Advocates + Shelter Residents to Mayor: Leave the Lucerne Alone, Help the 5K Homeless in Congregate Shelters

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NEW YORK, NY (11/29/2020) (readMedia)-- As COVID-19 rates spike, Upper West Side Open Hearts Initiative, BLM art protest group The All Street Journal, and shelter residents protested Mayor de Blasio's decision to move the men from the Lucerne to another hotel while over 5,500 New Yorkers are still crammed in congregate shelters. While many shelter residents were moved into hotels over the summer, many more were left behind sleeping 15 to a room. Advocates drew 5,500 stick figures on the sidewalk to represent these New Yorkers apparently forgotten by the de Blasio administration as the city focuses its efforts on displacing Lucerne residents instead.

Photos attached.

"We are in the middle of a dire second wave of COVID, and the Mayor's priority is to reshuffle people from one hotel to another while 5,500 others languish in congregate shelters? It's unconscionable that the city has spent taxpayer resources and government time relentlessly pursuing the displacement of Lucerne residents instead of helping homeless people sleeping 15 to a room in the middle of an airborne pandemic." said UWS Open Hearts co-founder Corinne Low.

New Yorkers in congregate shelters are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 because it is extremely hard to socially distance. According to Legal Aid the pandemic mortality rate for single adults in shelters was 80% higher than the city's general population at 409 per 100,000. There are over 700 hotels in New York City -- about 20% of them are currently housing homeless residents -- that could safely house the people sleeping in congregate shelters.

On Wednesday, Judge Debra James ruled that the court cannot block the city's plans to move the men of the Lucerne downtown, on the procedural grounds that shelter residents are required to seek legal remedy for transfers only once they have been moved. The mayor can still drop the transfer and allow the men to stay at the Lucerne where they have on site services, jobs through Goddard Riverside, and a wealth of community support. At the press conference, the lawyer for the men of Lucerne announced his decision to appeal the ruling.

"We intend to file a notice of appeal, along with a provisional request for reinstatement of the restraining order to prevent the forcible relocation of the men of the Lucerne. We are confident that there are ample grounds to obtain reversal of the court's decision issued on Wednesday. To that end, we will aggressively pursue all available remedies to prevent the forcible relocation, which, as the court has already acknowledged, would cause the Lucerne men irreparable harm were it to proceed," said Michael Hiller, lawyer who represents the three men temporarily housed at the Lucerne.

"I implore the Mayor to halt this action and abandon this attempt to placate a few privileged individuals by displacing homeless New Yorkers in need. Relocating homeless populations does nothing to address the homelessness crisis, it only makes it harder to see, and benefits people who would prefer to turn a blind eye. To continue to carry out this eviction would be unconscionable, but also unsurprising from an administration that promised to address the tale of two cities but has repeatedly made decisions to exacerbate it. As we face a second wave of COVID-19 while 5,500 New Yorkers remain in potential super-spreader congregate shelters, it is again clear that they have failed to pursue real, progressive solutions to the homelessness crisis," said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, after the Court's ruling.

"This is a devastating decision by the Supreme Court that reaffirms just how important it is for the Mayor to reverse his wrong-headed and backward decision that will harm the health and well-being of the men of the Lucerne. New York City's priorities are all wrong if City Hall ignores what's working and drops the ball on supporting a community that is coming together. As we head into a second COVID wave, with 5,000 New Yorkers in congregate shelters right now, the city should be moving these New Yorkers into hotels like the Lucerne, not destabilizing people who have a safe place to live, a job, and a community. This is an inhumane decision and we urge the city to let these men stay where they are rather than uprooting them during the holiday season. The eyes of the city are watching and I hope the Mayor and the city do the right thing," said Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley.

"As we approach what will be the most dangerous winter unsheltered homeless New Yorkers have ever faced, the Mayor and the Department of Homeless Services have unlocked a valuable asset: The Radisson Hotel in Downtown Manhattan. Unconscionably, rather than setting the Radisson up for people living on the streets, the city has decided to instead relocate men from the Lucerne to appease a handful of Upper West Siders who think money can buy public policy. Without delay, the Mayor and the Department of Homeless Services should begin making the Radisson available to our most vulnerable neighbors, those living on the streets or those still in congregate shelters. We know that hotel rooms work to bring people indoors: In one study, only 9% offered a traditional shelter spot remained, while 75% offered a stabilization bed in a hotel did so," said Josh Dean, founder of Human.nyc, #HomelessCantStayHome Coalition.

Background:

In October, Judge Debra James granted a TRO allowing dozens of Lucerne residents to start working through Goddard Riverside's Green Keepers program, offering residents privately funded, stable employment. Since the Judge ruled against the men, these jobs are in jeopardy.

Residents at the Lucerne are now receiving 6-day-a-week services on-site from Project Renewal's Recovery Center, which provides intakes, occupational therapy, and group meetings. At a standard shelter such services would normally only be available off-site. This is on top of the robust case management, nursing, and wellness programs offered by Project Renewal's nearly 100 on-site staff members, and supplemental programming offered in partnership with local organizations and volunteers, such as walk and talks with faith leaders, resume workshops, and community donation events.

A NY1/Ipsos poll from October found that sixty-two percent of New Yorkers support housing people currently homeless in their neighborhoods.

In late July, clients of Project Renewal were placed at the Lucene after being transferred from another hotel in Midtown. The hotel placements were part of a de-densification plan that saved lives during COVID, but left some 5,500 New Yorkers behind in congregate shelters.

Soon after the move, Bill de Blasio caved to a group of Upper West Siders who started a racist facebook group and raised $150,000 to hire former Giuliani deputy Randy Mastro to kick Project Renewal shelter residents out of the Lucerne. The eviction was initially announced September 9th, with a plan to displace disabled adult families at Harmonia shelter and transfer Lucerne residents in. After widespread outcry, the mayor announced the Harmonia residents would remain, but Lucerne residents would still be displaced, this time to the Radisson, a former COVID isolation site. The Mayor's decision to move the shelter has emboldened NIMBYs across New York City to privately fundraise ever-growing sums to keep shelters out of their neighborhoods.

Dozens of elected officials and candidates have stood with the men of the Lucerne, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, Senators Brian Benjamin, Robert Jackson, Jose Serrano, and Brad Hoylman, AMs Linda Rosenthal, Yuh-Line Niou, and Dick Gottfried, every candidate for Manhattan Borough President, CMs Helen Rosenthal, Ben Kallos, Carlina Rivera, Brad Lander, Steve Levin, Keith Powers, and Mark Levine, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley, Mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan, Mayoral candidate Dianne Morales, Cynthia Nixon, Zephyr Teachout, and others.