Community Organizations Rally and Deliver Letter Outlining Solutions to REBNY
NEW YORK–A coalition of local community organizations today held a peaceful rally outside the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), calling out billionaires and corporate landlords whose greed locks New Yorkers out of good homes they can afford. Pointing to the fact that more than 850,000 New Yorkers pay more than 40 percent of their income on rent, the groups demanded affordable housing solutions and public accountability from REBNY. Their demands included a rent freeze for those in rent-stabilized housing, new affordable housing construction, and the expansion of housing support and maintenance programs.
“Housing is a basic need, but the billionaires and corporate landlords who dictate policy in this building are hoarding the homes and the wealth that people need,” People’s Action’s Sondra Youdelman said. “New Yorkers need rents we can afford, maintenance to keep our homes safe, and real investments to keep a roof over people’s heads when crisis hits. We’re here demanding accountability to the people by the real estate board. This city should be affordable for everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy.”
The organizations represented at today’s action included People’s Action, Citizen Action New York, VOCAL Action Fund, Community Voices Heard Power, and Make the Road Action.
“Every rent increase pushes my family closer to the edge. I have a 19-year-old son, and I’m disabled myself – we both need a stable place to live. We’re demanding REBNY and the new mayor freeze rents because we shouldn’t have to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Corporate landlords are making record profits while we’re being priced out of our own communities. REBNY needs to get on the right side of history,” Kathryn Marrow, Community Voices Heard Power member, said.
The attendees delivered a demand letter to REBNY spelling out solutions to get people’s basic housing needs met, including:
- Implementing a rent freeze for the 2.4 million New York residents living in rent-stabilized housing
- Tripling the amount of capital funds that can be designated for building 200,000 new affordable homes over 10 years for low-income households, seniors, and working families.
- Expanding HPD’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) and Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability (ELLA), both of which can significantly expand housing affordability for NYC residents.
- Increasing NYCHA’s resources and capacity for investing in public housing infrastructure and ongoing repairs.
“This is the richest city in the richest country in the world–but if you’re making the average income here and paying almost half of your paycheck to keep a roof over your head, you’re barely getting by,” Nathylin Flowers of VOCAL Action Fund said. “That’s a disgrace. There’s plenty for everyone in this town if the greediest people among us don’t lock us out. Everyone deserves a safe, accessible, sustainable, permanently affordable home. The people in this building need to take action to make that a reality for the people who make this city work.”
“As a NYCHA resident, I’ve seen firsthand what years of neglect and disinvestment look like leaking ceilings, mold, broken elevators, and families doing their best to make a home in unsafe conditions. We deserve better. Investing in NYCHA isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. When we fund public housing, we’re funding people’s health, safety, and future. Every resident deserves to live with dignity, and it’s time New York fully commits to making that a reality, ” Jamell Henderson of Citizen Action of New York said.