NEW YORK — Larry Thomas moved into his new apartment in upper Manhattan a little more than a month ago. When we visited this week, he had just finished cooking breakfast.

What You Need To Know

  • When men first moved into the notorious Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side, there were 283 of them

  • That population is now below 200

  • An appellate division court is currently weighing whether the men should stay at the Lucerne or move downtown

Potatoes and eggs were on the stovetop. Steak was in the oven. A small, black couch was in his living room. Next to it — two chairs and a television. 

It’s a clean start, maybe. Thomas is adjusting to his own space, his own home. 

"I guess you would say I am starting to find my footing in society again,” Thomas said.

Back in early November, Thomas was a resident of perhaps the most infamous homeless shelter in the city right now: the Lucerne Hotel. 

It took a lot for him to get to his new apartment in Hamilton Heights.


He spent decades in prison — time locked up for a murder and robbery in the 1990s. 

"I take responsibility for that,” Thomas explains.

He entered the city’s homeless shelter system immediately after getting paroled in 2017. Now 59 years old, he says he is a different man 

“I am thinking about everything I went through,” Thomas said, "and I finally made it to a point now I am stable, and my basic thing is I just want to help others. Give back. Show them a way so they don’t make the same mistakes I made.”

But Thomas is back in court for another reason. He is one of three Lucerne residents who sued the city to try to keep the men on the Upper West Side at this notorious shelter. The city wanted to move them downtown after residents complained their quality of life was deteriorating.

That case is now in the appellate division. It’s unclear when there will be a decision.

We know since the controversy began the population at the Lucerne Hotel has been shrinking. When men first moved in this summer there were 283 residents. Now, the city says, there are fewer than 200. 

Several dozen of them, like Thomas, are now in their own apartments. 

Thomas: When I started using my voice and Shams started using his voice, all of a sudden now they are moving people out.

NY1: You think you sued and that’s why you got the apartment?

Thomas: I believe that is so.

The Lucerne is still open. It costs the city more than $183,000 a week to keep it open.  

They are supposed to get a reimbursement from FEMA. But we’re told those negotiations are ongoing.

For now, the Lucerne will keep running, unless the court says otherwise.

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