Homeless Shelter Residents Seek Court Action To Stay At Lucerne Hotel
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Homeless shelter residents are seeking court action so they can remain living in an Upper West Side hotel.
They’re asking for an emergency hearing to stop the city from moving them out.
The residents say they’re not going to give up their fight to stay at The Lucerne. They plan to host a rally Monday, urging all New Yorkers to commit to shared responsibility in caring for the homeless.
Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the more than 230 homeless men living at the Lucerne to be transferred after people in the community complained about safety issues and hired an attorney to have the city move the men out.
On Sunday night, the shelter residents filed a temporary restraining order that would prevent the city from forcing them to leave the West 79th Street hotel.
The men were scheduled to board buses bound for a temporary shelter at the Radisson Hotel in the Financial District. Sources tell CBS2 the city will hold off until after a judge hears their request.
MORE: Lower Manhattan Group Raising Big Bucks To Try To Keep Homeless Out Of Their Neighborhood
Residents in Lower Manhattan also filed a restraining order to stop the city from moving the men there, but a judge denied that request.
Attorneys say the men have made significant progress at getting back on their feet, and shelter residents say they don’t want to cause any harm.
“The moment that they began to take off as a group — they were doing amazingly well — that was the moment when the city pulled the rug out from under them and literally tried to take them from where they were doing so well. And they want to stay because they’re doing really tremendous work,” attorney Michael Hiller said. “The Upper West Side has embraced these men, has supported these men, and they feel it. They also know that they are not really welcome downtown.”
Organizers of Monday’s rally say if the men do end up moving, for some of them it could be their third or even fourth time having to move during the pandemic.
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October 19, 2020 at 04:15PM
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