Wall Street residents and businesses sue NYC and Mayor Bill de Blasio to stop him moving nearly 300 homeless men to a hotel in their neighborhood

A group of Wall Street residents and business are suing New York City in a bid to stop Mayor Bill de Blasio from relocating almost 300 homeless men to a hotel in the area. 

The group, Downtown New Yorkers Inc., filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday to prevent the transfer of the homeless men from the Upper West Side to a former Radisson Hotel in the Financial District neighborhood. 

City officials announced last month that people living in a makeshift shelter in the Lucerne Hotel would be moved downtown after Upper West Side residents threatened legal action over the ongoing presence of homeless people in the area.  

Residents and business in the lower Manhattan region quickly hired an attorney to bring a lawsuit against the city. 

The group, Downtown New Yorkers Inc., filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday to prevent the transfer of the homeless men from the Upper West Side to a former Radisson Hotel in the Financial District neighborhood

The lawsuit, obtained by the New York Post, argues that the city is 'exploiting the current humanitarian crisis to cover up its own mismanagement'. 

They argue in the lawsuit that there is no 'public health rationale' behind the move. 

The lawsuit claims city officials have analyzed whether the Wall Street location is even appropriate. 

The group of Wall Street residents and business are suing New York City in a bid to stop Mayor Bill de Blasio from relocating almost 300 homeless men to a hotel in the area

'The city has reacted recklessly and erratically by repeatedly uprooting these individuals based on political pressure,' Christopher Brown, who is a co-founder of the group, told the Post. 

'We believe that the homeless men are better served by remaining on the Upper West Side, where they have access to extensive social programs, including a powerful jobs program, that are not available in Lower Manhattan.'

De Blasio has gone back and forth over the past few months on how to address the backlash surrounding his decision to play some 13,000 of the city's homeless population into hotel that were left empty when the pandemic disrupted tourism. 

The move was meant to protect the homeless people, many of whom suffer from mental illness and addiction, safe during the pandemic. 

But many residents living near hotels-turned-shelters voiced outrage over the initiative, saying that the growing homeless populations diminished their security and quality of life. 

The Upper West Side emerged as a flashpoint of the debate as some residents demanded that the homeless be removed from the Lucerne while others insisted they be allowed to stay. 

City officials announced last month that people living in a makeshift shelter in the Lucerne Hotel would be moved downtown after Upper West Side residents threatened legal action over the ongoing presence of homeless people in the area

Last month, de Blasio reversed an earlier decision to transfer the homeless out of the Lucerne. He appeared to have changed his mind just days later when officials announced the pending move to the Financial District. 

The mayor's office quickly fielded fresh criticism from FiDi residents who say they felt blindsided by the relocation of homeless to their area.  

Critics formed a Facebook group called 'Downtown NYCers for Safe Streets' shortly after the officials announced the plan to convert the Radisson on William Street into the area's first-ever traditional shelter.

'We believe that our residents should have been notified in advance of this possibility and now that it has been agreed to without our knowledge, we need to make our voices heard,' the page description reads. 

Two Financial District residents voiced their concerns in letters to the editor of the Tribeca Tribune as well.

'We FiDi mothers have been the pioneers in raising families in what was once a primarily business/tourist destination. We will not stand quietly while the administration imposes such a blatantly dangerous situation on our families,' a woman named Vicki Raikes wrote.

'I have great compassion for the homeless but moving them in a few blocks from my son where drug use was clear is not appropriate,' another woman, who identified herself as 'A FiDi Mom', wrote.

'These human beings deserve help not a hotel room with no medical and no counseling. And residents deserve to raise their kids without fear of witnessing drug use and homeless individuals who are ill screaming day and night (oh yes 4am) yelling obscenities on every corner.

'They are ill, they need help not a hotel.'  

Many residents living near hotels-turned-shelters voiced outrage over the initiative, saying that the growing homeless populations diminished their security and quality of life

The Upper West Side emerged as a flashpoint of the debate as some residents demanded that the homeless be removed from the Lucerne while others insisted they be allowed to stay