Showing posts with label new york. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new york. Show all posts
THE INDYPENDENT/PAPER TIGER FILMS PRESENT: RIGHT TO THE CITY!!! (...RIGHT ON!!!!!)
Indypendent Magazine & Paper Tiger Films gathered footage from the rallies and condo canvassing of Right to the City from this past year. It's a FREEKIN sweet introduction of the campaign and the full scope of our demands. Surprisingly, I'm even in it :-)
Enjoy!
AND TO THINK, I ALMOST THOUGHT WE HAD IT.
Even though, as I've countlessly stated, marriage equality should not AT ALL be the main issue we focus on with us LGBTQ folks, I shud really change my name to FUCK U MUTHAFUCKAS.
http://ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-conte
38-24 nays to yays in the New York Senate, and the audacity of State Senator Ruben Diaz to say their votes reflect the votes of the people. The people voted 51 to 33 in SUPPORT of the Marriage Equality Bill. Ugh. Makes me feel like a true forgotten soul. Again.
And yet, this--this is why I love our penly lezbo Speaker Christine Quinn, who says "My life isn't any better today." This shit is bigger than politics, muthafucka--This is LIFE.
http://ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/top_stories/109767/-span-style--font-size-18pt--line-height-1-2--state-senate-rejects-same-sex-marriage-bill--span-
38-24 nays to yays in the New York Senate, and the audacity of State Senator Ruben Diaz to say their votes reflect the votes of the people. The people voted 51 to 33 in SUPPORT of the Marriage Equality Bill. Ugh. Makes me feel like a true forgotten soul. Again.And yet, this--this is why I love our penly lezbo Speaker Christine Quinn, who says "My life isn't any better today." This shit is bigger than politics, muthafucka--This is LIFE.
WE WANT-WE WANT-CONDOOOOS!
Yesterday, my organization NYCAHN/VOCAL, along with 17+ other grassroots organizations in the city took it to the streets to introduce Right to the City-NYC to, well, NYC. For about two years, this coalition has existed, and was born out of a response to gentrification. Org's like FIERCE, Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE), Community Voices Heard (CVH), Make the Road (MTR), Mothers on the Move, Picture the Homeless, CAAAV, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), are a part of the coalition.
Our policy platform has 10+ demands ranging from the right to environmental justice and public health, to the right to community decision making power, and the right to public space, but the most widely and deeply felt was the right to affordable housing.
In your city, my city, and every city, there is a condo crisis. Developers got trigger happy, thinking they were gonna suck the life, heart and soul out of every 'hood for some quick bucks, and THEN a recession hit, and now they ain't got SHIT. Instead, what exists are skeletons of 6-32 story buildings, laying dormant, unfinished, or vacant in the same neighborhoods as low-income apartments, public housing, and in many cases, the homeless.
THIS IS A FUCKING INSULT.
This little economic BOOM that developers are waiting for simply CANNOT be the excuse for thousands of vacant units in NYC alone. Sure, wait on your upper income gentrifiers to regain back most of their stocks, and stomp their business shoes/artist shoes/NO shoes (hey, I went to Hampshire, I know the rich when I see 'em) into these neighborhoods. But ask yourself: do we not deserve to live in these luxury spaces? People that have lived in these neighborhoods for generations? Or even someone like me, who, yes, is a transplant to New York, but has never tasted what it even feels like to be MIDDLE class?
Christine Quinn and Co. in City Hall created what is called the Housing Asset Renewal Program (HARP) in July. This is their $20 million pilot response to the increasing housing crisis in New York, to turn 50+ units of these dormant condos into "affordable" housing, their way of looking out for the little guy. But, to qualify for HARP, a family of four must make no more than $100,000 to rent, and a single person, $70,000. Yeah, affordable housing.
AFFORDABLE FOR WHOM?
I honestly don't think they got the memo. PEOPLE ARE POOR in this city. These figures are middle to moderate income ONLY, and don't even scrape the fucking plates of New York's poor. Of course, in our coalition, we discussed that the income should be $30,000 or less, to count us low-income or NO income folks.
We surveyed 6 neighborhoods in NYC where most of our org's are located: South Bronx, Harlem, West Village/Chelsea, Downtown BK, LES, and Bushwick, on foot, to locate these condos, and found 601 total buildings that qualified. This figure makes me gag a little, and even more when I found the city's Dept. of Buildings only tallied 454 IN TOTAL FOR ALL OF NYC. With a city that only has 10 beds left in its ENTIRE shelter system, 601 newly built, vacant, and unfinished condos in OUR neighborhoods are a crime against humanity.
SO, WE TOOK IT TO THE STREETS:
- WE DEMAND THAT BLOOMBERG AND QUINN CONVERT THESE BIGASS LUXURY CONDOS INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR LOW (AND NO) INCOME PEOPLE.
- WE DEMAND THAT THESE CONDOS ARE PERMANENTLY AND TRULY AFFORDABLE;
- WE DEMAND THAT 100% OF THESE BUILDINGS ARE FOR LOW AND NO INCOME PEOPLE;
- WE DEMAND THAT A NON-PROFIT DEVELOPER MANAGE THESE UNITS, AND ANY PROFITS MADE BE PUT INTO COMMUNITY TRUST FUNDS;
- WE DEMAND AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE COMPRISED OF LOW-INCOME PEOPLE TO ENSURE THE PROGRAM IS FAIR AND TRANSPARENT.
- NYCAHN/VOCAL ALSO DEMANDS THAT A PORTION OF THESE BUILDINGS BE CONVERTED INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR DRUG USERS, USING NY NY III FUNDING.
Stay tuned for more progress...
NY CITY COUNCIL PASSES 30% RESOLUTION!
Earlier this summer, Speaker Quinn and Councilwoman Rosie Mendez crafted a resolution to urge Albany to pass the 30% Rent Cap Bill for low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. On Wednesday, Sept. 30th, Quinn and Councilwoman Annabel Palma (from the BX) joined NYCAHN members and leaders on the steps of City Hall for our press conference around the Resolution, which was voted on later that day. The Resolution passed UNANIMOUSLY at 3:20pm in the Council Chambers.
Speaker Silver? Governor Paterson? WHAT'S GOOD?!?!?!?!!?
This is NOT a matter of budget, of cost, of anything that the Assembly is claiming makes this bill disadvantageous to pass. This bill is life or death for 11,000 low-income New Yorkers paying 60-80% of their income towards their rent.
BEEN SLEEPIN FOR TOO LONG: UNI Q'S REVENNNNNGE!!!!!
peeps, friends, foes who knows...
ya gurrral is back.
and it's been a helluva turnaround since last november (on my last post, i wasn't even 21 yet!)
but now that i've graduated from hampshire college, gave them my proverbial black gay ass to kiss with a graduation speech in front of thousands, got a SICK position as a community organizer in brooklyn (whoop-whoooop!) with new york city aids housing network/v.o.c.a.l. (voices of community advocates and leaders), i'm ready to make sum nooooiiiise again. in fact, i don't just want to. i NEED to.
upon arriving here to bk, LITERALLY fresh outta school with only a 2-week "break to reflect" at home, mostly spent w/ my peoples anyways, i saddled (sic) right into work. and this--this is no orrrrdinary work.
my job, new york city aids housing network (nycahn)/v.o.c.a.l. is one of few org's in the nation that organizes low-income people living with hiv/aids (plwha's, oh the acronyms) and former/active drug users to change laws and policies impacting their lives. so i as staff do the daunting task of outreach, through teach-ins, doorknocking, phonebanking, etc to ensure that we maintain our membership base of directly affected individuals. this is unlike anything i've ever seen or been in, as in my homebase b-more, and other cities across the nation, i've only ever witnessed advocacy groups--u kno, the ones that "speak on behalf" of individuals who are directly impacted. that, to me, reinforces hierarchy and doesn't change power dynamics for people who are living this shit EVERYDAY. i, for one, know i'm not hiv+ or an active drug user (outside of the magic dragon lol), so how would i know what the issues are?
these folks put face to name for politicians who create laws and have the power to take away the fucking little that poor folks already get. so folks who are living with the virus live in a variety of means: emergency housing or Single Room Occupancies, which the city pays $2000/month for a ROOM, supportive housing, or independent living, ie, your own apartment. but check this: IF YOU ARE A LOW-INCOME PLWHA IN NYC WHO RECEIVES HASA (public assistance for plwha who are hiv symptomatic) AND A SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME (SSI/D, veteran's benefits, etc), YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PAY UPWARDS OF 60-80% OF UR INCOME TOWARDS YOUR RENT FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING. HENCE, YOU ARE LEFT WITH $344 TO LIVE OFF OF FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH. $11 DOLLARS A DAY.
in what fucking world is this alright?
so, instead of bitching on about how this isn't alright/humane, nycahn gathered directly impacted people to urge albany to pass a law mandating a "No More Than 30% Towards Our Rent" campaign. For some reason, these 11,000 new yorkers are the only low-income group that have to pay more than 30% of their income towards their rent, EVEN with a comprimsed immune system, and the necessity of basic needs constantly looming overhead. HASA hasn't changed the $344 number since the 80s. Believe it or not, it WAS $330 until last month, when there was a--YIPPEE!!!--FOURTEEN DOLLAR INCREASE.
in my nearly four months of working here, i've witnessed some serious strides with this bill, and relearned everything from my american government class--even the "i'm just a bill" song played through my head a few times. it's currently stuck in the ways & means committee in the more progressive assembly, though it passed the conservative senate with a SWOOP of a 52-1 vote. SHOUT OUT TO SENATOR TOM DUANE FOR HIS PASSIONATE 3:30AM SPEECH TO PASS THIS BILL, SINCE IT IS HIS BILL AFTER ALL:
politics bore me to shreds still, but the art of lobbying is something FIERCE and so satisfying and movement-shaking. i've been back and forth to albany with members, getting the hang of these pow-wows where members talk to politicians as if they were old buddies in order to PUSH this bill, figure out strategies to get it passed, who else do we need to meet with, what action/protest we might do if an xyz politician isn't persuaded, etc. willllld shit. to think that a bill like this was not introduced UNTIL 2009 means that thousands of people have lost their homes, and have had to move back into SROs, which often aren't kept tidy, don't have kitchens, and have some of the dimmest fucking wall colors i've seen. again, the city pays $2000/month to maintain these one-room shacks that aren't even the size of cubicles for upwards of 45-60 people in a building at a given time, INSTEAD of paying the share for people's rent. in the long run, it would save the city MILLIONS. POINT BLANK.
PHEW! i don't know when to shutup. but when i sign on for something, it literally becomes me. i haven't thought about myself in 3 and a half months--though that's ALL i thought about in school, locating me and my grew up poor-black-darkskinned-queer ass, and suddenly, i'm working with communities that force me to take 10 steps back to recognize even my own privilege as a college graduate who's employed enough to move away from home and support myself at 21. it's very rare i meet someone my age, as everyone's at least 10 yrs older than me. for one, i'm the only female-bodied person on staff, also the youngest (not the only Black, thank God), and brand fucking new in new york. so i got dues to pay, asses to whoop, and maaaad shit to prove.
but now, it's time to reclaim time for myself. here's one of my ways.
i'm sharing my world again. hope ya listenin.
<3
uniQ.
ps. i ain't even get to the drug user component of my work! that woulda been an essay...stay tuned...
ya gurrral is back.
and it's been a helluva turnaround since last november (on my last post, i wasn't even 21 yet!)
but now that i've graduated from hampshire college, gave them my proverbial black gay ass to kiss with a graduation speech in front of thousands, got a SICK position as a community organizer in brooklyn (whoop-whoooop!) with new york city aids housing network/v.o.c.a.l. (voices of community advocates and leaders), i'm ready to make sum nooooiiiise again. in fact, i don't just want to. i NEED to.
upon arriving here to bk, LITERALLY fresh outta school with only a 2-week "break to reflect" at home, mostly spent w/ my peoples anyways, i saddled (sic) right into work. and this--this is no orrrrdinary work.
my job, new york city aids housing network (nycahn)/v.o.c.a.l. is one of few org's in the nation that organizes low-income people living with hiv/aids (plwha's, oh the acronyms) and former/active drug users to change laws and policies impacting their lives. so i as staff do the daunting task of outreach, through teach-ins, doorknocking, phonebanking, etc to ensure that we maintain our membership base of directly affected individuals. this is unlike anything i've ever seen or been in, as in my homebase b-more, and other cities across the nation, i've only ever witnessed advocacy groups--u kno, the ones that "speak on behalf" of individuals who are directly impacted. that, to me, reinforces hierarchy and doesn't change power dynamics for people who are living this shit EVERYDAY. i, for one, know i'm not hiv+ or an active drug user (outside of the magic dragon lol), so how would i know what the issues are?
these folks put face to name for politicians who create laws and have the power to take away the fucking little that poor folks already get. so folks who are living with the virus live in a variety of means: emergency housing or Single Room Occupancies, which the city pays $2000/month for a ROOM, supportive housing, or independent living, ie, your own apartment. but check this: IF YOU ARE A LOW-INCOME PLWHA IN NYC WHO RECEIVES HASA (public assistance for plwha who are hiv symptomatic) AND A SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME (SSI/D, veteran's benefits, etc), YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PAY UPWARDS OF 60-80% OF UR INCOME TOWARDS YOUR RENT FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING. HENCE, YOU ARE LEFT WITH $344 TO LIVE OFF OF FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH. $11 DOLLARS A DAY.
in what fucking world is this alright?
so, instead of bitching on about how this isn't alright/humane, nycahn gathered directly impacted people to urge albany to pass a law mandating a "No More Than 30% Towards Our Rent" campaign. For some reason, these 11,000 new yorkers are the only low-income group that have to pay more than 30% of their income towards their rent, EVEN with a comprimsed immune system, and the necessity of basic needs constantly looming overhead. HASA hasn't changed the $344 number since the 80s. Believe it or not, it WAS $330 until last month, when there was a--YIPPEE!!!--FOURTEEN DOLLAR INCREASE.
in my nearly four months of working here, i've witnessed some serious strides with this bill, and relearned everything from my american government class--even the "i'm just a bill" song played through my head a few times. it's currently stuck in the ways & means committee in the more progressive assembly, though it passed the conservative senate with a SWOOP of a 52-1 vote. SHOUT OUT TO SENATOR TOM DUANE FOR HIS PASSIONATE 3:30AM SPEECH TO PASS THIS BILL, SINCE IT IS HIS BILL AFTER ALL:
politics bore me to shreds still, but the art of lobbying is something FIERCE and so satisfying and movement-shaking. i've been back and forth to albany with members, getting the hang of these pow-wows where members talk to politicians as if they were old buddies in order to PUSH this bill, figure out strategies to get it passed, who else do we need to meet with, what action/protest we might do if an xyz politician isn't persuaded, etc. willllld shit. to think that a bill like this was not introduced UNTIL 2009 means that thousands of people have lost their homes, and have had to move back into SROs, which often aren't kept tidy, don't have kitchens, and have some of the dimmest fucking wall colors i've seen. again, the city pays $2000/month to maintain these one-room shacks that aren't even the size of cubicles for upwards of 45-60 people in a building at a given time, INSTEAD of paying the share for people's rent. in the long run, it would save the city MILLIONS. POINT BLANK.
PHEW! i don't know when to shutup. but when i sign on for something, it literally becomes me. i haven't thought about myself in 3 and a half months--though that's ALL i thought about in school, locating me and my grew up poor-black-darkskinned-queer ass, and suddenly, i'm working with communities that force me to take 10 steps back to recognize even my own privilege as a college graduate who's employed enough to move away from home and support myself at 21. it's very rare i meet someone my age, as everyone's at least 10 yrs older than me. for one, i'm the only female-bodied person on staff, also the youngest (not the only Black, thank God), and brand fucking new in new york. so i got dues to pay, asses to whoop, and maaaad shit to prove.
but now, it's time to reclaim time for myself. here's one of my ways.
i'm sharing my world again. hope ya listenin.
<3
uniQ.
ps. i ain't even get to the drug user component of my work! that woulda been an essay...stay tuned...
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