BREAKING: 5-Judge Panel Rules Residents Can Stay at Lucerne ~ 6 Months
BROOKLYN, NY (01/05/2021) (readMedia)-- Today, a five-judge panel of the Appellate Court of New York unanimously granted a stay on behalf of three homeless residents at the Lucerne hotel blocking the forced relocation of Lucerne for the length of the appeal, which could take six months or longer. A lower court decided before Thanksgiving that the move could proceed, but an appeals court shortly thereafter granted an interim stay, which was extended today. Mayor de Blasio still has the power to drop the City's lawsuit entirely, call off the move, and instead commit to using the Radisson to temporarily house people currently experiencing street homelessness in freezing temperatures.
Other cities, like San Francisco, have extended the use of hotels as shelters during COVID-19. Goddard Riverside has also sponsored a comprehensive jobs program for Lucerne residents that the court recognized would be eliminated by a move.
"This is a huge victory for the residents of the Lucerne who are thriving here on the Upper West Side. It is a testament to what can happen when neighborhoods work together with shelter residents, instead of against them. We hope the Mayor will at long last do the right thing, stop spending our tax dollars to fight homeless men in court, and focus on using the Radisson Hotel -- which has been sitting practically empty -- to safely house people sleeping on the streets or still in congregate shelters. Meanwhile, we will continue to work together with UWS shelter residents and the community here to create a safe, welcoming, and equitable community for all," said Corinne Low, co-founder of the UWS Open Hearts Initiative.
"We are so grateful that the Appellate court recognized it would be detrimental to force our relocation from the Lucerne, and in doing so considered our humanity and wellbeing over those who showed no concern for us. We still hope the Mayor and the First Lady will come here in person, see the great services happening at the Lucerne and call off this irrational move once and for all. We hope our success here -- working together with the permanent community -- could be used as a model for shelters across the City," said Shams da Baron, aka da Homeless Hero, who is one of the residents the stay was granted on behalf of.
"This is a huge victory, not only for the men of the Lucerne, but for homeless residents throughout the City. This lawsuit started after a small group of wealthy residents hired a politically-connected lawyer to forcibly evict homeless residents from their community. The trial court had dismissed the proceeding to block the move, ruling that homeless residents have no right to challenge their forced relocations, even if undertaken for invalid reasons. Today, the Appellate Court ruled that, not only can the men of the Lucerne remain there, at least pending the appeal, but further, those who want to leave may also do so. In this way, today's decision, though temporary, is truly empowering to homeless residents who are fighting for their right to be heard and ultimately, for their dignity," said Michael Hiller, the lawyer representing the three Lucerne residents who sued the city to stop the move.
Background:
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 congregate shelter 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 close the Lucerne and 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.
A NY1/Ipsos poll from October found that sixty-two percent of New Yorkers support housing people currently homeless in their neighborhoods. A few weeks ago, 22 former senior officials and aides in the de Blasio administration -- including former Deputy Mayors Alicia Glen and Richard Beury, as well as former DOH Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett -- wrote an open letter to the Mayor urging him to allow the men to remain at the Lucerne.
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, Mayoral candidates Maya Wiley, Shaun Donovan, Dianne Morales, and Comptroller Scott Stringer, as well as activists like Cynthia Nixon, Zephyr Teachout, and others.