Testimony Submitted to Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, July 14, 2017 Dear Gale, We are all engaged in a struggle—not to protect a way of life, but to protect our life itself. Our institutions are bankrupt. Our leaders are complicit. The East Harlem community is disillusioned and disenchanted with the entire process that has…
We are calling on ALL past and present residents of East Harlem/El Barrio and our affordable housing allies to JOIN US in objecting to the City’s plan to gentrify OUR neighborhood. The Mayor and the Speaker’s proposed rezoning plans are both MIDDLE-CLASS housing plan that does not reflect OUR needs. 30% AMI ($32,000) means ZERO…
By Karla Reyes Jun 21, 2017 East Harlem community members and activists stormed the stage four hours into Manhattan Community Board 11’s meeting last night discussing a major rezoning proposal. Instead of a straight “no” vote, the board voted against rezoning on the condition that certain stipulations be met such as increasing the “affordable” housing…
“One who has not experienced gentrification does not know how harmful that may be to the Puerto Rican people.” — Oscar López Rivera Rezoning low-income communities of color is about much more than “just the facts.” It transcends statistics, analysis, and policy – however “participatory” the planning process may appear. Indeed, encouraging massive increases in…
We are calling on all past and present residents of El Barrio and our housing allies to join us in objecting to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s plan to gentrify our community. Up-zoning to allow 30-35 story market-rate buildings with only a handful of “affordable” apartments (that are NOT affordable to low-income residents)…
Must They Do So Alone? Op-ed by Lynn Ellsworth Summer is here. While the Indivisible activists make calls against Trump, while urbanists lament that East Midtown seems doomed to become Dubai, and while the elite of NYC plan summer retreats to the beach, another a tragedy has been unfolding uptown among people in East Harlem:…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, December 5th, 2016 CONTACT: Julio Munoz 646 322-6698 / juliomunoz@earthlink.net Join South Bronx Community Congress At City Hall And Demand: Mayor Bill de Blasio Step Down Now! No More Displacement! We Want Equal Protection! Mayor Bill de Blasio has been colluding with big developers to slice up Chinatown, East Harlem and…
By Robert Waddell New York is an ever-changing place, for good or ill. Last year there were two exhibitions celebrating the New York Landmarks Conservancy law that preserved many grand, old architectural buildings from demolition. This was the law that saved Grand Central Station but came three years too late to save the majestic Penn…
I know it’s Hollywood and all, but I just wanted to share that John Cusack (“War, Inc.”) is my “American Idol” de jour as I admire his candid opinion on the degeneration of our collective civic priorities in an interview with Juan Gonzalez for Democracy Now (excerpted below): JOHN CUSACK: …You know, when we hear…
