NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A New York State Supreme Court judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block the city’s plan to move over 200 homeless men from a hotel on the Upper West Side.
The decision to throw out the case will now allow the city to begin relocating the men from the Lucerne Hotel to a Radisson Hotel in downtown Manhattan.
The lawsuit was brought on by the group Downtown New Yorkers Inc., which opposed the move to the hotel on Wall Street, however, Judge Debra James says the group “lack(s) standing to challenge the relocation.”
The homeless men were moved into the hotel in July in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and move some people out of the overcrowded shelter system.
Peter Herbert is one of the 235 men being housed at the hotel and says he is not opposed to the move.
“I think it's a good idea because now that everybody has their own room, we don't have to worry about catching the coronavirus,” he tells WCBS 880.
Though, others were not thrilled by the news on Wednesday.
One man, who only wished to be identified as Ken, says the move will take him away from family.
“I want to stay here because this is my neighborhood. My dad lives a couple of blocks away,” he explains.
In early October, the city’s plan to move the homeless men was blocked by a lawsuit brought on by three men who said moving would cause “far greater risk for harm.”
One of the plaintiffs in that case, who is in treatment for alcohol addiction, said a transfer would be triggering.
“That's traumatizing,” he said. “Why would the mayor move us from a place where we've gained some stability and we've lessened all of the issues that have been raised by the other group?”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the move after Upper West Side residents threatened to sue over safety and quality-of-life issues. Residents complained of open drug use, men lying in the street and disturbances in open spaces.
Randy Mastro, an attorney for the Upper West Side residents who want the homeless to be relocated says the latest news is a “win-win for all concerned.”
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