More than 200 homeless men living in a four-star hotel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side will be kicked out after Thanksgiving, a judge has ruled.
A Manhattan judge on Wednesday ruled that city officials could relocate the homeless men from the Lucerne hotel where they have been living temporarily amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The men will now be moved to the former Radisson Hotel in the Financial District neighborhood, which is being turned into a permanent homeless shelter.
The city is expected to move them after the Thanksgiving holiday but it is not yet clear when. DailyMail.com has contacted the city for comment.
The ruling comes after a string of lawsuits and protests over the past four months with the presence of the homeless men dividing the Upper West Side neighborhood.
A Manhattan judge on Wednesday ruled that city officials could relocate the homeless men from the Lucerne hotel where they have been living since July. The ruling comes after a string of lawsuits and protests over the past four months
Those who want the men removed from the area had argued that the ongoing presence of homeless people in the area was diminishing their quality of life because of increased violence, public urination, garbage and drug use.
Others, however, insisted the homeless men be allowed to stay after they were forced out of shelters across the city due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A temporary restraining order was granted last month that allowed the men to remain in the hotel until a final decision was made by the court.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Debra James dismissed the case on Wednesday, saying the court lacked jurisdiction.
‘We’re pleased with the Court’s decision, which will allow the City to continue providing critical services to those who need it most in the way we believe is most effective,’ a spokesperson for the city’s law department said in a statement.
The men will now be moved to the former Radisson Hotel in the Financial District neighborhood, which is being turned into a permanent homeless shelter
Shams DaBaron, one of the homeless men who has become somewhat of a spokesperson for those living at the home, said they were hurt by the ruling
Residents from the the West Side Community Organization had threatened legal action over the ongoing presence of homeless people in the area
Shams DaBaron, one of the homeless men who has become somewhat of a spokesperson for those living at the home, said they were hurt by the ruling.
‘We are hurt. This decision negatively affects homeless people throughout America and that’s really what this fight was about: having our voices heard, challenging an irrational decision made by the Mayor to please some rich folk,’ he said.
‘We have proven that the city does not care about our well-being, because if they did, we would be able to stay at a place where we are thriving.’
City officials had announced in September that people living in the makeshift shelter would be moved downtown after residents from the the West Side Community Organization threatened legal action over the ongoing presence of homeless people in the area.
Residents and businesses in the lower Manhattan region quickly hired an attorney to bring a lawsuit against the city.
Their claim was dismissed by the judge on Wednesday as well.
Those who want the men removed from the area had argued that the ongoing presence of homeless people in the area was diminishing their quality of life because of increased violence, public urination, garbage and drug use
Mayor Bill de Blasio has gone back and forth over the past few months on how to address the backlash surrounding his decision to place some 13,000 of the city’s homeless population into hotels that were left empty when the pandemic disrupted tourism.
The move was meant to keep the homeless people, many of whom suffer from mental illness and addiction, safe during the pandemic.
But many residents living near hotels-turned-shelters voiced outrage over the initiative, saying that the growing homeless populations diminished their security and quality of life.
The Upper West Side emerged as a flashpoint of the debate.
‘The West Side Community Organization, a group formed to advocate for the health and safety of DHS Residents temporarily housed in three hotels on the Upper West Side, as well as for the safety of the community at large, today applauds the Manhattan Supreme Court’s decision to allow the City to proceed with its plan to move the residents at the Lucerne Hotel to a better, safer, and more comprehensive facility in FiDi,’ the West Side Community Organization said about the judge’s ruling.