By Carol Tannenhauser
Sam Domb, the owner of The Lucerne hotel on West 79th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, has put his nearby townhouse on the market, according to the New York Post. But not to worry, Domb said. His decision to sell the townhouse did not stem from what some locals say has been a decrease in the quality of life in the area since the hotel became a homeless shelter for 283 men, many of whom are dealing with substance-abuse problems. “We have no problems at the Lucerne,” Domb insisted.
As for the future of the Lucerne, “I will not renew,” Domb said, before hanging up on the Post reporter. He meant he wouldn’t renew his contract with the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS). The contract for the shelter reportedly expires in October.
But using hotels and similar properties as housing for people who lack it may not disappear with the pandemic.
Deputy Mayor Alison Bremen opened that possibility up at a roundtable at the end of June, which the news site THE CITY covered:
We’ve been looking hard at — are there hotels that we could acquire to turn into supportive housing rather than having to build from ground up?…We’re looking both at, are there assets that we own that we can make available to affordable housing or other needs — and are there private market buildings that we could acquire to convert into affordable housing at a cheaper cost.
To add fuel to the speculation, the CEO and Executive Director of the nonprofit running the homeless shelter in The Lucerne, called Project Renewal, wrote an editorial In the Daily News urging the City to buy hotels — made vacant by the decrease in travel and tourism caused by the pandemic — and convert them into affordable, supportive housing. On June 14, Eric Rosenbaum wrote:
We should take this opportunity to convert thousands of hotel rooms to affordable studio apartments. We can do it much faster and at lower cost than trying to build new units by using long-term bond financing at a time when the city’s operating budget is forced to shrink and bond interest costs are at historic lows. Thousands of low-cost studio apartments would be a perfect addition to the city’s affordable housing plan.
The Mayor and his homelessness czar, Steven Banks, once himself a homeless advocate, reiterated that the ‘hotel solution’ was temporary, at an August 7th press event. However, the Mayor’s first statement at the briefing was misleading. He said about the city moving people without homes to hotels, “That really happened earlier in the height of the crisis.” In fact, The Lucerne was converted on July 25th, less than three weeks ago. New York’s COVID-19 numbers have been low and stable in recent weeks (though clearly the virus remains a deadly threat).
The Mayor went on to say, “You’re exactly right to be saying now what’s going to be the next step to bring folks back to shelters as is appropriate. So, the Commissioner will talk about it, but I want to emphasize, at the height of the crisis, there was an honest and real problem of folks being in close quarters and we needed to spread them out for their health and safety. That was our concern for all New Yorkers, including folks who unfortunately lost their home. That’s why we went into some hotels, but that is a temporary reality. We’re going to be coming back from those hotels over time into the shelter system. So, Commissioner, can you give a sense of that approach?”
Steven Banks, Commissioner of DHS said, “I can assure you, we will return when it is safe to do so. That is – this is not a permanent state of operations to be in commercial hotels. We were working very hard, we have a plan to get out of commercial hotels. Before COVID, we had driven down the number of commercial hotels the City was in and we were continuing to make progress in that plan. We opened more than 60 hotels in the last eight to ten weeks in order to deal with this crisis.”
Isaac McGinn, spokesperson for DHS added, “…Of course, our decisions will continue to be guided by public health experts and at the point at which public health guidance determines that clients can be relocated back to our congregate shelters from the temporary emergency relocation sites, we will inform the community.”
Using empty hotels like this is a good idea. What’s not a good idea is moving in 300 men that are drug addicts, overnight. This has been billed as a recovery house, but it’s obvious the people there are not in recovery. they are openly doing drugs and drinking in public, aggressively panhandling so they can get their next fix. there’s been at least 3 OD/drug freakouts that I am aware of. Even more odd … why are they not in their hotel rooms? I guess it must be because they need to panhandle for their drugs. otherwise, their needs for food is taken care of I am sure by the program.
how about moving in some homeless families? or kids? Whenever I see ads to help the homeless it’s always families, women escaping violence, and kids. I think only one of the hotels has a few women there.
six men were loitering outside the Lucerne with no security in sight. and were impinging on the Nice Matin dining area as well as blocking the sidewalk. The next day there were 5 security types outside during th morning hours. This is a terrible blow to our lovely neighborhood, already reeling from people moving away and small businesses failing. No notice is to our neighborhood by the city is WRONG!
Agree. This is not about homeless advocacy. Drug dealers, addicts, and psychotics do not belong here without supervision while in public and treatment services.
This is not about keeping them safe- they do not wear masks – they are jeopardizing the safety of thousands more.
I am not a homeowner or business owner, but I care that this hotel for homeless answer will set this neighborhood back 50 years and for years to come.
Temporary or not, it is causing people to move and shops to close. Why renew a lease in a slum?
Right, this is precisely the wrong time to turn a good, family-oriented neighborhood into a haven for aggressive drug addicts. The local businesses are, as everywhere, desperate. Restaurants can only serve outdoors and many can’t do it because the homeless approach customers constantly for money, or fight, or urinate near diners (NYP did some pieces on this).
Plus all hotels are empty now. Why not house the people in an empty hotel by the airports, which I am sure are much cheaper anyway? Which is another issue: I have seen reports that the Lucerne is getting $175 per person per day from the city, which is of course paid by taxpayers. Why not house them somewhere cheaper. it’s outrageous. Taxpayers are paying a lot of money so that drug addicts can get a fix and aggressively panhandle in a (formerly) good and expensive neighborhood. There are many hotels in all 5 boroughs that are empty and I am sure would charge far less than the Lucerne.
I expect the answer is that no other neighborhood congress person or community board agreed. No one would want this to go on in their neighborhood, which is why this happened covertly, without any input from anyone in the UWS community.
I do agree a further out, cheaper hotel would be better. I’ve heard reports of drugs being smoked. That old pre-war would go up like kindling.
Shocked the owner could afford a whole mansion townhouse to live in! I’ve had friends stay at the Lucerne. It’s nice but dated, he’s getting more for the rooms than he might without FEMA.
After reading this I feel like I am at the end of a Judge Judy episode where no one learned anything.
‘…and are there private market buildings that we could acquire to convert into affordable housing at a cheaper cost…’
What does she mean by ‘acquire’? Eminent Domain?
Travis Bickle would be proud of the new Upper West Side – https://u.pc.cd/epq
I saw someone openly shooting up heroin today on 72nd and West End. In addition to homeless encampments complete with mattresses and mountains of garbage. Hundreds of active drug addicts just roaming the streets, our new “neighbors.”
RIP Upper West Side.
Verdi Square, whose volunteer gardeners spent countless hours cleaning it up and beautifying the landscape, is turning into Vagrant Square In the evenings. Trash littering the place! And the area around the now closed LPQ food kiosk hasn’t been cleaned up.
Folded chairs shabbily shoved and fallen into a corner.
Tree pits along Broadway are dirty. Why haven’t tree guards been added on EVERY tree between 79 & 86 St.? In any European city shrubs and flowers would be at the base of every tree along a major boulevard! Along Broadway on the UWS…no way. Graffiti covered fire hydrants and postal boxes. Filthy, dirty and vandalized newspaper racks scattered on street corners. The Village Voice racks, and others should be taken away!
Who cares?
Nobody, That’s the problem.
You know it used to be called Needle Park? Check out the movie with Al Pacino.
You sure have a lot of fingers to point at who should do the work. Why don’t you dry putting them to good use and contribute yourself.
SNY: you are so right! Everything i’ve noticed and reported to Linda Rosenthal. Finally one “learning annex” news box with rats and garbage was removed from 72nd/WEA BUT it took forever and 4 filthy unused boxes remain. WHY? I dont see these on the UES or west village. We all agree something is very wrong here. but what to do? I’ve tried-I cant defend this city anymore. I certainly cant recommend living on the UWS. It’s a nightmare.
I think it is clearly the case that the city would want to turn at least one of these hotels into an SRO, despite the very checkered past of that model in these very buildings.
I would guess the Belleclaire is most at risk; someone should ask Shimmie Horn his plans. He’s been remarkably quiet about all of this sitting out in New Jersey or whichever suburb he’s in.
The city may not be a good financial position to be acquiring such places, though, and so might opt for cheaper alternatives, but that just doesn’t seem to matter to them.
Some hotels were previously SROs. The tenants were displaced to make way for tourists.
This just reverses that.
And as I experienced as a resident those particular SROs had huge negative effects on those around them, quite apart from being a bastion of peace and love.
As hotels, they employed and threw revenue into city coffers, which, *if used well*, could help people much more.
Of course, instead we have waste like Thrive.
Yes instead of revenue creators we have revenue gobblers–how much should a society invest its non-productive members? are you using thousands in city monies each month?
You summed up the entire discussion with this phrase: “should a society invest its non-productive members?”
Making it about money?
The Lucerne Hotel was used not only for tourists but also for for relatives of people who live in the neighborhood but who do not have enough room to put these relatives up in their apartments.
Yes, many of us used the Lucerne for just these purposes. No more.
There will be a special place in Hell for this administration and its cronies after what they have done to the once beautiful UWS.
CrankyPants, you’re my kind of WSR poster.
Yes, because you are both of the opinion that positively everything is partisan.
How about getting another cruise ship outfitted for them? They would still get services but wouldn’t be hurting themselves the neighborhood as they are now. The ships of hospital services, dining facilities or in-room service, etc. It would be much cheaper than the $2M per night they’re spending.
Good idea. Run for Mayor please.
I second that. And another option (as has been mentioned by others)–to use airport hotels–seems ideal. Cheaper, spares the neighborhood of open drug use, constant harassment, and dangerous psychotics (not all psychotics are dangerous to others, of course, but the UWS has become riddled with drugs and danger.) And airport hotels surely have space–no one is traveling!
The more that sell or move the better. Yuppie Puppies arrival made the UWS unaffordable for families and their children who lived here for generations. Let the wealthy go & let the middle class find affordable housing close by their families once again. Let police, fire dept members, school teachers, sanitation workers and all the people who keep the City move back into the neighborhoods they support and work. Most of all, let real estate owners stop gouging renters for buildings they never live in only purchase to make obscene rents from renters.
Oona – please humor me and tell me how many folks you know personally that work for NYPD, FDNY or sanitation? My guess is few if any because they all exist in a totally different world than the upper west side (Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island). I happen to know quite a few and I’m sorry to tell you that none will be trading their nice middle class outer borough lifestyle for a tiny apartment in a quickly deteriorating part of Manhattan, even if a bit cheaper. I think it’s time to drop the “everyone wants to live in the city” fantasy..
Oona, what parent in their right mind would move their family to a neighborhood where addicts shoot up on the corner….with piles of human excrement and garbage strewn about….where mentally ill addicts sucker punch and stab people randomly, anytime, anywhere? If you think teachers, police and firefighters are clamoring to leave Valley Stream and move to the 20th and 24th precincts, you have drunk the wrong cool aid. When the high end taxpayers bail out, and the city treasury continues to shrink, the UWS will resemble The Walking Dead more than the happy, middle class utopia you fantasize about.
I own my apartment In the lower 100’s and love my City and the neighborhood where I’ve lived since 1976, but this is breaking my heart.
I hate to tell you but it’s partly city regs that have driven up the cost of real estate: huge property tax increases to fund the maw of the ever-growing budget; required Local Law 11 work every ten years; increased oversight by fire and sanitation departments requiring expensive physical alterations to be “in compliance”; outlawing of cheap oil which required installation of new furnaces and purchase of more expensive fuel, etc. etc. So a lot of things other than yuppie buyers have driven up the prices!
And these civil servants are going to be OK living around drug addicted mentally ill folks with no supervision?
Be careful what you wish for. A negative demand shock in housing usually leads to wage loss for everyone in the affected area.
Research clearly shows that restrictions on housing stock raise wages in a local market. Higher wages are paid because the area is deemed to have desirable amenities or features. Normatively, UWS is considered a nice place to live and correspondingly demands higher prices.
However, if the housing supply in the UWS suddenly increases due to lowered demand from COVID or crime, housing prices will naturally decline on basic supply/demand principles. But paradoxically, the lower prices may still fail to improve affordability, since local earnings and wages will also decline.
Put another way, the police, fire dept members, school teachers, sanitation workers – all the people you suggest who might benefit – will see rents prices go lower. But, they still may not be able to afford an apartment, because they will lose jobs, or receive a pay-cut.
Exactly as predicted.
“De Blasio has threatened to lay off up to 22,000 city employees in October unless municipal unions agree to $1 billion in labor savings.”
Spurious argument – civil service employees salaries as well as many professions are paid the same amount regardless of where they live. Teachers salaries, sanitation workers etc. salaries are fixed and therefore do not fluctuate.
Property tax makes up 29% of NYC’s annual $88 billion dollar budget. Due to COVID and a spike in Medicaid spending, NYC is already expected to have a massive budget shortfall of 34% with $23.8 billion loss in revenue. The estimates don’t factor in a decline in property values. If they do, we can expect another $2-10 billion drop with a 2-3 year lag.
Although city workers are paid the same regardless of whether they live in the Bronx or on Central Park West, their pay is directly tied to city budgets, which fluctuate and are subject to collective bargaining agreements. For example, NYC police, fire, and other uniformed city workers negotiated a new contract in 2018 that phased in an 8% pay increase over 3 years. If there is a massive budget shortfall, police, sanitation, education, and other general city workers can expect hiring freezes and other cuts. If there is a massive October squeeze, as many expect, layoffs are in the cards. Simply put, the consequences of any budget gaps will be borne by the labor unions.
tl;dr – Because property tax makes up 1/3 of City revenue, declines in property values will exacerbate local wage loss for both private and public payrolls.
Not so! There are teachers in public schools on the east end of Long Island that are paid at different rates. Many are not unionized.
Or
Everyone, as represented by the WSR comments, rush to the exit (think Larchmont) at once.
Prices drop to the value of the apartment absent speculative demand.
School teachers get to live near their students.
Everyone wins!
As tax’s increase so do rents average tax on a one bedroom on UWS 1,000 plus a month not including common charges.
It’s adorable how much people romanticize the idea of the city IMPROVING once the evil wealthy leave. Newsflash, those evil wealthy people pay the overwhelming majority of taxes in this city. Without them, the city budget is screwed. Your imagined utopia is going to be more of a run-down, crime-infested pit.
“…a run-down, crime-infested pit.” Aka, a description of every 40+ hedgefunder.
Stop making sense 😉
Sorry Marc, I lived here in the 70’s we did just fine without the influx of “wealth” which knocked out all our family businesses, affordable family restaurants, and prevented any of our family members from being able to raise the next generation close by grandparents and other family members.
I’m with you.
5 generations
Grandpa spent his final days in the Williams near all of his grandchildren.
Those grandchildren have now moved away because this is no longer a neighborhood.
Who’d have thought that Brooklyn Heights and Van Cortland would be preferable to the UWS?
But, then again, who thought that the Williams would become condos, with the elderly kicked to the curb?
I guess my grandchildren will visit the UWS as long as we hang on here,even without much community.
NYC was literally bankrupt in 1975. The 70s were the worst time. 500k jobs lost from ’69 to ’74. Everyone on welfare. Crime everywhere. Urban blight. Seriously Oona, get your history straight. No one wants to go back to that.
This is simply not true. There were periods when this city, UWS included, was for the working class that built it. Learn your history.
Unfortunately that ship has sailed. If you think real estate prices will drop down to pre “Yuppie Puppie” levels you are sadly mistaken. Also, cost of living expenses are like taxes, they never go down (unless you are a corporation!)
I hope that you haven’t made your living arrangements based on this economic theory of up, up, up.
I agree. It looks like the cycle is already beginning.
The reason there are THREE such hotels within blocks, when many hotels lie empty throughout the city in less populated areas with less risk, is due to the fact that the local council members did not object (and it has been reported that Rosenthal’s CoS assisted with the contract at the latest in the Lucerne) and the hotel owners were happy to ignore any concerns of the local community that has served them for years. The Lucerne owner had every choice — this wasn’t a government taking. And he has been insanely compensated with tax dollars as he jacks up the prices and caused mayhem in the community. Would be very interesting to learn if any of these hotel owners sought or received pandemic fund assistance from the government on top of this abuse of taxpayers and community.
All 3 hotels received Federal loans. Also note that no other hotel besides these 3 in 10024 received Federal loans.
Belleclaire: $350,000 – 1 million
Belnord: $350,000 – 1 million
Lucerne: $1 – 2 million
#savetheuws
projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/
Thanks to WSR for informative and fair reporting on the ongoing situation.
Again, the problem is not that the residents dropped secretly into the UWS are homeless. The issue is that some of them need medical and psychiatric care for addiction and mental illness. They are being permitted to buy and use drugs and alcohol. Supervision is almost nonexistent, with “guards” saying that they can’t do more than break up a fight—and only on the hotel premises. Our mayor, with the tacit approval of all our elected officials, does not care that he has unleashed addicts, unstable individuals, and pedophiles on to our streets. All of this was done due to the coronavirus, but by now we have all seen that most of the offenders in the streets are not wearing masks.
Ben this is 100% my take. I have no problem with them being here if they are being rehabilitated. A lot of them are. they have jobs and are really trying to get their lives on track which I admire. That can not be easy. I don’t know the hard situation a lot of these men are coming from. The problem is a lot aren’t being rehabilitated. project renewal is not doing a damn thing to help them. Shouldn’t they be in treatment during the day or other activities to help them “renew” their life? It’s like protect renewal just dumped them and left. They are on the streets all day drinking. Where is project renewal to provide services.
This exactly. Ben David and Sam, 100% agree with you both.
This has worked out as well as possible for the hotels. They were looking at fixed expenses and no revenues. So they got the government to bail them out. They are making a fortune on this – because of the pandemic, the Comptroller’s office was not able to review the contracts so I’m sure the rates are usurious.
So the owners make a fortune on this to cover their costs and then some. Then when things hopefully return to normal they can use the excess funds to do a refresh on the hotel, change the name, put up fake Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews for the newly renamed hotel about how great it is, and go on with their lives.
Yah make. No sense you tell nothing. But. Lies. About the. Ppl at the hotel they mine they bi and yah folks need to especially yah rascism lady’s and. Men yah just. Mad. We in a. Nice hotel we. Buy food. In the. Neighborhood and. We DNT. Steal we. Are. Human and everybody. Here. Is. Not. On drugs about 90 of ppl here. DNT. Get. High. For your information so stupide
I periodically have intelligent, non-controversial posts get censored (they are under 100 words, though that rule also seems to get very loosely enforced). Others have noted the same problem. But this gibberish gets through? Could someone from WSR explain? Thanks.
It’s not you grammer.
So you can eliminate that explanation.
Juan, this is the best possible scenario for us. Other scenarios include:
1. Housing other homeless populations.
2. Being sold to the city for SROs…
Thank you Eric Rosenbaum.
We should not have to fear for our safety walking down formerly upscale-seeming West 79th. After someone woke up a passed -out junkie lying next to Irving Farm, he got up and ran lurchingly straight toward me completely out of his mind. I booked it into the bodega around the corner and he followed me in there. Thankfully he got distracted and I was able to run out and home. At least I wasn’t stabbed or punched like others have been. But it was unsettling.
Its a good idea but they need help from the drugs
How much has Sam Domb contributed to deblasio? A lot. This is corruption. The city comptroller has no authority to inspect the contracts because our corrupt mayor invoked emergency powers.
If you root for property prices to decline as people move you are saying that you want the community to fracture and crumble. That’s what happened in Newark. Maybe that’s the future you want. Idiotic.
Govornor’s Island has lots and lots of empty houses. And it’s an island. Just saying.
You’re kidding right? Please look up Governor’s Island as of today. Then come back and tell us again you think there is a lot of housing. In a million years they’re not going to allow drug and alcohol users in the newly million dollar renovations.
On another note. These are not homeless men. They were living in a, supposedly, rehab center. Bring on the true homeless families. Chances are excellent we won’t be in danger when crossing Broadway or sitting at a restaurant.
I can see it now. Five years hence. Vacant storefronts with leftover scaffolding on every block under which live homeless encampments. Boarded up permanently closed restaurants. Cars gone. Bike lanes galore. Hotels as shelters. UWS moonbat liberal heaven. Dystopia 2025.
Two weeks ago, Mayor DeBlasio told Errol Louis on NY1 that the three UWS hotels will continue to house the homeless “until there is a COVID 19 vaccinatation.” After they are vaccinated, they will return to the shelters.
We know the number of sex offenders but not how many have records for violent crimes.
I’m confused as a former greater nyorker. Where did all these homeless come from exactly? Can DeLazio provide state numbers vs. former locales? Pre 2020 to earlier years? No one has provided a detailed explanation yet from mayors office. They weren’t all here before so where did they come from while he’s busy painting black lives matter? Rikers?
The contract may end in October but remember something called Squatters Rights. Once a person has lived in a dwelling for more than 30 days they do not legally have to leave even though they are told to. If any of them refuse, the hotel will have to take each of the residents to court & file to have them evicted. Something like that can take anywhere from 9-12 months.
Not when it comes to the homeless. When they say we have to move, we have to move, no matter where its at, otherwise the police will come and physically remove us. There are no laws protecting us in that regard because by entering the shelter system we are submitting their policies. The only choice we have is to go back into the streets. I’ve never seen anyone successfully stay in a shelter when they refuse to leave after Bellvue officially transfers them.
I’m curious, where are shelter residents expected to use restroom facilities during the day? My understanding is that they are not allowed to return to their room so are forced to relieve themselves in the streets. This seems inhumane and can certainly lead to other health issues for shelter residents as well as the broader neighborhood. Thank you.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic we are allowed to return to our rooms and we can stay there if we wish to. This accommodation was made while we were in the shelters. In the beginning while the whole city went on lockdown, we were still be forced to leave the shelter in the morning. Perhaps this is why the virus spread so fast in the shelters. The Coalition for the Homeless issued an analysis that found that New Yorkers experiencing homelessness are dying from COVID-19 at a rate 61% higher than the general population.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2020/6/15/21292127/covid-tore-through-new-york-homeless-shelters-but-residents-were-kept-in-the-dark
https://harmreduction.org/about-us/principles-of-harm-reduction/
Most of those comments are just ridiculous; UWS residents waking up to a situation that has affected many neighborhood in the city and that is now affecting their cherished neighborhood. The UWS is not a no man’s land for people that are different from their residents’ ethnicity, religion or income. There have been homeless shelters in residential areas in Harlem for example for years and who has been talking about those? The UWS is part of the city and needs to welcome its share of those issues, like other neighborhoods do and deal with. The UWS should work to include those men in the neighborhood and give them a chance and build a community instead of living in fears…
This has NOTHING to do with ethicity or anything other than actual bad conduct.
We don’t care how they look. We care that they are urinating openly in public, passed out in a drug stupor, aggressively panhandling residents (basically intimidating them by violating personal space and refusing to take no for an answer), angrily shouting at people who walk by, using hard drugs openly. Many of the worst offenders I have seen have been white.
And no other community is dealing with this. Sure, other neighborhoods have these things in isolation, but NONE have had 300 aggressive drug addicts that happen to be homeless move in overnight.
You can be welcoming…EXCEPT that some have exhibited really bad public behavior.
When a social contract is broken…it crosses the line.
And in the ultra progressive Upper West Side, even very liberal individuals are increasingly getting fed up.
That’s the issue. Period.
You can be welcoming…EXCEPT that some have exhibited really bad public behavior.
When a social contract is broken…it crosses the line.
And in the ultra progressive Upper West Side, even very liberal individuals are increasingly getting fed up.
That’s the issue. Period.
You being an ex-UWSider are surely aware that the UWS has always provided various types of shelters and supportive housing. We are a generous community. The issue is the crime that some, not all, of these men have brought to our streets. And regardless of mental health issues, economic hardship, or housing struggles, Illegal drug use is illegal. Selling illegal drugs is illegal. Stealing is illegal. The UWS does not welcome illegal behaviors from anyone.
The UWS *already had* a disproportionate share of supportive housing, shelters, etc, prior to the new arrivals. To suggest it is shirking its burden somehow is absurd.
There is no regard forte residents and businesses in the area .
This is an ill conceived plan, creating havoc.The Mayor seems to have no problem destroying the City even further, which will only keep tourists and visitors away. This is a disgrace.
283 is part of the problem: TOO MANY in one location of a family-oriented community!!! And who is doing on-site help and supervision?— I read it was the hotel clerks, which is absurd if true.— One thing is also clear: this is a local pol failure. And Gale Brewer should have intervened as well.
Take a look at the salaries for the executives at Project Renewal. Plenty of $200k+ salaries for less than 40 hour work weeks. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132602882/201931349349306538/full
Sorry, but you think CEOs and physicians who are working for an organization with an annual revenue of over 80 million dollars, getting paid btwn $150-250K a year is somehow greedy or unfair or a misappropriation of funds? Have you ever been the CEO of anything? The responsibility and liability and accountability is tremendous. This is a strawman argument you are making here. We are not talking about a hedge fund CEO making millions while paying janitors pennies…this is not a Bezos situation of a billionaire exploiting others. These are reasonable salaries for the jobs and if anything the physicians (most of whom likely are saddled with med school debt), are being underpaid for the work they are doing. I’m not not asserting that Project Renewal is well run, nor am I saying it is poorly run, because I don’t have that data…but using these salaries to make some kind of point about the org as a whole is an argument built on pillars of sand.
I have no idea what you are talking about. I don’t know anyone who makes $234k for an under 40 hour work week. Most of these executives do not work 40 hours from what I can see. This is supposed to be a non-profit!
In business school (Columbia) we were always taught, “there’s no profit like non-profit;” the biggest scams around.
Wow! Who knew there were those kinds of salaries in supportive services?? Even the secretary was making $111,887 + $10,301 (OT?) back in 2017, when this was dated.
Where can I go sign up? I can type… well, a little.
Indeed. I expect that there is a clear connection between the Administration and the program.
I hear that there are rooms available at The Carlyle, The Pierre, The Sherry Netherland, The Plaza and The Mark. I’m sure that the Upper East Side would be delighted to fill up those empty rooms and put them to good use!!!
Don, You forgot to mention the Trump Tower on Fifth Ave. Now that Trump has changed his residency from New York to Florida, he no longer has need for his huge apartment on Fifth Ave.
For the one who proposed housing drug addicts in Trump Tower: This is a Democrat run city, the silly “luxury hotel for drug addicts” policy is strictly the brainchild of Democratic Mayor DeBlasio, with assists by Democrats Helen Rosenthal et al. in Democratic NYC govt. What has Trump to do with this particular policy?
I have no faith in anything the Major says. He has no plan to deal with the homeless. He has no plan to deal with the issues that this callous Treatment of both the homeless and the neighborhood is just one more example of an administration that fails to appreciate the needs of anyone but big time developers, billionaires and lobbyists.
Put the homeless on Randell Island or Goveners Island away from the Gentrified Upper Westside thats a hell of a bussiness deal that went down on the upper westside with these hotels, with the homeless issue… when we took a hit because of covid and now this is upon our city what about working people and children do not count! Bad! Not Welcome do not sugar coat this!
It’s exhausting to respond to this level of public official incompetence and lying. The homeless should have been moved from the congregate shelters at the height of the pandemic in March, April and May, when they were at high risk. Then they should have been moved back to the shelter in July and August, when NYC cases are below 1%. The Mayor did the opposite. Had he been running for re-election, this never would have happened. He didn’t protect these people, who certainly needed protection last spring. All he did was disrupt the UWS.
Good point. I fell victim to the virus in March and was very vocal about the conditions in the shelter because of the lack of protection and the risk we faced. It was a mess. By the time they took action, it was way too late. I’m very lucky to be alive today but still deal with the trauma of that experience.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2020/6/15/21292127/covid-tore-through-new-york-homeless-shelters-but-residents-were-kept-in-the-dark
“Misleading” is one way to characterize De Blasio’s statement. The fact of the matter is that moving hundreds of homeless men, many with drug and mental health issues, into dense, residential, family-oriented neighborhoods was done in secret, stealthily, overnight and in some cases literally under the cover of darkness. No representatives of the neighborhoods have been informed, much less consulted. The residents and local officials have been completely shut out and blindsided. No documents regarding the contracts with these hotels are released to the public, even though this is our, taxpayers’ money being spent. In short, it is run like a terrorist operation. I wonder why if it is such a great thing…
Aggressive panhandlers from the hotels give an unsafe feeling and tone to the neighborhood. Men are nodding out in the street, unable to cross the street. My daughter avoids neighborhood playgrounds at certain times because intimidating men from the hotel suddenly appear and linger. One of the bigger jokes is that this was done for Covid concerns yet these residents are not wearing masks except around their necks as if they necklaces. Have similar homeless men with drug problem been dumped in De Blasio’s Park Slope neighborhood without any prior discussions? I doubt it. UWS’ liberal tradition and reputation made the city feel we’d lie down and take this after at the most a small flurry of opposition. We need to continue objecting to this ridiculous decision that’s brought down the quality of life and safety of our neighborhood.
I’ve researched this issue with my contacts at different homeless agencies/services, and it seems that the consensus is that the City made these decisions and did not consult the agencies on how best to transition their clients into a new living situation. In the shelters, the men were living communally, so it was easier for the carers at those places to oversee their activities, preventing drug use and even drug sales, fighting, etc. The city did not provide funding to transition the oversight strategy from this type of living to one where the men are in individual rooms behind closed doors. Therein lies a very big problem. Drug use, sales, and violent activity takes places behind closed doors and spills out on to the streets. There is no communal space for the staff to work with their clients or to manage them in any way. They will never say this on the record, but they agree it is a disaster, and they never would have moved people like this where much more staff is needed to oversee these types of clients. It is the city administration including the city council – people like DiBlasio, and even Corey Booker who spoke out so strongly for it during the worst of the crisis, and are now putting their heads in the sand when it is time to discuss the fact that while their intentions were good and needed, the implementation, like so many things in this administration, created as much if not more of a negative effect. It’s a lack of management that is the issue. It is a disservice to the clients of the shelters, and it is a disservice to people like me who are not being elitist when they now have to fear for their teen daughters to walk in those areas in broad daylight. We’ve had several run ins where I had to physically place myself between my daughter and men acting violently with the intention of physically touching her. Unfortunately, we’ve stopped going to the area around the Lucerne for our evening meals and treats.
The shelters were drug dens with open drug sales and use. The security was there to protect the property. Overdoses took place daily and death was the result of quite a few overdoses. Fights were a constant. The shelters were very unsafe and if you suffer from substance use disorder the struggle becomes harder in those shelters. I’m in the hotel and can tell you that usage is not as prevalent in the hotel as it was in the shelter which is why you may see more usage in the streets. Wellness checks are done around the clock.
CO, I’ve heard a version of this as well with Project Renewal trying to pass the buck to DHS for the hasty move to the Lucerne. I can only say, shame on Project Renewal for allowing this to take place. The chair of its board Geoff Proulx of Morgan Stanley should call for an independent review of the way Project Renewal has handled this. Like many others here, I am a supporter of homeless programs but feel the way this is being handled—the timing of the move, the size and characteristics of the new population—has done damage to the city’s efforts to build community support for much needed outreach.
You’re right. I’ve tried to respectfully share my concerns with Project Renewal before our move. While I appreciate the accommodations, the reality is that I know we need on-site services for mental health and substance use issues. As well, a filtering process should have been in place to distinguish between those who are at low-risk of breaking the good neighbor policy or those who are at high-risk. Those who are need a higher level of care should be placed somewhere else. Project Renewal is trying to straighten things out but I wonder if it’s too late.
Just to give an idea of what is going on out there, the citizen app is showing about 2-3 assaults per day in the 70’s alone on the UWS for this week so far. At least 2 of those involved knives.
This may be too much of a conspiracy theory, but it seems both Trump and de Blasio have a death-wish for Manhattan.
This is all the fault of the Mayor and Councilwoman Rosenthal.
Interesting to see Progressive Liberals up in arms when tactics they use on others to suddenly infect a wholesome family enclave with active drugs and mental instability are now used against them in a similar way by another progressive liberal entrenched and gone mad with unrelenting power.
In the early 90’s we would have taken care of that problem asap. The neighborhood locals would have ran them out of the area no questions asked, by any means necessary.
“The neighborhood locals would have ran them out of the area no questions asked, by any means necessary.”
Can you explain? The implication is horrifying.
This is a very complex problem. The city should provide psychiatrists, social workers psychologists, job counselors and computer teachers. Without tackling the whole issue, there will be no long term success.
I’ve seen a lot of comments cheering the fact that the drug addict/sex offender influx will make UWS property values fall and again make the neighborhood an affordable place for middle class workers like teachers and police officers to live. Why are you insulting these people by taking for granted that they’d want to live in a neighborhood where you can’t walk down the street without seeing a homeless man masturbating or defecating or hassling you for money? They may not be billionaires, but they’re stable, hardworking middle class people with self-respect.
In parts of NYC where residents let the NYPD do their job the violent homeless people are dealt with accordingly. The cops who made this arrest know that citizens and local elected officials will support them. The 8-year old girl, let that sink in, was attacked yesterday and the perp was arrested today. But will he be released without bail???
https://www.silive.com/crime/2020/08/source-man-20-taken-into-custody-in-connection-with-attack-on-girl-8-in-new-dorp.html
Quite a few zombies walking the streets around 79th street today. Shirtless guy on 79th and broadway blocking entire crosswalk on the south end. This is our uws folks. Get used to it or be prepared to be called racist or classist by your woke lib neighbors…
From information in this article, it seems a good probability the owner of the Lucerne, Mr Domb, may not renew rental of the hotel with the city but may _sell_ the Lucerne to one of its agencies. He’s already moved his home out of the neighborhood according to WSR today. Housing people in trouble, in 3 Upper West Side hotels within a 4-6 block range was nasty and suggests city officials don’t consider residents of the immediate locations.
On the bright side, NYC can ill afford to buy, maintain, and operate hotels at this point. This idea is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. Before making such an investment, NYC needs to fix its homeless system to properly identify those who are suitable candidates, and those who are unsuitable without extensive rehabilitation first. We all know that supervision ends at the doorway of these facilities, and it must be extended out into the surrounding neighborhood.
God willing, my comment will be posted: ‘
SARA LIND is running for Helen Rosenthal’s seat. She WANTS these homeless shelters to STAY. She created a petition to KEEP these problematic people here and wants to shame those who resist having our neighborhood turned into a drug infested dangerous neighborhood.
Please please please remember this in NOVEMBER. I am not saying anything that isn’t public and on her Twitter. I am just pointing out her views for everyone to take note. It’s public knowledge. Hope my comments are posted.
The gal from Wisconsin really trying to make an impact in the big city, eh?
Duly noted. Thank you.
Are the 671 residents of the Lucerne, Belleclaire and Belford being tested for COVID19 on a daily basis?
These hotels seem like a hotbed for transmission.
I can’t speak for the other hotels but Project Renewal just did two days of testing for Covid -19. This is following testing that was done before we came to the Lucerne. The testing is voluntary but there are incentives. I did see quite a few people take advantage of the testing and suppose they will do more periodically. Within the hotel everyone is required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. The problem is when they leave the hotel. In most cases it’s two people to a room so that could cause a problem.
What leads you to believe that this is even a possibility?
Back in the Wild Wild West Days when the Hotel Endicott was shoot-up central and Verdi Park was needle park the city did something about the rampant crime, drug use and crazed people that plagued the streets. Not only were rehabilitative facilities set up throughout the city but upstate as well. There are defunct army bases, vacant conference centers which might be set up as therapeutic centers . The solution of using hotels was horrendous back then and it is now. It has also failed in SF and Seattle.
I also shudder to think how quickly COVID19 could spread in these hotels. Even in apartment buildings people don’t want to ride the elevators or speak to their neighbors unless they are social distancing and wearing masks.
No fdny, nypd or sanitation workers WANT to live in a tiny city apartment. Especially in the declining upper west side. Get a grip.
Everyone in the UWS who voted in Blaz’s second term deserves all the discomfort they get. You know who you are. You brought it upon yourselves. You made this sandwich. Now you can eat it.
Have anyone heard from Gale Brewer and Scott Stringer on their comments about the declining condition on their neighborhood? Both prominent local leaders are long time UWSers and property owners. They have been mum about the influx of hotels-turn-homeless-shelters problems; are they okay seeing quality of life and property values declined in their own neighborhood?
Gale Brewer Is known for her stubbornness when it comes to financial matter, did she not know about the list of UWS hotels that the City was/is turning into emergency homeless shelters? If she wasn’t inform prior, it is a wake up call and get involve on this matter now.
Next year, Gale Brewer will likely run for City Comptroller when Scott Stringer runs for Mayor, can we depend on our fellow UWSers Gale Brewer and Scott Stringer to act as our advocate???
No. As you noted you didn’t hear their voices now when people need them most. They’ll pander to you later, but we need to know who is on our side now? Other than the immediate goal to clean the neighborhood now, we need to have a very clear understanding who can represent us going forward.
Diblasio has no idea how much he hurt my home a gem like nyc. I pay high rent. We try to raise our kids and get this mess? Appalling. Is he delusional? Bring back Police please we have kids going to school. We need safety.
I’m just a dad who wants to make sure his kids are OK.
My 13 yr old daughter was accosted the other day on Broadway and 78th. Homeless man grabbed her arm, and she was very upset. I am not sure if he was trying to rob her or just harassing her. I’ve given up calling Rosenthal, she obviously doesn’t care at all about kids. The police’s attitude was she wasn’t robbed and she wasn’t sexually assaulted, so there was nothing to do. I don’t understand this new normal, where children are being grabbed, and now it’s just OK. Our elected officials are completely silent. Or saying everything’s OK like Rosenthal. I can’t believe they get paid to do nothing. I literally feel like we are on our own with no government services. Sure, I’m going to vote this November 3, but that’s months away. Now my daughter is scared to walk by herself. Really awful.