Edited by TJV News
Even though New York City officials will soon start the process of removing homeless people from the city’s hotels, controversy surrounding the issue has not gone away.
The Lucerne, on 79th Street and Amsterdam, the Hotel Belleclaire, on 76th Street and Broadway, and the Belnord, on West 87th,were recently converted into homeless shelters, with nearly 300 vagrants between them. Among the residents are six pedophiles and 10 sex offenders in total, including convicted rapists and child molesters, NY Post reported.
De Blasio did not give an exact date as to when the homeless will be removed from these hotels, UWS residents are obviously looking forward to this event.
It is known that Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is paying for 75 percent of the new housing program’s cost, and New York City. The arrangement is set to expire in October. Will the homeless say there until October ?
Controversy continues to remain, as The New York Jewish Week reported, Jewish philanthropist Sam Domb is the owner of the Lucerne, the hotel which seems to be coming up repeatedly in complaints about the mentally unstable homeless drug addicts, which have terrorized locals .
NY Jewish Week reported: Domb has been generous to numerous Jewish institutions, including Congregation Ohev Shalom, an Orthodox congregation located on 84th Street between Broadway and West End Ave., where he is a member.
The critics of the shelters include members of Domb’s own synagogue, among many others in the neighborhood.
“The impact of these homes is pretty obvious in the streets,” said Ira Streitfeld, a long-time member of Ohev Shalom
While it is understandable that struggling hotels took up the offer from the city, many are continually frustrated. They are not blaming Domb as much as they blame the short sited policy of the mayor.
In an interview with the New York Post, Domb claimed he “didn’t have a choice” in accepting the joint contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is paying for 75 percent of the new housing program’s cost, and New York City. The arrangement is set to expire in October.
Residents have been in an uproar, as TJV previously reported
A Facebook group, in which residents have shared pictures of men urinating, masturbating and laying sprawled out on sidewalks near the hotels, has been set up and there are other complaints on Twitter,” the Daily Mail reported.
“Our community is terrified, angry and frightened,” one organizer of the 1,700-member group, Dr. Megan Martin, told NY Post
The Daily Mail reported on de Blasio’s plan, which includes $175 a night per homeless person lodged in a hotel. The project is projected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the city paying 25 percent, while American taxpayers, through FEMA, will pick up 75 percent of the tab.
Curtis Sliwa, who is also expected to be a GOP contender for NYC mayor told the NY Post: “It is mind boggling what is happening to our city. We are here to fill the void. The most ironic thing is the police commissioner, Dermot Shea, lives right on West 73rd between Columbus and Amsterdam. He does nothing! People have gone to his apartment and complained. Nothing! You call the cops and they don’t respond, so we have to try to contain the problem”
