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Homeless protests on Upper West Side
Protesters took their voices to Gracie Mansion on Sunday to oppose the city's plan to move around 300 homeless men from The Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side.
NEW YORK - There were some noisy and confrontational moments during a press conference Sunday afternoon about the homeless in front of the Lucerne Hotel on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
The city took over the hotel in July to house 300 homeless single men, but announced last week they would be moved elsewhere.
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City moving homeless people from UWS hotel
The city’s plan to temporarily house homeless men in hotels on the Upper West Side has backfired, after people who live in the neighborhood threatened to sue the city over the policy.
Residents living nearby the hotel had been complaining for weeks that some of the homeless men living there were using and selling drugs, urinating in public, and causing other quality of life issues.
But on Sunday, advocates for the homeless rallied to oppose the move. Others have said the decision will create a domino effect, forcing homeless people in other shelters throughout the city to be forced out in order to make room for residents of The Lucerne.
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Family shelter evictions
The homeless crisis is continuing to draw a rift between residents in New York City, as dozens of families are now being relocated from the Flatlands Family Residence in Brooklyn, just days before the first day of school.
The homeless supporters marched across East 86th Street and took their plea as close as they could get to the Mayor's Gracie Mansion residence.
Since March, the Department of Homeless Services has taken thousands of people out of big group shelters and moved them into hotels to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Protestors said that moving them around from place to place does not serve them or the community that's impacted, and there needs to be a plan.
The Department of Homeless Services placed about 10,000 homeless people in 600 hotels at the height of the pandemic. A DHS spokesperson told FOX 5 NY that the use of hotels is temporary, and they are trying to reduce the number in use as shelters moving forward.