An appellate court has ruled that for at least a few months, while the case continues, the approximately 200 homeless men living at the Lucerne Hotel will be able to choose whether they want to stay or move to the Raddison Hotel in the Financial District.
This comes after multiple plans to relocate the Lucerne residents were put on pause.
LUCERNE HOTEL SHELTER TO CLOSE DOORS
In early December, a state appellate judge ruled that the residents could stay, about a week after another judge had ruled to move the residents downtown.
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Now, the residents are expected to have the option to stay until May, but those who wish to move downtown will be free to do so.
Attorney Michael Hiller, who is representing the Lucerne residents, said that the decision, “though temporary, is truly empowering to homeless residents who are fighting for their right to be heard and ultimately, for their dignity” (via NYdailynews.com).
UWS Open Hearts Initiative also tweeted out its approval over the decision.
Huge victory for Lucerne residents in court today, as a 5-judge panel extends the interim stay against their forced relocation for the length of the appeal, likely 6 months or longer. https://t.co/v7F59Df7M2@MikeHillerNYC and @homeless_hero made this happen!
— UWS Open Hearts Initiative (@UWSOpenHearts) January 5, 2021
Megan Martin of the West Side Community Organization, which has campaigned for the relocation of these men, stated that “From a public health perspective, as New York enters the second wave of COVID-19, and from an addiction medicine perspective, keeping this fraction of the Lucerne population in their current location is a high-risk proposition that worries me as both a physician and an Upper West Side resident” (via nypost).
