an appeal was fi led by the coalition group
Downtown New Yorkers, which opposes
the relocation.
In a statement Tuesday, the New York
City Law Department expressed optimism
that the stay will not eventually lead to a
complete derailment of their relocation
plan.
“The City has a moral and legal obligation
to provide safe shelter to all who need
it,” the statement indicated. The Radisson
is better suited to meet the needs of these
residents. When all the merits are heard,
we believe the court will ultimately agree
that this move is an appropriate use of the
mayor’s emergency powers.”
Protesters call to Repudiate the United for
Housing from Ground Up 2021
BY DEAN MOSES
For the fourth Sunday in a row, a small
group of individuals gathered outside
Trinity Church at 89 Broadway and
Wall Street to protest the United for Housing
from Ground Up 2021 report.
Theo Chino and Deborah Elliott-Bloodman
stood on the curb directly in front of
Trinity Church’s nativity scene where they
brandished a banner with the hashtag
#SlumlordReport. Although the rally was
silent, the pair gestured with the laminated
sign at passing vehicles and pedestrians
hoping to garner attention for their cause.
This “slumlord report” Chino references is
a 77-page proposal outlined by a coalition
of housing groups called The United for
Housing from the Ground Up.
This $4 billion housing budget plan was
developed for the next mayor to take into
consideration upon entering offi ce. This
diagram details ways to intervene, prevent,
or at least decrease homelessness for New
Yorkers earning an extremely low income.
Some suggestions outlined in the proposition
consist of converting hotels that are
on the cusp of closure and illegal basement
apartments into permanent affordable
A small group of protesters call to Repudiate the United for Housing from
Ground Up 2021.
housing residences as well as rezoning
affl uent neighborhoods.
The pandemic has escalated the housing
crisis more than ever. Many are advocating
for rent to be canceled since they can’t
afford food, let alone New York City’s
skyrocketing rent prices in the middle of
this unprecedented crisis.
FILE PHOTO
While there are some relief programs and
even an extension of the residential moratorium
– preventing evictions until May 1st
for those experiencing hardships due to the
pandemic – the United for Housing from
the Ground Up proposal offers an extensive
blueprint of how to resuscitate housing before
it completely falls apart in 2021.
Chino and several others gathered at
Trinity Church to protest this proposal,
deeming it a “Slumlord Report.” Chino says
that there are discrepancies as to where
funds are being allocated, even going as
far to allege corruption.
“All we want is some transparency,”
Chino told amNewYork Metro. He also
claims that as a resident of public housing,
he is a victim of the city gifting housing
complexes to non-profi t organizations,
which he then claims inherit debt for
renovating the buildings.
“We ask that Trinity Church repudiate
the #SlumlordReport or the ‘United
for Housing from the Ground Up.’ We
are asking for transparency regarding
the billions of dollars in subsidy for low
income. We ask that the non-profi t Wall
Street Corporations show us the books
as per state law,” he writes on his protest
event page.
Chino adds, “We ask for a federal, state,
and city investigation that would open the
books for a real investigation into all HPD
private, public partnerships with Neighborhood
Restore (and nonprofi ts), including
the Third-Party Transfer program, TILANCP,
and Inclusionary Zoning.”
4 January 7, 2021 Schneps Media