The West Side Rag reports…. The home of Randy Mastro, lawyer for recently formed nonprofit the West Side Community Organization, was vandalized with red paint and graffiti on Tuesday night. The group, known colloquially as WestCo, opposes the city’s decision to use hotels in the neighborhood as homeless shelters — in particular the decision to turn The Lucerne Hotel on 79th Street into a shelter for more than 200 men. They have clashed repeatedly with community members who support the shelters, most notably with neighborhood group UWS Open Hearts Initiative.
The Lucerne Hotel is at the center of a neighborhood battle over homeless shelters.
Mastro is a well-known commercial litigation attorney and former Deputy Mayor for Operations under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The Post reported that his residence is on the Upper East Side.
The UWS Open Hearts Initiative first broke the news about the vandalism, writing in a tweet at 10am:
“We’ve received reports from one of our faith leaders that Randy Mastro’s home has been vandalized. UWS Open Hearts and Lucerne residents unequivocally condemn this kind of personal attack. Our fight is for human dignity for all, and we extend our support to the Mastro family.”
Based on images taken from Twitter, the lawyer’s front door appears streaked with red paint, resembling blood. Red and black stamps surrounding his doorway read “Housing is a human right” and “F*** you Randy;” “Shame” and “prick” are written in freehand.
The Post reported that the graffiti also said “Randy Mastro you can’t displace us.”
In a press statement issued by WestCo, Mastro said:
“This is a very sad day to see a genuine debate about serious issues involving the homeless devolve into vandalism targeting my family’s home. The persons who did this are criminals who should be brought to justice. And if they thought they were going to intimidate me, they picked the wrong guy. I will continue to be a passionate advocate against housing homeless adults in SRO hotels where they don’t get the services they need. This vulnerable population requires housing in proper shelters with full services. The City says it is committed to doing just that, and I will continue to advocate for it because that is the right and humane thing to do.”
“The issue has, unfortunately, become heated with opposition community members labeling Randy’s group as “racist” and “priveliged” [sic] and this is the result,” WestCo also said in the statement.
Other community leaders who have opposed Mastro also condemned the graffiti.
Read more at. https://www.westsiderag.com/2020/10/21/home-of-randy-mastro-lawyer-for-shelter-opponents-vandalized-with-red-paint
