Hi ,
In case you missed it, this is what judge Debra James just ruled over the court case involving the men of the Lucerne being transferred to the Radisson at 52 William:
- The temporary restraining order (TRO) asked for by both the Downtown NYCers for Safer Streets and a few homeless men of the Lucerne themselves was finally granted, meaning the men can't move until there's a ruling on the injunction.
- No ruling yet on the preliminary injunction, but the judge promised to deliver it no later than Monday, November 23rd, by 5 pm.
What does this mean?
- It's possible we can get the TRO but not the injunction because the threshold is lower for the TRO, but hopefully we get both
- If the injunction is granted, even though it's "temporary", it should be game over as far as the move goes from Lucerne to the Radisson. The city will most likely drop the case at that point.
- Even if the move from the Lucerne to the Radisson doesn't happen, the city is determined to use 52 William as an emergency shelter, so we will have homeless residents there one way or another. It's mostly a question of how many, where from, and who will be managing them.
- The city lawyers also acknowledged the city's intention to turn 52 William into a permanent shelter, but that will be a separate process.
Extra juicy bits:
- Randy Mastro, the UWS group's lawyer, had represented DeBlasio as a client, and it was strongly inferred that he used his personal pull to get the mayor to agree to the transfer.
- there are 12 homeless men currently being sheltered at the Radisson, at what must be a cost of ~$81,000 / month per man, since the contract is for nearly ~$1mm a month.
- the current emergency shelter is managed by a non profit called Black Veterans for Social Justice (if the Lucerne move were to proceed, the new managers would be Project Renewal).
That's it for now!
...to never miss news on this case or anything worth knowing that's happening in Lower Manhattan.
Cheers,
Kejda @ FiDi Residents
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