Neighbors Take To The Streets To Fight For Affordable Housing
Waving signs emblazoned with such phrases as “people over property,” “criminal charges for criminal landlords,” and”stop displacement now,” neighbors took to the streets to fight for affordable housing this past Saturday, when the Flatbush Tenant Coalition and other social justice groups led a march from Crown Heights to East 18th Street, near Church Avenue.
A couple hundred people, including a bevy of elected officials, participated in the march, which was also held by New York Communities for Change, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, and the Crown Heights Tenant Union. The event was part of community advocates’ efforts to send a message to Albany in the months before state legislators are slated to vote on renewing rent regulation laws, which are set to sunset in June. Tenants and other organizers say rent laws have been dramatically diluted, resulting in landlords being able to push thousands of people from their rent-regulated apartments to make way for individuals who can pay more for housing. (For example, Aga Trojniak, of the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, said at a recent fundraiser for her organization at Bar Chord that weakened rent laws have resulted in the loss of about 3,500 rent regulated apartments in Flatbush between 2008 and 2011.)
To push people form their apartments, tenants on Saturday spoke of the tactics landlords will take – including withholding repairs and taking individuals to the problem-plagued housing court over such offenses as being one late month in rent.
“Our landlord, Shamco – what they’ve been doing is constantly harassing the tenants,” said neighbor Lennette Mead of the property owner that has drawn vehement criticism from people throughout Brooklyn, including Prospect Lefferts Gardens blogger Tim Thomas. “We’ve been there 29 years, and we’ve had mold for over 15 years. The city made them remove it, and now Shamco is making us pay for it.”
Shamco did not return our request for comment.
Rosa Martinez, who lives in an apartment building at 125 E. 18th Street, near Church Avenue, said her landlord, the notorious Moshe Piller, has withheld repairs to such an extend that tenants’ ceilings have collapsed.
“For 25 years I’ve been here, and we’ve had conditions that have gone without repair,” Martinez said. “There are sections of the apartments falling, like the ceiling. They started fixing things after we started organizing with New York Communities for Change.”
And Gylen Bryant, who lives at 2010 Newkirk Avenue (which is also owned by Moshe Piller – who Public Advocate Letitia James named as one of the worst landlords in the city), described how the landlord has allowed her apartment, as well as units throughout the building, to fall into major disrepair.
“As we speak there’s a flood in my apartment,” Bryant said. “My apartment is infected with mosquitos. We have to do something because he is a slumlord.”
Piller too could not be reached for comment.
A number of the elected officials who attended Saturday’s event, including City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James, said they are calling on the governor to make affordable housing a priority. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Councilman Jumaane Williams, among others, have said the same, and officials and organizers plan to raise their voices about the matter in Albany. Flatbush Tenant Coalition members are planning to travel to the capital in the upcoming months to call on legislators to better support tenants, and we’ll let you know more about those details as soon as we find out.