Categories: U.S. and Canada

New York protest blocks traffic near Gov. Cuomo’s office to demand fair rent

Blocking traffic, May 28.
WW photo: Anne Pruden

“We are tired of being displaced, extorted, harassed and ignored. We will continue to bring our grievances to the doorsteps of the powers-that-be until we are heard.  New York City is facing a massive housing crisis, and the stakes are now higher than ever. On June 15, NYC’s rent regulation laws are set to expire,” stated protest organizers led by Brooklyn’s Crown Heights Tenants Union.

Blocking four lanes on East 3rd Street near Gov. Cuomo’s Midtown Manhattan office on May 28, determined protesters held a huge banner reading “Cuomo: Strong Rent Laws Now” and “Housing Justice Is Racial Justice.” Fliers were distributed to motorists explaining why the protest brought traffic to a standstill.

Several TV stations and newspaper reporters rushed to cover this while the police came much later.  Connecting the need for affordable housing with New York’s long history of racist housing policies, the flier mentioned landlords’ history of redlining policies and how now the developers seek to cash in on gentrification, as they deny tenants their rights in an attempt to evict them.

NYC’s vacancy decontrol provisions eliminated 300,000 rent-regulated apartments where the majority of tenants are working class and people of color. The protesters’ statement offered: “This is why, as low income communities of color, we are taking matters into our own hands. With the recent upsurge of the Black Lives Matter movement, we have seen that the only way policymakers listen to disenfranchised people is when we take to the streets and disrupt business as usual.  Cuomo has the power to change rent laws by June 15th in favor of low and moderate income New Yorkers.”

Anne Pruden

Share
Published by
Anne Pruden

Recent Posts

Philadelphia: Militant march for IWWD 2025

Philadelphia, March 8, 2025 Around a thousand people rallied and marched on International Working Women's…

March 10, 2025

Palestinian Resistance salute to International Women’s Day

The following statements from Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were…

March 10, 2025

VA boss slashes veterans’ benefits, cuts 80,000 jobs

The author is a transgender veteran, retired from the Veterans Administration. Doug Collins, secretary of…

March 10, 2025

Solidarity with pro-Palestine students: Free Mahmoud Khalil! — WW editorial

It should come as no surprise that the MAGA administration has targeted activist students. Or…

March 10, 2025

The scope of the defeat: Trump flushes Kiev regime

The author is a Portuguese Marxist and editor of the web magazine jornalmudardevida.net, where this…

March 7, 2025