Behind the homeless, sex-offenders debacle dividing New York City's once serene Upper West Side

When the coronavirus pandemic swept through New York City, officials started filling boutique hotels in Manhattan's Upper West Side (UWS) with homeless individuals, in an effort to reduce the virus spreading through the streets and cramped shelters.

Residents in the family-friendly neighborhood were shocked to find out that those homeless included more than a dozen convicted sex offenders. Some were reportedly given rooms in hotels a block from a school playground.

City officials have said that, given the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was not time to notify residents well in advance or seek community input.

In all, around 800 people ‒ mostly men ‒ have been placed since April in UWS hotels, costing taxpayers up to $400 a night, funded 75 percent by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The hotels in the area being used include The Lucerne, at 79th Street and Amsterdam; the Hotel Belleclaire, at 76th Street and Broadway, and the Belnord on 87th and Broadway. A number of the rooms are reportedly being occupied by registered sex offenders – including some convicted of child rape, child molestation and possession of child porn.

Trying to get clear answers from the city and community representatives has been a source of frustration for many Upper West Siders. According to official guidance from the city's Department of Homeless Services (DHS), sex offenders, whether tier 3, 2 or 1, are to live at the men's shelter on Wards Islands, where there are no schools at all.

"[But] during the pandemic, the Department of Homeless Services has broken its own rules on sex offenders and where they are housed over and over again," Curtis Sliwa, founder of the longtime New York City unarmed civilian patrol group the Guardian Angels, told Fox News. "Within the past month, 700 single, able-bodied males and 100 females have been moved into three hotels overnight. These are not zero-tolerance shelters – meaning they are not searched for drugs, paraphernalia or alcohol, only for weapons."

Sliwa further stressed that the government and police response was, at first, to deny the problem, but since anger has built among residents, communication as to what is happening is now being "delayed."

"This has just frustrated the residents who were blindsided by this," Sliwa said.

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When reached for comment by Fox News, particularly concerning that at least one of the offenders being housed had been previously convicted of raping a 4-year-old girl, DHS officials did not provide an explicit confirmation or denial, and instead responded: "There are no residency-restricted sex offenders residing at these locations and all individuals residing at these locations are permitted to reside there under State law."

"We don't discriminate based on people's previous experiences or backgrounds, and we will not create gated communities within our city – we extend a helping hand, no matter what," DHS said. "Like all other New Yorkers, our clients are free to take a walk, get fresh air or exercise. Just like all other New Yorkers, we are not monitoring with tracking devices how and where they may spend their time."

In the same statement, the officials also emphasized the importance of using "respectful recommended language when describing any individuals who may be without a home," which is to say "experiencing homelessness."

Adding to the confusion, at a meeting with elected officials and community stakeholders on Aug. 19, DHS is said to have reported that one individual "who showed up on the State Registry as a Level 3 sex offender and [is] staying at the Lucerne on W 79 Street was NOT a resident at this hotel." Rather, "his address showed up at the Lucerne because he thought he was going to be housed there, and because he followed the law, which is that he is mandated to list his address on the State Registry."

But local officials have also seemingly changed their tune on the matter, adding to the lack of clarity.

On July 29, Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal addressed mounting concerns in an email to her constituents, affirming that "all level 3 sex offenders have been moved out of the Belleclaire," and that she was "demanding that all remaining offenders be moved out as well." At the time, there were said to be 14 registered offenders initially placed at the Belleclaire.

Yet, in an interview with ABC 7 two days later, Rosenthal said, "This is very temporary, in the same way, that we have to understand that COVID is temporary."

Days later, locals received another statement by Rosenthal saying: "I initially took an extreme position and stated that 'no registered sex offenders should be allowed on the Upper West Side' – but that's not realistic. There are around 1,600 registered offenders across Manhattan, and neighborhoods cannot wall themselves off."

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Residents have also opined that the crimes committed in recent days are beyond anything they could have imagined in a pre-coronavirus world.

There has been a random stabbing of a woman at the subway station, a sucker-punch of a man dining outdoors, and shock at the sight of a man masturbating on the steps of the storied New York Historical Society, according to the New York Post.

Sliwa claimed that "most will leave the hotels at 9 a.m., spread out into the neighborhood, and cause all kinds of chaos."

"There have been assaults, vandalism, breaking and entering and lewd behavior," he alleged.

Frustrations over the situation has led to the formation of the Facebook group "Upper West Siders for Safer Streets" in late July, providing a platform for the more than 12,000 members to share images and anecdotes of neighborhood mayhem.

Then this month, the online group evolved into a registered not-for-profit social welfare group entitled West Side Community Organization (WSCO) and an associated GoFundMe campaign – which raised $110,000 in less than 10 days – in the quest to hire "professionals in the fields of communications, government relations and law."

A representative for the organization told Fox News that it appeared a number of the new arrivals lacked appropriate health services – eating out of the trash, surrounded by needles and toileting in the street.

"It makes sense that the city would want to try and keep hotels in business, but what doesn't make much sense is that these transfers happened not when COVID numbers were rising, but after it had peaked," the spokesperson said, adding that there had been little sightings of families being sheltered, but it appeared almost entirely men.

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Furthermore, the group has also had difficulty obtaining direct answers regarding sex offenders.

"We sent out hundreds of emails and tweets and letters to locally elected officials, with little to no response," the rep noted. "Based on our own search of the databases, up to 18 men have been put into UWS hotels. But it is hard to know what the actual numbers are."

An attorney representing WSCO told Fox News on Thursday that the city has moved six sex offenders that they are aware of, "but there is no comfort that they won't move more back in and not register them."

However, the notion of using hotels as homes for vagrants – including sex offenders – is not new for New York.

In May 2015, controversy flared after it was revealed that 75 percent of rooms at a Holiday Inn in Rosedale, Long Island, was being used to shelter those without a roof over their heads, including several sex offenders. A PBS investigative report in 2016 also exposed that two years earlier, a Pan American Hotel had been converted into a full-time shelter – and subsequently became residence to level 3 sex offenders.

In 2012, the New York Senate issued a report underscoring that "sex offenders enter the homeless system in a number of ways," given that some are released from prison "and have no resources for housing."

For some New York City families, the ascending level of crime and discomfort has kindled a push to flee the area – and possibly not to return as the city itself ensures a mass exodus amid the protracted pandemic. Others are purporting to wait it out.

One father, living with teenage children on the UWS who requested his name not be used for publication, bemoaned that it is a misconception that those in the previously pristine neighborhood all "have money" – stressing that it is hard enough to get by, with nowhere else to go.

"The community was not appropriately notified, and we basically woke up one day, and there were hundreds of clearly mentally ill, and what appeared to be mostly men, walking around the street," he told Fox News. "I have personally witnessed drug dealers on 79th Street and Broadway, and what further complicates the matter is that it is not just taxpayers who have to fund these hotels – they have to pay for a more concentrated police presence now, too."

The resident also underscored that despite official claims that the hotel move was a necessity for public health, the vast majority of the men walk around without a mask and not adhering to social distancing guidelines – thus further jeopardizing the health of others – many of whom are senior citizens and at high-risk for infection.

"This decision comes with a lot of ripple effects," the resident continued. "Not to mention, the businesses and restaurants here who can only do outdoor dining are barely holding on."

A DHS representative told Fox News that any location they use, the department provides "additional security services, to help limit gatherings outside of the location, enforce social distancing and encourage the consistent use of face-coverings/masks."

Richard Penman, a 35-year-old software engineer living on the UWS, told Fox News that last week he was walking down Broadway around lunchtime with his wife when he witnessed an elderly woman – who appeared to be at least 80 – manhandled by a homeless man who grabbed her arm and then became aggressive when questioned by Penman.

"Afterwards, we walked the lady to Zabars supermarket, and she told us how scared she was and thanked us for saving her," he said. "During the incident, plenty of other people walked past, and there was a police car parked a block away, but no one helped."

And while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed almost two weeks ago that the hotel-to-shelter situation was a temporary solution and that those experiencing homelessness will "immediately" be moved out, it remains unclear when and how the situation will change. Lawyers for WSCO penned a letter to the mayor on Wednesday, which was viewed by Fox News, demanding to know when he will move forward with the "immediate" process.

At least 139 hotels are now being used citywide to provide refuge for more than 13,000 in need – a sharp jump for the estimated 40 hotels utilized for the same purpose prior to the pandemic.

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DHS also highlighted that their strategies, including the hotel program, have "saved lives and flattened [the] pandemic curve, with more than 98% of all the cases over the past five-plus months now resolved."

Some aren't so optimistic.

"The problem of the UWS will stabilize, but the homeless will be in the hotels until a vaccine is created, which means that could be forever," Sliwa added. "But, the problem will now expand to other unsuspecting neighborhoods."