Tell Julia Salazar: Retract The NYCHA Trust Bill NOW!
Some politicians will do anything to avoid paying for public housing. It should come as no surprise that the current CEO of the New York CIty Housing Authority, Greg Russ, is a privatization profiteer in his hometown of Minneapolis, nor that the new budget-cutting Mayor Adams loves his plan for loosening NYCHA from government hands.
What is surprising however, is that self-proclaimed socialist State Senator Julia Salazar does too. After Russ’ old plan, “The Blueprint,” succumbed to the furor of public housing activists, she has just taken up the task of sponsoring a nearly identical bill, known as “The Trust.” In direct defiance of what the people who elected her want, and what socialist colleagues in the City Council and State Legislature are advocating for!
The Trust is a truly nightmarish piece of legislation. NYCHA developments would be broken off into a “public trust” in order to sell government bonds to investors. Section 629 would allow building operations to be turned over to private, for-profit management in the same way as management is turned over in RAD/PACT, and would even empower the Trust to create and spin off these profitable companies from rents earned by local residents. This private management is scarcely different from RAD conversion.
Worse yet, the private creditors funding the Trust will be able to access building revenues- rents and government funding. And if the Trust doesn’t have the money pay people back, Subsections 637-13 and -14 make it so that investors might be able to both drain those revenues and renegotiate ownership, tenant and rent protections!
Everything short of selling the buildings for scrap! And by the time they’re deregulated, and their former tenants displaced, no one will care if that happens next.
Many members of Salazar’s own organization, the DSA, are furiously working to compel her to retract this bill. Even its own former sponsors, moderates like Harvey Epstein and Brian Kavanagh, have criticized it. Everyone with an interest in the future of New York City’s affordable housing should do the same.
We, the undersigned NYCHA tenants and NYCHA tenant organizations, and allies of NYCHA tenants, demand that Julia Salazar withdraw the NYCHA Trust bill.
Signatories
Organizations:
Johnson Houses Resident Association
Cooper Park Residents Council Inc.,
LaGuardia Resident Association
Carleton Manor Resident Council
Alfred E Smith Houses Residents Association, Inc.
West Brighton Plaza Residents Associations
Oceanside Resident Assoc
Redfern Houses Resident Council, Inc.
A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance
Opera House Tenants Union
St. Mary's Park Houses Resident Council
Webster Morrisania Residents Association
Claremont Consolidation Residents Association
Metro North Tenant Association
101 Lincoln Road Tenants' Association
Residents to Preserve Public Housing
GrassrootsAction NY, Chapter of NYPAN
Committee for Independent Community Action (CICA)
Justice for All Coalition (JFAC)
Workers Assembly Against Racism
Holmes-Isaacs Coalition
Vineyard Manhattan Church
New York DeafBlind Advocates
The Art & Politics of Justice & Joy
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities
The United Front Against Displacement
Washington Square Park Mutual Aid
Party for Socialism & Liberation
Bronx Anti-War Coalition
Mariner’s Harbor Residents Association
Equality for Flatbush (E4F)
Moms United for Black Lives
NYCHA Tenants:
Princella Jamerson, Mill Brook Houses, Comments “Please don’t do this to the People”
Ramona Ferreyra, Mitchel Houses
Cynthia Tibbs, WSUR Brownstones
Farailda Belliard, Drew Hamilton
Siide Gil Frederick, RIIS
Lorraine Maldonado , Ravenswood
Wallace Maldonado, Ravenswood
Cynthia Whitaker, Unity Plaza
olga calderon, Smith Houses
La Keesha Taylor, Holmes Towers
Ryeshelly Rigaud, Hammels Houses
Vanessa Melendez, ST. MARY'S
Ann Valdez, Gravesend Houses
Cassandra Harrell, Bedford Sty Rehabs Phase One
Diane Johnson, Millbrook Houses
Beverly Mac Farlane, Senator Robert A. Taft Houses
Brenda Temple, Oceanside
Darlene Jackson, Section 8 Tenant
Renee Keitt, Elliott Chelsea
Carter G Woodson, Woodson house
Sele Saez, Vladeck
Vin Fitz, Carver Houses, We Act
miles casso, queensbridge
Kit Allen, Mariners harbor project
milagros DeJesus, Lafayette Gardens
Trisha DeJesus, Lafayette Gardens
Leah James, Johnson Houses
Kimberly Elliott, Astoria Houses
Mylasia Elliott, Astoria Houses
IKEA Elliott, Astoria Houses
Cesar Yoc, Mill Brook Houses
Madeleine Jackson
Rev Carmen Hernandez, 1471- 73 Watson Ave Residents Council
Linda Harrison, Harber Houses
Stacy Newsome, West Brighton
AIXA Olimpia TORRES, Smith Houses
Shawnta Austin, Astoria Houses (Mansions)
Danette L Chavis, LaGuardia
Luis Torres, Dewitt Clinton
Karen Leader, Cooper Park Houses
Thomas Frederick, Johnson Houses
Gerard lemonnier, Grants House's
Russell Taylor, 830 Amsterdam Avenue
Celia Rivera, LaGuardia
Lucy Mercado, Marble Hill Houses
Steven gilden, Taylor whyte
Jasmin Sanchez, Baruch Houses
Cynthia Tibbs, WSUR Brownstones
Charlene Burke, Mariners Harbor
Ms, Pink houses
Veronica Grant, Mariner's Harbor
Gary Grant, Mariner's Harbor Resident Associate
Sylvia White, Astoria Housing
Cynthia Mujica, Polo Grounds
Dana Elden St. Mary's Park Houses
Deborah Aviles, Mott Haven
Latosha Gaddie, Mott Haven
Gwendolyn Primus, Webster Morrisania
Gloria Tull, Claremont Consolidation
Stanley Johnson, Metro North Plaza
Carmen Quinones, Frederick Douglass Houses
Farailda Belliard, Drew Hamilton Houses
Ida Colon, LaGuardia Houses
Miriam Santiago, Wagner Houses
Veronica Grant, Mariners Harbor
La Wanda Johnson Gainey, Carleton Manor
Uronda Jones, Carleton Manor
Lovely V. Mannings, Carleton Manor
Jewel Waltower, Carleton Manor
Edith Spaneilli, Carleton Manor
Alice Somerville, Carleton Manor
Vernell Robinson, Carleton Manor
Kimberly Comes, Redfern Houses
Michael Lopez, Washington houses
Chris, Douglas Houses
Kahlii Thompson, Hammels Houses
E. Thomas, Taft Houses
Allies of NYCHA Tenants:
Dr. Jessie Fields
Nicolas Vargas
Kristen Hackett
Matthew Perry
Aisha Hussein
meesh fradkin
Khadija
Nazmus Saquib
Vanessa Thill
Christopher Natoli
Matthew Rosank
Dannelly Rodriguez
Erlend Kimmich
Gwen Lowenheim
Yvon Jean Noel
Harriet Hoffman
Francisca Benitez
Sabrina Bazile
Jessie Fields
Isadora Zanon
Pamela Phillips
Toni Arenstein
Cristal Calderon
Kazembe
Brad Holhut
Ivan Potosky
jenny dubnau
Amy Zeng
Caleb Green
Naomi Azulay
Mary Weldon
Mana Tagami
Richard Ronner
James Payne
Marc safman
cami dominguez
Naomi Zewde
Barbara Okishoff
Jon McFarlane
Caitlin K
Nathan DeJesus
Sarah Axler
Devora Fein
Marni Halasa
Gianna Reza-Ortega
Michael Pan
Ashley Hicks
Xander Roos
Virginia Lawrence
Allen Cox
Christine Stanfield
Maureen Albanese
Jackson Dunnington
Darl, formerly St. Nicholas Projects
Zeke Luger
Aviva Galpert
Alia Ganaposki
Cecil Brooks Jr.
Maisha Morales
Tamika Mapp, State Assembly Candidate and Committeewoman 68th AD
Monisha Mapp
Thomas Meluch
Mac baker
Angel yahuilt
zool Zulkowitz
Erica Baum
Nancy Branham
Steven Branham
Modesta Carmona
Daniel Meyers
Michael Beltzer
Ray Dietz
Austen Fisher
Jessica Semmel
Evie Hantzopoulos
James bosco
Genevieve S
Marissa Miglin
Alexis Eytinge
Alia G
Felix Gusselle
Gregory Baggett
Em He
Ferris Tseng
Barbara Okishoff
Dee Knight
Cameron wells
Isabel proffitt
Douglas Balder
Robert Jackson
Richard Merino
David Osorio
Ryan Costello
Robert Jereski
Miranda Sielaff
Jacob Sacks
David Osorio
Richard Merino
Ryan Costello
Robert Jeresk
Jacob Sacks
Amy Harlib
Carol Lipton, formerly of Pelham Parkway Houses
Brett Daniels
Coletta
Gisele Bess
Tony Murphy
Robert Thibault
Imani Keith Henry
Naomi Zurcher
Patricia Weiss
Cynthia, NYCC
Kenia Alv
Bill Henry
Nydia Leaf
Cindy Hwang
Jonathan Salazar
Suzie Baer