September 25, 2020 Coalition for the Homeless By Coalition for the Homeless NEW YORK, NY – The following statement from Coalition for the Homeless is in response to the City announcing it is reversing a previous decision to move families and individuals currently residing at the Harmonia, Flatlands Family Residence, and LIC Plaza Hotel, but that it will still relocate men from the Lucerne Hotel: “We are relieved to hear that Mayor de Blasio is backing away from his misguided plan to unnecessarily uproot hundreds of homeless New Yorkers, including people with disabilities and homeless children who are settling in to the start of the school year. This announcement puts an end to weeks of anxiety and uncertainty for the residents of the Harmonia, Flatlands Family Residence, and LIC Plaza Hotel, and ensures that the Coalition for the Homeless can, for now, continue offering our critical Bound for Success after-school program to the kids living in Flatlands. However, the decision to go forward with relocating the men from the Lucerne still stands as a shameful, ill-conceived, and dangerous capitulation to intolerant NIMBY voices at a time when rationality and compassion, not political expediency, should be guiding the City’s decisions. Let’s not forget that this crisis is far from over, and we should be ensuring the safety and dignity of our neighbors experiencing homelessness, not playing a ridiculous shell game that risks their lives and stability,” said Giselle Routhier, Policy Director at Coalition for the Homeless.
