Homeless couple receives temporary apartment
BY DEAN MOSES
Finally home free. Alex Lively
and April Saccoccio’s evergrowing
makeshift shelter
under the FDR Drive was literally
torn down and dismantled on
June 1 by a battalion of NYPD
offi cers. Police offi cials cited the
couple’s placement in an ongoing
construction zone as cause for the
removal, which saw the rough
sleepers overcome with grief.
After the majority of their
belongings were either destroyed
or placed in police storage, Lively
and Saccoccio were left with
nothing but a few bags in a shopping
cart and their beloved dogs
Buddy and Snoopy. The future
looked bleak for the pair, who
had made a crude home under the
FDR Drive since the dawn of the
COVID-19 pandemic. However,
a light appeared at the end of the
tunnel.
Following their traumatic
ordeal, Saccoccio told Schneps
Media that an anonymous individual
reached out to a DSS-DHS
offi cial and mere hours after
amNewYork Metro fi rst reported
Alex Lively and April Saccoccio near their Upper West Side
apartment on June 2.
the eviction, a representative from
the homeless outreach service
informed the couple that they
would be spending the night in
an apartment for the fi rst time in
years.
“I was praying to God. It has
been a rollercoaster ride. I have
never been so sad and then so
happy,” Saccoccio said as she,
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Lively, and their pets sat on the
corner of East 18th Street and
Avenue C for transportation to
her new, albeit temporary, home.
While they waited, friends they
had made over the 16-month period
in the surrounding community
arrived to bid the twosome
good tidings on the next stage in
their lives.
Wilma Loosen is an elderly
resident of Stuyvesant Town-
Peter Cooper Village who has
lived at the complex for 48 years.
Ever since fi rst reading of Lively
and Saccoccio in amNewYork
Metro back in January, she has
delivered care packages to them
every Wednesday, so seeing them
off was a bittersweet moment for
the senior.
“I read the article and I brought
it to my church. I have been homeless,
and I survived the second
World War and I know what
these people have gone through,”
Wilma Loosen said, adding, “I’m
so glad for them.”
While their morning began
with dread as offi cers shredded
their home apart, the afternoon
saw a vastly different encounter
with the police force. After a
DSS-DHS outreach team member
informed the couple about
the Upper West Side apartment
they would soon be inhabiting, an
NYPD patrol car escorted them
to their new home.
“We had a bad experience
with the police, and then a good
experience,” Saccoccio said.
MAKING THEMSELVES AT
HOME
Schneps Media followed up
with Lively and Saccoccio after
their fi rst night with a roof over
their heads. The couple are now
residing in a temporary housing
complex complete with their own
rooms and — much to the excitement
of the formally unhoused
pair — their very own shower.
“It has a real tub! I literally took
like four or fi ve showers. I love it,”
Saccoccio said excitedly, describing
that her new apartment is not
only furnished with a bed and
dresser, but that this was the fi rst
time in three years that Saccoccio
has even entered a building aside
from a local storefront.
Now that they are housed,
Lively says he plans on taking a
job in Queens.
“It was like we were stuck
there. We weren’t going ahead
with our lives, we weren’t going
anywhere,” Saccoccio said, adding,
“I feel so much lighter now,
the stress level has gone down
so much. I’m happy. It gives us a
chance to better ourselves.”
Read more on amny.com.
BOE releases updated results for local races
BY ZACH GEWELB
The city’s Board of Elections (BOE)
on Tuesday night, July 6, released
updated results from its preliminary
ranked-choice voting (RCV) calculations
for the Manhattan borough president race
and local City Council contests.
Results had been expected to be released
earlier, but following tabulation errors in
the mayoral race, the BOE elected to hold
off on revealing results for the local races.
According to the newly released results
for the borough president race, Mark
Levine currently holds the top spot with
53.7 percent of the vote (99,643 votes)
following seven rounds of RCV counting.
Brad Hoylman sits in second place with
46.3 percent of the vote.
Results are not yet offi cial — the BOE
expects to have certifi ed results by July 12.
In addition to the borough president
race, the BOE released preliminary results
for all of the City Council races in
Manhattan.
See the unoffi cial results below.
City Council District 1
Christopher Marte currently holds the
top spot among Democratic candidates,
having received 60.5 percent of the votes
(10,698 votes) following eight rounds of
RCV counting. Jenny L. Low fi nished in
second with 39.5 percent of the vote. Other
candidates include Susan Damplo, Sean C.
Hayes, Tiffany Johnson-Winbush, Susan
Lee, Gigi Li and Maud Maron.
City Council District 2
Incumbent Carlina Rivera received 72.4
percent of the vote (15,310 votes) with Erin
FILE PHOTO
Hussein trailing behind at 26.8 percent ,
according to Tuesday night’s results from
the city’s Board of Elections.Since there are
only two candidates in the race, a rankedchoice
voting count was not triggered.
City Council District 3
Erik D. Bottcher currently holds the
top spot among Democratic candidates,
having received 71.5 percent of the votes
(16,793 votes) following seven rounds of
RCV counting. Leslie Boghosian Murphy
fi nished in second with 28.5 percent of the
vote. Other candidates include Phelan D.
Fitzpatrick; Marni Halasa; Aleta A. LaFargue;
and Arthur Z. Schwartz.
City Council District 5
Julie Menin currently holds the top spot
among Democratic candidates after securing
56 percent of the vote (12,010 votes)
following six rounds of RCV counting.
Tricia M. Shimamura fi nished second with
44 percent of the vote. Other candidates include
Billy Freeland, Rebecca N. Lamorte,
Kim Moscaritolo, Christopher A. Sosa and
Marco A. Tamayo.
City Council District 6
Gale Brewer currently holds the top
spot among Democratic candidates after
receiving 54.9 percent of the vote (21,363
votes). Other Democratic candidates in the
race include Maria Danzilo (14.8 percent
of the vote); David Gold (4.7 percent); Sara
Lind (13.1 percent); Jeffrey Omura (9.9
percent); and Zachary Tov Weiner (2.4
percent). Because Brewer secured more
than 50 percent of the vote, a rankedchoice
voting recount was not triggered
in this race.
4 July 8, 2021 Schneps Media
/amny.com