Billionaire's Row Shelter Opponents To Appeal Latest Court Ruling

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Opponents of a new 140-bed homeless shelter near Midtown's ritzy "Billionaire's Row" are planning to appeal a recent court ruling that approves the city's plans for the site, according to court records and reports.

Residents who oppose the shelter formed a group called the West 58th Street coalition to sue the city in an attempt to block the planned shelter in the former Park Savoy Hotel building on West 58th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. A judge placed a hold on construction at the site when the lawsuit was filed.

A state court of appeals ruled Tuesday to uphold an April supreme court ruling that found opponent's arguments that the shelter is unsafe for occupancy and that the area is over saturated with shelters were insufficient, court records show. The West 58th Street coalition will now appeal the results of their former appeal, dragging out the long legal battle over a shelter first proposed in January 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The West 58th Street coalition has likened the city's shelter to a "death trap" because units will not have a secondary means of exiting the building in case of an emergency. The group also wants the city to find a "more affordable" location for the shelter and believes that the shelter could bring crime to the neighborhood.

Tuesday's appellate court ruling noted that the FDNY has approved the city's plan without any objections to fire safety at the building.

The proposed shelter is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Turning the Tide" plan to tackle homelessness in New York City, city officials said. That plan calls for the creation 90 new homeless shelters in various neighborhoods around the city, even wealthy areas like "Billionaire's Row." By building shelters in every part of the city, people facing homelessness will not be forced to move out of their home boroughs and can be closer to their support systems or jobs while they seek permanent housing, city officials said.

Many area residents packed an auditorium in February 2018 to claim that West 58th Street is simply inappropriate to house the homeless. Several people pointed out that the area is crawling with tourists visiting Central Park, and a shelter there would present a negative image of New York City to travelers. Another resident claimed that the future residents of the shelter would be demoralized and driven to crime by the neighborhood's $6 coffees and the expensive dresses hanging in Bergdorf Goodmans.

The shelter at the Park Savoy Hotel will be called the Park Savoy Rapid Re-Housing and Employment Center and all of its 140 residents will be either employed or "employable," representatives from the nonprofit Westhab said. The nonprofit will provide around-the-clock security featuring guards posted at shelter entrances and 109 new security cameras in the facility.