Protesters Oppose RAD/PACT Privatisation and Demolition Public Housing Plan in Chelsea
A group of NYCHA public housing tenants and preservation activists gathered for a protest march on Thursday, Oct. 2. The protest began in the area in front of 224 W. 30th St., where Councilmember Erik Bottcher (D-Chelsea) maintains a district office.
Councilmember Bottcher has discretion over the approval or rejection of the RAD/PACT privatisation and demolition of Fulton Houses and Elliott-Chelsea public housing developments in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. He supports the upward transfer of wealth from a cash-strapped Local Public Housing Authority to MAGA billionaire Stephen Ross, who owns Hudson Yards. There plan is disastrous to public housing residents on many levels, including that this is a naked land grab by a donor and supporter of President Donald Trump’s White Nationalist agenda. The march concluded at Councilmember Bottcher’s apartment building, located at 415 W. 24th St.
The protest march was broadcast from both locations via the Citizen app, where it accumulated over 17,000 views amongst residents primarily concerned with quality of life issues in Chelsea.
Councilmember Bottcher faces a Nov. 4 general election against community activist Dominick Romeo, an independent.