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Protest against Zohram Mamdani at Astoria to save NYCHA from RAD/PACT privatisation and demolition in Chelsea

No trust in Zohran : Columbia race lies and NYCHA privatised !

NYCHA residents and activists first protested outside of Zohran Mamdani’s rent-regulated apartment building in Astoria, Queens.

New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (DSA-Astoria) is the latest of a long line of New York City politicians, who ignore the decades of racist divestment of New York City public housing, leading to a proverbial demolition by neglect. Public housing residents have sought to put the RAD/PACT privatisation and demolition on the social agenda. Specifically, Mamdani’s family owned a luxury loft across the street from Elliott-Chelsea, now which faces demolition in an upward transfer of wealth to MAGA billionaire Stephen Ross. But Mamdani has deliberately ignored the plight of public housing residents facing forced relocation.

Residents, activists, and allies of saving New York City Housing Authority scheduled the protest outside of Mamdani’s apartment building to briefly occupy space outside his residential apartment after it became apparent that Mamdani was betraying the socialist democrat sensibility about keeping strategic, public assets in the public sector. Mamdani has an obligation to defend public housing from privatisation, but he remains silent as a prétexte to enable controversial public-private partnerships.

Organisers behind the protest have a demonstrated record of engaging in non-violent, direct action. However, the Mamdani campaign dispatched multiple goons to deflect form the Democratic Party’s complicity in the neglect and surrender of public housing to some of the most wealthiest participants in New York’s real estate development industry.

The DSA/WFP/PSL supporters of Mamadani’s controversial mayoral campaign repeated harassed and menaced NYCHA public housing residents, activists, and allies.

Has Zohran Mamdani betrayed NYCHA ? It seems so. We protested in Astoria to save NYC public housing.

One of Mamdani’s neighbors repeatedly shot the middle finger at public housing residents in an open display of hostility and aggression. He would later wave his hands in the face of one of the public housing allies in an attempt to incite violence, escalate tensions, and enflame passions. The hostile neighbor with anger issues repeated referred to one of the public housing allies as a “piece of sh!t.” An NYPD security detail intervened and removed the hostile neighbor from our protest.

Other Mamdani supporters demanded that public housing residents leave the public sidewalk of their gentrified (code word for White) block in Astoria. The racism, classism, and sexism was apparent : all trademarks of the bike lanes bro culture of the NYCDSA, the Working Families Party, and Party for Socialism and Liberation.

NYCHA residents and activists next protested outside of Zohran Mamdani’s Assembly district office, also in Astoria.

Following our peaceful protest, some of our activists travelled to Mamdani’s Assembly district office, also in Astoria, for an impromptu protest.

After our protest, some NYCHA tenants went to Mamdani’s district office in Astoria, where a separate protest was held by Jason Murillo, a City Council candidate.

At that follow-up protest, Mamdani’s office employees locked the doors to the entrance, preventing protesters from asking for a meeting about NYCHA.  The protesters were warned that they would face arrest if they attempted to enter the office to speak with the staff of a mayoral candidate.  

Two months ago, Mamdani held a secret, backroom meeting with Big Business élites in an attempt to gain their support for his collaborationist campaign for New York City mayor. But Mamdani didn’t have the courage to look public housing residents in the eye and tell them that he was prepared to sell them out in exchange for money and power. How very Democratic Party of him.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams begins with ethics controversies and an early scandal in low-income housing

Mayor Eric Adams starts off on the wrong foot, with controversies already threatening to hobble his nascent administration.

On the third day of being in office, Mayor Eric Adams (D-New York City) faced a barrage of criticism in a report published in the Guardian. He was exposed for being personality-driven instead of policy-driven. He was expected to keep exploiting identity to his personal advantage over helping the communities, which elected him to office. And he was expected to continue the sell-out of public housing.

Mayor Adams’ critics spanned across the focal points in progressive politics, from the Working Families Party to institutional nonprofit groups, like Make The Road New York.

“His focus is going to be on his big-money donors. That’s been his track record all along. That’s not a secret,” said a member of Fight For NYCHA.

Critics of Mayor Adams were validated, in part, by questionable appointments made by Mayor Adams to top administration roles : scandal-tarred Philip Banks III to serve as deputy mayor for public safety ; Bernard Adams, the mayor’s younger brother, to serve as deputy commissioner at the NYPD ; and Brooklyn political-fixer Frank Carone to serve as his chief of staff.

The appearance that Mayor Adams was rewarding his supporters with patronage jobs came as Mayor Adams attacked individuals in front-line service industries, like restaurants, as “low-skill workers.”

Slumlords are advising Mayor Adams.

Mayor Adams faced new questions about his ethical judgment after it was revealed that his transition team included an officer for one of the landlords of the Bronx apartment building that was the site for a deadly fire last week-end. Rick Gropper is an officer of the Camber Property Group, one of the owners of the apartment building’s operating company, Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC.

In the face of the obvious conflict-of-interest, Mayor Adams has promised to “investigate” the cause of the fire at one of the properties of one of his key political supporters.

Many are worried that, as Mayor Adams tries to do damage control over so many scandals and controversies, he’ll be unfocused to formulate sound public health policy in the face of the uncontrolled Coronavirus pandemic. In a show of no-confidence, hundreds of public school students walked out on classes on Tuesday to highlight unsafe conditions in schools ; they are calling for a remote education option until the Omicron variant outbreak subsides.

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