october12–25, 2020 | newyork 45
by the time Alison Morpurgo heard that
283 homeless men would be moving into
the Lucerne Hotel, just a few blocks from
her apartment on the Upper West Side, she
wasalreadyriledup.
It waslateJuly,andMorpurgowasven
turingoutsideafterisolatingformonths
withhertwoteenage kids—walksinthe
park,theoccasionalcoffeewitha friend.“It
waslike,Wow,thisisamazing.We’reout-
sideagain,” sherecalled.TheUpperWest
Side,wherethemedianincomeis almost
twicethecitywideaverage,wearsitsliberal
ismlikea badge ofhonor, andat thestart
ofthepandemic,gesturesofcompassion
abounded.CozyItalianrestaurantsturned
intogrocerystoressellingessentialitems.
Peopleputupsignsofferinghelptothose
inneed.A localstudentwhodeliveredfood
totheelderlywasinvitedtoappearon
GoodMorningAmerica.
Butastheneighborhoodcamebackto
life,thingsfelt...different.Amidtheout
doorrestaurantsandthecouplesambling
downBroadway,Morpurgosaw discarded
needlesonthesidewalkandpeoplepassed
outonbenches.“Thestreetswerestarting
tofeela littlebitlesssafe,” shesaid.“Wejust
didn’t knowwhat wasgoingon.” Everyone
aroundherseemedtobeabandoningthe
neighborhood.Thestreetswerefilledwith
movingtrucks;manyresidentswhohadfled
duringthepandemictosecondhomesin
ConnecticutandtheHamptonsdecidedto
leaveforgood.
Morpurgo,wholeadsa teamofregula
tory lawyersat oneoftheworld’s largest
banks,believedtherewasa direct connec
tionbetweenthetwodevelopments:the
arrivalof thehomelessandthedepartureof
thewealthy. As part of a plantocreate more
spaceforsocialdistancingat sheltersduring
thepandemic,thecityhadalreadymoved
some 450 menandwomenintothree
emptyhotelsontheUpperWestSide.But
thearrivalofthemenat theLucernewas
“thestrawthat broke thecamel’s back,”
accordingtoMorpurgo. Sheandotherresi
dentswerealarmedto learnthatmanyof
themenwerewhatisknowninsocial
workcirclesasmica—shortfor“mentally
illchemicalabuser.” Theday afterthemen
movedintothehotel,a newgrouppopped
uponFacebooktodemandthat they be
relocated.ThegroupcalleditselfUpper
West SidersforSaferStreets.
Whoactuallystartedthegroupremainsa
closelyguardedsecret.“It wasa collaborative
process,”thewomanwhopulledthetrigger
PHOTOGRAPH
BY
GABRIELE
HOLTERMANN/SIPA
USA/ALAMY
MBY
AGA
Opposite: Residents meet with Curtis
Sliwa of the Guardian Angels in August.
