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Harmonia Homeless Shelter Residents Will Not Be Transferred Out, City Says

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents of the Harmonia homeless shelter in Kips Bay are relieved to know they won't be going anywhere.

Families who live there were concerned about plans to transfer residents to accommodate 300 homeless men who have been staying at the Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side.

MORE: Protesters Say New York City Moving Homeless Out Of Lucerne Hotel Is Creating A Bigger Problem

Those plans were put on hold earlier in September.

"Here at the Harmonia, there's many resources for people like my wife who suffer anxieties and other disabilities. During this pandemic we are going through, it is unsafe for us to be relocated," resident Mike Bonanno said.

In a statement Friday, the city's Department of Social Services said it will not be transferring residents from the Harmonia shelter or the Flatlands shelter in Brooklyn.

The Legal Aid Society is praising the city's decision.

The 300 men from the Lucerne Hotel will be moved to a shelter being set up at a former hotel in the Wall Street area.

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