Ms. Jackie Lara of the Fulton Houses,NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority ) a public housing campus in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, is now on the ballot to run in the Democratic primary for City Council in District 3. She will run against Related Real Estate’s pro-demolition lapdog, City Councilperson Erik Bottcher.
Ms. Renee Keitt was recently elected the new president of the Resident Association of Elliott-Chelsea Houses, another NYCHA campus in Chelsea. Both resident leaders have long opposed the demolition and privatization of NYCHA houses.
These are the latest developments in the struggle of public housing residents to save their working class homes in what has rapidly become the most expensive neighborhood in the country. Manhattan, New York, is now the most expensive place to rent in the country, and Chelsea tops all of Manhattan, with the median rent for a one bedroom apartment renting at $4,100 a month.
Formerly multinational and working class, Chelsea has gentrified around these two public housing campuses, where many of the residents have lived for three generations. Now, the city government wants to hand them over to a giant real estate developer so it can tear them down and build luxury housing.
For over six years, NYCHA residents and neighbors have shown determined opposition to the threatened of privatization and demolition of their homes. They have petitioned door-to-door, organizing picket lines, rallies and meetings, and confronted their elected officials. They have expressed their need for repairs and exposed NYCHA’s negligence.
But the $60 billion Related Real Estate, which built Hudson Yards, where monthly one bedroom rent runs from $4,000 to $18,000 a month, has only been listening to the sound of the gold and silver jiggling in their pockets, hoping for even more. Related makes high-sounding promises of wonderful apartments, but the residents know better.
Related claims they are going to “save” the residents by demolishing their homes. They say they want to build beautiful tree-lined 70% luxury apartments and 30% falsely labelled “affordable” apartments, with current NYCHA residents moved around and finally crowded into high-rise buildings on the avenue.
Past experience in other public housing developments has shown that privatization and demolition result in increased evictions and even less accountability for repairs, a decrease in tenant rights, and with most rents largely “unaffordable.” When demolition occurs, neighborhoods and communities are destroyed. Most residents do not move back.
Several years ago Related and the city administration claimed the tenants “voted” for demolition., Actually a survey, only Related’s proposals were on the table and none of the alternatives presented mentioned demolition, no opposition was allowed. Only 30% participateed, despite many public meetings telling them to do so, and they thought they were voting for apartment overhauls, not building demolition..
No one can speak for the residents, who can very well speak for themselves.
Jackie Lara explained to this reporter, : “I’m a fighter and I believe in standing up for what’s right, and right now I’m standing up for the NYCHA community… once a great place to raise a family….. But today the community is under attack. Instead of investing in these buildings in this community, NYCHA wants to demolish them, and use public land, paid for by taxpayer dollars, for private development. I am running for City Council in District 3 to stop the demolition of the NYCHA campuses.”
Lara made it clear that housing is a city-wide issue and that the billionaire real estate developers are using their homes as an example. They have all of public housing in their gunsights.
Celines Miranda an anti-demolition organizer at Chelsea/Elliott NYCHA, explained,: “NYCHA may fix the simple stuff like caulking around the tub, they’ll do that, but what really needs work like plumbing and fixing leaks, people have to wait forever.” She explained that after neglecting needed repairs, residents are told demolition is the only way out. “It’s a battle. We are a mixed income, working class community; we pay 30% of our income in rent.”
Miranda spoke about Renee Keitt’s election as president of the Elliott-Chelsea Tenants Association. “She will represent the residents much better than before. The residents voted her for because the majority do not want demolition.
According to Renee Keitt, “Last night, we learned that Housing Opportunities Unlimited—hired by Related Companies—is going around telling residents they have to leave their apartments by July. This is false and deeply irresponsible.
“We are still in the NEPA environmental review process, and nothing requires residents to move. This kind of misinformation creates fear and confusion, and it needs to stop.
“If they can get away with this proposed demolition, it sets a dangerous precedent—not just for public housing, but for rent-controlled, rent-stabilized apartments, and even limited-equity cooperatives like Penn South [a working class coop also in Chelsea-ed]. Landlords and developers are watching and learning. Demolition by neglect is already on the table in New York City, and this opens the door even wider for displacement, deregulation, and erasure.”
Acknowledging that demolition of the NYCHA campuses will hurt the whole neighborhood, NYCHA tenants, Penn South residents have initiated a campaign to put Jackie Lara on the City Council.
Why Vote for Jackie?
“Because she’s authentic,” Keitt said. Because she listens and cares about all her constituents, not just some. We need to stop calling it ‘affordable housing’ when it’s not affordable. We don’t have a hospital. We don’t need a casino [which Related also wants to build in Chelsea-ed]. What’s being built isn’t for us — most of this housing is unaffordable to most people.
“We need to treat housing as a civil rights issue — deeply tied to healthcare, to food security. Jackie gets that we have to invest in people — from the cradle, across every generation. She understands the environmental toll of this development.
“You can’t mitigate dust going into your lungs. You can’t mitigate the trauma of seeing your home destroyed. This isn’t just an NYCHA issue — this is a housing crisis. We need leaders who understand this city from the ground up.”
