The Legal Aid Society joined demonstrators outside of Gracie Mansion calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to reverse his decision to move 300 homeless men housed in the Upper West Side’s Lucerne Hotel to a different location in Midtown, according to Gothamist.

The Mayor – whose administration has leased hotels throughout the city to shelter homeless during the COVID pandemic – announced his decision after a “not in my back yard” campaign by wealthy Upper West Side residents to oust these New Yorkers culminated with the threat of a lawsuit.

Protesters called for Mayor de Blasio to leave the Lucerne’s residents in place, pointing out that residents at the Harmonia Hotel – the intended Midtown destination for the men – must themselves be moved in order to make room for newcomers. Legal Aid said 17 families from the Harmonia were already moved before the city temporarily halted relocations there this weekend, to ensure residents with disabilities are properly accommodated.