NYC tenants’ rally confronts realtors

A large multinational protest chanted while mostly white men — “suits” — entered the New York Hilton Jan. 21 for a realtors’ event. The Real Estate Board of New York’s 120th annual banquet began with a $1,100-a-plate dinner and featured New York Mayor Bill de Blasio as guest speaker.  

A statement distributed by the Citywide Alliance Against Displacement tells of whole communities being evicted and destroyed, small businesses losing their livelihood and working-class families losing grocery stores: “We denounce the underhanded deals between developers and NYC elected officials who receive large campaign contributions from them. We reject Mayor de Blasio’s zoning plan for NYC that promotes luxury development, … displacing more people of color and working families, and eliminating more affordable units than it claims to create. We call on all New Yorkers to join in a grass-roots alliance to stop Mayor de Blasio’s developer-led zoning plans.”

The protest demands called for protection against displacement. Unity was strong and expressed in three languages. For more information on follow-up plans, visit  contact [email protected].