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NYCHA tenants, candidates, activists speak at rally, march to Corey Johnson’s apartment house, demanding full-funding for NYCHA

Things will never get better unless, you unite and join Fight for NYCHA

Posted by OccupyRadio.net on Sunday, October 6, 2019

Lindsey Boylan, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives (NY-10), spoke at the Fight For NYCHA "Stop the War on the Poor" rally at Union Square Park. Ms. Boylan is challenging U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler in the Democratic Party primary in 2020. On Family Day at Fulton Houses last summer, U.S. Rep. Nadler claimed that it was "not a Federal issue" for him to get involved to save Fulton Houses, much less NYCHA.

Posted by Fight For NYCHA on Monday, October 7, 2019

I’m going to say it again. NYCHA residents must join with other NYCHA tenants and show your power to make change. Join Fight for NYCHA now!

Posted by Mike Mccabe on Sunday, October 6, 2019
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Union Square Rally to build public support for a People’s Budget approach to fully-fund NYCHA

This is a City-wide rally to demonstrate support for a grassroots approach to fully-funding the New York City Hosing Authority, or NYCHA. Fight For NYCHA consulted with tenants and passed the People’s Budget for Housing, Justice, and Dignity during a Town Hall meeting at P.S. 33 in Chelsea on Sept. 18. The People’s Budget demonstrates that funding for public housing is reasonable, within reach, and some of these ideas are legislation-ready.

DATE : Sunday, Oct 6, 2019
TIME : 1 pm
PLACE : Union Square Park, Manhattan
RSVP : Stop the War on the Poor [Facebook]

The immediate emergency is to take $10 billion that Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to use to build new jails and, instead, to redirect that money to public housing.

Recommended Reading

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The People’s Budget passes to demonstrate that the money exists to fully-fund NYCHA

At Fight For NYCHA townhall, tenants from Fulton, Chelsea, Elliott, and Harborview were invited to participate.

Area public housing tenants, neighbors, and civic leaders were invited to participate in the Fight For NYCHA townhall at PS 33 in Chelsea on Sept. 18. The Thursday night meeting was solely focused on discussing and adopting a People’s Budget approach to fully-funding the New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA. (Se puede leer el Presupuesto del Pueblo en español.)

A presentation was made to show that the People’s Budget was within reach, was reasonable, was not punitive, and that, some of the ideas it contained, were legislation-ready.

Following the presentation, attendees of the townhall adopted by a majority show of hands the People’s Budget.

The People’s Budget passes by a majority show of hands.

Demolition, RAD conversion, the sale of air rights, and infill development should be the last resort — not the first resort.

By adopting the People’s Budget, NYCHA tenants are communicating to Electeds that the money exists to fully-fund NYCHA. Therefore, there should be no need to either demolish public housing, hand public housing assets over to private developers or landlords, sell air rights, or to propose infill development at NYCHA. At this townhall, public housing tenants also proposed two ideas : that Tenants have a final say in the governance at NYCHA (for example, not allowing executives to over-ride NYCHA tenants on the Board of Directors, and to eliminate any mechanism that subverts tenants’ rights to have a democratic say in NYCHA’s governance, to paraphrase some townhall attendees’ ideas) and to improve relations between NYCHA management and tenants.

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To save and improve NYCHA, please come to our Town Hall on Wed. night at PS 33 at 6 pm

Town Hall to Fully-Fund NYCHA

The Problem : NYCHA Needs $$$

The Solution : The People’s Budget

Date : Wed., 18 Sept 2019
Time : 6 – 8:30 pm
Place : PS 33, 281 9th Ave., Manhattan (btwn 26th. and 27th Streets)
RSVP : Town Hall to Fully-Fund NYCHA [Facebook]

Please review the draft People’s Budget, because we will be reviewing this at the Town Hall.

Join us for a conversation on the problem and solution facing NYCHA.

Please don’t forget to R.S.V.P.

Date : Wed., 18 Sept 2019
Time : 6 – 8:30 pm
Place : PS 33, 281 9th Ave., Manhattan (btwn 26th. and 27th Streets)
RSVP : Town Hall to Fully-Fund NYCHA [Facebook]

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Protest against Daniel Dromm for throwing NYCHA under the bus

Labor Day protest and march, demanding that Daniel Dromm put NYCHA in the New York City budget

BUSTED : Even though NYCHA is in a crisis, facing a $32 billion deficit in its capital improvement budget, New York City Councilmember Daniel Dromm threw NYCHA under the bus by cutting them out of the $92.8 billion City budget. As chair of the City Council finance committee, Dromm sees the City Budget out of committee.

It’s not too late to introduce a budget supplemental for NYCHA. The money exists to address the racial, social, and economic injustices in the City of New York, much of which are state-sponsored.

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Protest Corey Johnson to save Fulton Houses

We demand that Speaker Johnson allocate $168 million needed to save Fulton Houses.

Join us for a protest at the apartment house of New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Chelsea). To stop the plan by Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City) to demolish two buildings and to put public housing into the hands of private landlords, all we need is $168 million, but Council Speaker Johnson refuses to save Fulton Houses from the wrecking ball.

Date : Monday, July 15, 2019

Time : 6:30 – 7:30 pm

Place : 220 West 15th Street, Manhattan

RSVP : Protest Corey Johnson to save Fulton Houses [Facebook]

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Pack the Overdevelopment meeting hosted by Elected Officials at CUNY Graduate Center

Join us on Thursday to pressure elected officials to stop the demolition and RAD conversion of Fulton Houses.

Several elected officials are holding a meeting against overdevelopment on Thursday night at 6 pm at CUNY Graduate Center at 34th Street and Fifth Ave.

Help us pack the meeting, so we can ask elected officials : if you are against “overdevelopment,” then it’s time to stop the demolition and RAD conversion of NYCHA that will bring gentrification directly to public housing.

After decades of divestment by all levels of Government, NYCHA stands vulnerable to predatory actors including private landlords, luxury real estate developers, REBNY, and their lobbyists.

If you are against “overdevelopment,” then it’s time to stop the demolition and RAD conversion of NYCHA that will bring in private landlords that will turn public housing into a for-profit business. Come tell elected officials to say no to demolition and RAD at Fulton Houses and the rest of NYCHA.

DATE : Thursday, June 27, 2019

TIME :  6 pm

PLACE : CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., Manhattan

RSVP : Stop RAD before it brings Gentrification to NYCHA [Facebook]

Pack the meeting to ask Elected Officials to stop the demolition and RAD conversion of NYCHA. That’s considered “overdevelopment,” too.

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Fight For NYCHA – Weekly Update of June 3, 2019

Press Conference, NYCHA Community Meeting, CB4, and CB11 Meetings

Fulton Houses tenants held a press conference before NYCHA’s June 4 community meeting, and the press conference and community meeting were covered by the press. [PIX11 News/The New York Post/NY1]

On the same evening as the community meeting, a member of Fight For NYCHA made a presentation, seeking support for a budget/funding resolution before the Housing Committee of Manhattan Community Board 11. The Housing Committee refrained from voting on the draft resolution, but the Housing Committee voted to oppose privatisation of public housing.

The next evening, members of Fulton Houses testified before the full meeting of Manhattan Community Board 4. It was revealed that CB4 had sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City) and Kathyrn Garcia, the interim CEO of the New York Housing Authority (“NYCHA”), opposing demolition at Fulton Houses.

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First protest set to #FindTheMoneyNow to #KeepPublicHousingPublic

May 29 rally at New York City Hall

Tenants of Fulton Houses approved a rally at New York City Hall to demand that New York City Council reäppropriate the $10 billion from the capital budget for new jails and instead redirect those monies to the New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA.

Tenants are also calling for the New York City Council to hold hearing to establish a corporate income tax for corporations of a certain size that operate in New York City.

R.S.V.P.

Since NYCHA is comprised of 90% Black and Latinx families, this means that the politicians are making a political calculation that they can exploit the very visible minorities, who are public housing tenants.

Politicians supporting the plans announced by Mayor de Blasio to demolish public housing apartment buildings and to put public housing into the hands of private landlords, are keeping quiet about the racial implications of their actions or support. This is wrong.

A corporation tax would be progressive way to fund public housing.

New York City is the financial capital of the world. There is so much money here, and yet the largest Corporations pay very little in taxes, if any at all. Amazon made $11 billion in 2018, but it paid $0 in U.S. Federal Income Taxes. Other major Corporations keep profits overseas so they don’t have to report cash as profits to the Government. As of two years ago, Apple was keeping over $200 billion in cash overseas to evade U.S. taxes. Last year, Google had about $60 billion in cash it was keeping overseas to evade U.S. taxes.

New York City already collects a Business Corporation Tax that ranges from about 4 per cent. to 10 per cent. However, New York City caps the tax at $10 million. This means that the most wealthiest of Corporations are not paying their fair share. This violates the principle that people making the most money — at the tippy, tippy tops — need to pay more money in taxes the more money that they make. This is what is called a progressive income tax. New York City can raise the money NYCHA needs by extending the idea of a progressive income tax to Corporations.

The need to pressure City officials stems from AOC’s controversial decision to turn her back on NYCHA.

The need to pressure the Mayor and the City Council for the money to preserve and expand public housing follows the controversial decision by the office of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14) to reject a request to sponsor a budget resolution this year for all $32 billion that NYCHA needs. Randy Abreu is a policy advisor on staff to U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.

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Fulton Houses tenants elect independent officers, announce next meeting, plan next action

Fight For NYCHA co-hosts an important meeting to offer autonomy and structure to Fulton Houses residents.

At an action-planning meeting held on Saturday, 11 May, tenants of Fulton Houses made several agreements that would serve as a foundation for advocacy work to save public housing in Chelsea from being demolished and from being put into the hands of private landlords.

  • Since NYCHA is comprised of 90% Black and Latinx families, this means that the politicians, who are supporting each of the demolition of buildings at Fulton Houses and the putting of public housing into the hands of private developers, are making a political calculation that they can exploit the very visible minorities, who are public housing tenants.
  • Politicians supporting the plans announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City) to demolish public housing apartment buildings and to put public housing into the hands of private landlords, are keeping quiet about the racial implications of their actions or support.
  • We must stand united in saying that what Mayor de Blasio and his supporters are doing is wrong.
  • Unless elected officials join us in this fight, we must be prepared to challenge those elected officials.
  • The processes we undertake together must have integrity, and this means that Fulton Houses tenants must agree. This also means that we cannot allow anybody to disrupt or distract or bring outside politics into the fight to save Fulton Houses or NYCHA. Fulton Houses tenants agreed that if anybody tried to derail our agenda, they would support asking that person to leave.
  • It was important to make clear that for any new, independent tenants’ associations elections that may take place for the Fulton Houses, only Fulton Houses tenants may vote.
  • Any groups wishing to show up to our events must :
    • oppose each of the demolition of apartment buildings and the RAD conversion of Fulton Houses ;
    • call-out Mayor de Blasio and his supporters ; and
    • oppose the racism of RAD and the divestment of public housing.

Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel spoke to Fulton Houses tenants about the importance of “keeping public housing public.”

Mary, left, and Jackie were elected as president and vice-president of an independent tenants association.

Amelia was elected as secretary of an independent tenants association of Fulton Houses.

Next steps

Fight For NYCHA will hold a follow-up meeting on Saturday, 18 May, at 3 pm at the same location. Tenants and activists have agreed on the first action, the plans for which will be finalised on the date of our next meeting.