by | May 24, 2013 · 12:42 pm

Friday News Round-up!

Happy Friday, almost-Memorial Day and 3-Day Weekend!

  1. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the immigration bill on Tuesday evening. After many days of revision and negotiation, the bill passed 13 to 5. Of the 300 amendments offered to the immigration bill, the committee debated more than 200. While gaining the Senate Judiciary Committee approval is instrumental in passing the bill into law, the newest version omits integral reforms, including support for bi-national same-sex relationships. The bill will be debated on the Senate floor starting in early June. Stay tuned for more updates!
  2. On Wednesday, 50 people gathered for a rally in Williamsburg, denouncing Mayor Bloomberg and his administration’s lack of progress in creating affordable housing. Eight years ago, the city signed an inclusionary zoning agreement that would set aside 3,500 units for affordable housing in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Since making that agreement, less than a quarter have been built. With housing prices rapidly increasing, longterm residents are worried that new landlords will force them out with exorbitant rent. While this is illegal in rent stabilized units, landlord want to avoid defaulting on their loan as well as make a profit will likely resort to un-kosher tactics. As a new mayor takes office, we hope that they will follow through on Bloomberg’s initial promise.
  3. Tenants of 1469 5th Avenue also gathered for a protest this week, demanding that their new owner stop harassing residents. Two months ago, Liberty Place Property Management (LPPM) bought their property as well as five other rent-stabilized buildings in Harlem and the South Bronx. Soon thereafter, the management company began demanding that residents provide documentation of citizenship and employment, and failure to comply would result in an eviction. However, this is illegal — rent-stabilized tenants that have a lease are not required to show proof of citizenship, identification, or even income information to a landlord. We stand with the tenants of 1469 5th Avenue as well as other tenants that are experiencing harassment from LPPM!
  4. A tour company that promised sightseers a glimpse of NYC’s “ghetto” has been shutdown this week. Real Bronx Tours, a company popular with European tourists, brought folks to the South Bronx to give them an inside look at poverty, including soup-kitchen lines, housing projects, and a “pick-pock hang-out” spot. This vantage point severely misrepresents the neighborhood by recuperating the borough’s darkest history, while failing to accurately illustrate the progress that’s been made. On Monday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito wrote an open letter to the company, demanding that they stop mis-portraying the borough and profiting from residents’ suffering. Since then, the company has canceled their tours and their website is no-longer accessible!

Have a fantastic, long, relaxing weekend!!

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by | May 22, 2013 · 3:52 pm

Save the Dates!

Rats Plague Tenants at 1894 Cornelia St.

Rats Plague Tenants at 1894 Cornelia St.

Tenants in buildings we are organizing have two exciting actions coming up, and they need your support!

  1. Support the Sunset Park Rent Strikers in their ongoing struggle for the right to decent, safe, affordable housing! The tenants’ hard work has won important victories, but there is much left to be done. On Monday, June 3rd, tenants will be holding a rally and a press conference outside of 553 46th Street (in Brooklyn) at 10 am. Tenants are demanding that Seryl LLC, a mystery debt-buyer, emerge from the shadows and put forth a plan to address moldy bathrooms, foul sewer fumes, falling plaster, a leaky roof and more. These tenants, with the help of various community groups, are hoping to convert their building to a limited equity cooperative! In order to make that happen we need to show Seryl LLC that the only people who ought to be investing in this property are the residents themselves. Show up and give your support!
  2. The Ridgewood Stabilis Tenants’ Association is fed up! Their 6 buildings are in foreclosure and bankruptcy, and tenants live side by side with mold, rats, fallen ceilings, and shoddy electricity. Several tenants are lacking basic appliances, like stoves and refrigerators. Residents are sick of hearing from bankers who are more interested in “protecting the asset” than they are in providing safe living conditions. Tenants will be on the steps of the bankruptcy court at Bowling Green on June 19th at 10 am to demand better conditions and a preservation deal for their buildings.

Save the date, spread the word, and we hope to see you there!

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by | May 21, 2013 · 4:56 pm

New Yorkers March to Denounce LGBTQ Hate Crimes

Photo by Macey Foronda. Featured on BuzzFeed

Yesterday, a rally was held in the West Village to honor Mark Carson who was murdered Friday evening as a result of a hate crime. While walking through the West Village with a friend, Carson was confronted by Elliot Morales.  Morales made homophobic remarks such as, “Look at these faggots” and “What are you, gay wrestlers?” Despite trying to walk away and avoid an altercation, Morales followed the two men, pulled out his .38-caliber revolver and shot Carson. He died shortly after.

To show respect for Carson and denounce the recent hate crime against the queer community, thousands of LGBTQ folk and allies gathered in the West Village and marched from the steps of The Center to the site of the shooting. Chanting “We’re here, we’re queer!” and “Homophobia has got to go!” the voice of the queer community echoed down Greenwich Avenue and up through 6th Avenue. Speaker Christine Quinn, the first openly gay Speaker of the New York City Council, and Edie Windsor, the plaintiff of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage case, joined the march. After a slew of violent hate crimes within the past month, this march reestablished the visibility and, in turn, power of the queer community in New York City.

The West Village has been portrayed as a haven for queer folks. Home of the Stonewall Inn and the inception of the gay liberation movement, LGBTQ folk from across the country have come to the West Village either seeking refuge from hate crimes, in search of community, or to pay tribute to those who have fought to stop violence. Unfortunately, there has been a resurgence of hate crimes in the West Village. According to the Anti-Violence Project (AVP), six hate crimes against LGBTQ folk have been reported within the past week in New York City. The following are a list of three incidents reported by the New Yorker:

… a gay man and his partner were beaten up outside Madison Square Garden after a Knicks game, another gay man was attacked and beaten on Christopher Street, and a gay couple was beaten after leaving a pool hall on West Thirty-second Street.

With Pride month fast approaching, these weeks serve as a point of reflection to assess how much progress has actually been made in terms of LGBTQ rights and safety in our country. One of the signs held at yesterday’s protest read, “Marriage means nothing if we are being gunned down.” While much emphasis has been placed on the Federal Supreme Court ruling on the Marriage Equality Act, much more needs to be done to stop homophobic prejudice, discrimination, and violence in New York City and throughout the country.

While it might appear as if this rally has little to do with our work in housing and organizing, look again. As we’ve discussed before on the blog, discrimination in housing against LGBTQ folks is alive and well in our country and our city.  Through organizing, we need to ensure that everyone who lives in our city feels secure enough in demanding that their rights be met- whether it’s housing conditions, marriage, or the right to walk down the street in safety. We at UHAB admire the powerful organizing that has taken place in response to the recent hate-crimes, and plan to support that organizing effort as long as it takes.

If you or someone you know has experienced a homophobic hate crime, please contact the Anti-Violence Project at (212) 714-1141.

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by | May 20, 2013 · 12:57 pm

Tell Bankers that People are Too Big to Fail

This is happening now in DC. We support:

Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Jail?

Millions of underwater homeowners have paid the price for Wall Street’s crimes. From mortgage fraud to predatory lending, it’s time to put bankers in jail.

Join Occupy Homes, dozens of underwater homeowners, and hundreds of allies from across the country as we take action and risk arrest at the Department of Justice.

Bring Justice to Justice Rally: May 20th @ 1pm Gather: Freedom Plaza, 14th Street and Pennsylvania Ave NW – March to Department of Justice @ 1:30pm

With Occupy Homes, Home Defenders League, Campaign for a Fair Settlement, and community and faith leaders

Five years after Wall Street crashed the economy, not one banker has been prosecuted for the reckless and fraudulent practices that cost millions of Americans their jobs, threw our cities and schools into crisis, and left families and communities ravaged by a foreclosure crisis and epidemic of underwater mortgages.

Record profits are back at the bailed-out banks. Meanwhile:

  • Homeowners and communities have lost billions to Wall Street’s foreclosure crisis;

  • Millions more families face foreclosure in the coming months;

  • Communities of color have been impacted the most.

This March, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, testifying before a U.S. Senate committee,admitted that big banks and their executives have escaped prosecution simply because they are too wealthy and powerful. “Too big to fail” banks are officially “too big to jail.”

The time is now for Congress and the Obama administration to make Wall Street pay us back:

  • Prosecute Wall Street bankers for stealing our homes, savings and livelihoods;

  • End the foreclosure crisis;

  • Reset mortgages to their current value (“principal reduction”);

  • Restore and rebuild wealth stolen from communities of color hardest hit.

Since the crisis began, Americans from all walks of life have banded together to help each other. Working through community organizations, civil rights groups, the Occupy movement, and community and faith leaders, we have shared our stories, lobbied, petitioned, and even faced arrest for occupying our own homes and demanding justice.

During the Wall Street Accountability Week of Action in Washington, D.C., May 18-23, families on the front line of the foreclosure crisis will travel from around the country to Washington, D.C., to make their voices heard. The week will include community organizing, home-defense training, and non-violence and civil-disobedience training.

On Monday, May 20, at 1:00pm, home defenders, as well as faith and community leaders will rally to Bring Justice to Justice – demanding an end to the “too big to jail” policy, and relief for families and communities devastated by the financial crisis and foreclosure epidemic.

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by | May 17, 2013 · 3:18 pm

Friday News Round-Up

Here’s a short list of some of the stories we’ve been following today. As always, have a great weekend and we’ll see you on Monday!

  1. Last week, and today, Philadelphia students walked-out of school to protest harsh budget cuts that would totally gut the public school system, which is already suffering from austerity. Of note to New Yorkers: the plan, which initially included the closure of over 40 public schools, was prepared with the help of the Boston Consulting Group. If that name doesn’t ring a bell: its the same neoliberalizing global business entity hired – to the tune of $10 million – to study NYCHA.
  2. Legal Services is on strike. In the past year, Legal Services attorneys have represented tenants in at least 15 of the buildings we organize, and the work they do is invaluable to low income New Yorkers. Support them in their fight.
  3. We’re basically just waiting to see when Anthony Weiner will announce he’s running for mayor. In the meantime, check out this piece by Michael Mckee of the Metropolitan Council on Housing: “Why No Tenant Should Vote for Anthony Weiner.” In a city chock full of tenants that’s a bold claim — but his record in the City Council calls for it.

 

 

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