Homeless People Urge Mayor To Cancel Move

"Da Homeless Hero" says he lives in the Lucerne Hotel--a hotel in the Upper West Side turned into an emergency shelter for over 200 homeless men. But, following a wave of complaints from the neighborhood about lewd behavior and drug use in public, reports say Mayor de Blasio is expected to move them out of the Lucerne and into another hotel in Downtown Manhattan. Da Homeless Hero, alongside a lawmaker and advocates, urged de Blasio to keep them there and to ignore complaints from the wealthy. He says they'll lose all the progress they've made if they move, like the community support they have gotten. Mayor Bill de Blasio started moving homeless people out of shelters and into hotels during the pandemic. According to the Department of Homeless Services, the order is meant to stop the spread of the CCP Virus by giving homeless people more room to socially distance and isolate if infected. The policy's been heavily criticized, putting a spotlight on the scope and cost of homelessness under de Blasio'sadministration. Checkbook NYC, a website put up by the city's Comptroller, shows that the 6-month emergency hotel policy will cost nearly $300 million. It's unclear how much, if any, would be paid for by the federal government. That price does not include a 6-month extension the City and Hotel Association of NYC are expected to sign off on. We reached out to the association for the price of a potential extension, but they didn't get back to us. Miguel Moreno. NTD News. New York.