UWS Kids Celebrate Holidays w/Homeless Neighbors @ the Lucerne

BROOKLYN, NY (12/13/2020) (readMedia)-- As the Mayor continues to insist that displacing 190 men from the Lucerne shelter in the middle of the pandemic is in their best interest, despite their repeated claims to the contrary, UWS kids will join their homeless neighbors to celebrate the holidays. Last week, a judge granted the men of the Lucerne a stay order until the court can hear their appeal. Then on Monday, 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.

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 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.

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