Homeless Advocates Arrested
By Alex KaneJuly 23, 2009 | Posted in Alex Kane , IndyBlog | Email this article
This post originally appeared on the Gotham Gazette’s Wonkster blog.
UPDATE, 7:35 AM, July 24: The housing activists arrested last evening after taking over a vacant lot were released early this morning, Picture the Homeless reports. Here’s the full post from their blog:
“Dear friends, members, allies, etc,
We wanted everyone to know that at 1 AM, the TENT CITY TEN were released from Harlem’s 28th Precinct after 8 hours locked up. All our folks were given desk appearance tickets.
We know many of you were interested in doing court/jail support, and that is incredibly awesome and appreciated, but for right now it looks like all we need is for allies to stay tuned. Full details, including testimonies from the recently-released occupiers, are forthcoming. Keep checking the blog, or our twitter (@pthny) , for that information, and info about our NEXT STEPS.
Thanks, everyone, for an incredible day.”
Nine people were arrested this afternoon by the New York Police Department after occupying a vacant lot for over six hours to press their demand that the city use vacant property to house the homeless.
The protestors want the city to help turn so-called warehoused property into livable homes for low-income and homeless New Yorkers. A survey conducted in 2006 by the advocacy group Picture the Homeless found that 24,000 potential apartments could come out of warehoused property, enough to house the city’s homeless population.
This morning, blue tents were erected on a vacant lot at 115th St. between Madison and Fifth Avenues to create makeshift dwellings for the homeless, as dozens of housing advocates created an festive atmosphere with food, music, art and defiant chants.
“They say gentrify, we say occupy,” the crowd shouted.
Lorenzo Diggs, a member of the Housing Not Warehousing Coalition, led the crowd with a chant of “we are United States citizens, our taxes are our rent, to get off the streets, we’ll fill these lots with tents.”
The action was organized by Picture the Homeless and the Housing Not Warehousing Coalition. A similar protest outside a vacant building in East Harlem was held last March.
“We’re liberating this space for our communities,” thundered Picture the Homeless’ Rob Robinson during a press conference in the afternoon. Robinson was one of those arrested.
At the protest’s peak, an estimated 100 people occupied the vacant lot. Groups on hand to show solidarity included Domestic Workers United and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.
Picture the Homeless organizer Frank Morales, who was also arrested, said that this particular spot was chosen because JP Morgan Chase, a bank that the federal government bailed out with $25 billion late last year, is involved with the property. JP Morgan Chase is listed as one of two “parties” to the property by the New York City Department of Finance’s City Register, along with Caparra La Nueva Associates, L.P. The bank, which recently posted over $2 billion in profits, paid back the bailout money in June.
“The government and banks have failed miserably. Homeless people know what the problems are, and we have ideas for the solutions. Since they won’t listen, the time is now for people to take action,” said Picture the Homeless member Sophia Bryant. “We’re going to hold this and defend this as long as possible.”
A “homeless fashion show” was held earlier in the afternoon before the arrests were made.
The police seemed to know of the action in advance, as around 10 stood at the Union Square meeting place, one of two, and followed activists onto the subway. More than two dozen officers were on hand at the protest site. At around 5:30 p.m., officers moved in on the occupied lot and made the arrests, according to Tej Nagaraja, Picture the Homeless’ press person.
As housing activists awaited imminent arrest, supporters were rallying and chanting outside the warehoused lot on a sidewalk.
“It is manifestly unjust that trillions of dollars are being handed to banks such as Chase while funds are drying up for affordable housing,” said Nathan Nessen, executive director for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.
Councilmembers Tony Avella and Melissa Mark-Viverito are drafting legislation that would target warehoused property to convert units into housing for low-income and homeless people. (To read more about warehousing and the legislation, see “Unlocking the Apartment ‘Warehouse’“).
“I can imagine the frustration by Picture the Homeless and other housing groups throughout the entire city that we’re allowing the real estate industry to control the agenda, to warehouse whether it’s vacant properties or legitimate habitable apartments, all for the sake of greed,” said Avella, a mayoral candidate. “Meanwhile, people are going homeless, people can’t afford their rent, so people are going to start taking action into their own hands, and I can’t blame them.”
More Coverage From Around the Web:
The Indypendent’s Jaisal Noor, with Community News Production Institute’s Kristofer Rios, filed a radio report with Free Speech Radio News.
Follow Picture the Homeless’ blog and Twitter page.
12 Responses to “Homeless Advocates Arrested”
July 24th, 2009 at 8:12 am
According to their twitter feed everyone arrested was released last night
July 24th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I was one of the organizers of the awesome tent city action. It was an inspirational. We need to step it up and do this.
I do not agree with the comment from EastHarlemBoricua4ever. We may not live in East Harlem, but we are trying to help the poor and those of you who live there. Can’t you just realize that and stop complaining? It really gets on my nerves when those we are trying to help start whining. We posted information via twitter and blogs. You should do reasearch and participate. Also, since when does East Harlem belong to those groups you listed. In fact, the Italian immigrants were their first.
Love and Anarchy
July 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am
I was one of the organizers of the awesome tent city. It was an inspiring act. We need to step it up and do this.
I do NOT agree with EastHarlemBoricua4Ever. We posted information via Twitter and blogs. You need to do the research and participate to change your own community. It really gets on my nerves when people complain about those who are only trying to help the poor. It does not matter that we do not live in East Harlem. Show some gratefulness. Also, since when do those groups you listed own East Harlem? The Italian immigrants were in East Harlem way before you.
Love and Anarchy and towards the next righteous action!!!!
July 24th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Until we know otherwise, we should assume that the two comments from “Housing Activist” are a parody of a certain type of white anarchist activism, are intended as flamebait and do not represent how folks from PTH would address constructive criticism from a resident of East Harlem.
July 24th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
It does not matter how many homeless people participated. We did it for all the homeless. It is very difficult to get homeless people to get involved and participate. We tried that before and it never works. Instead of wasting our time, we take REAL action for them. They appreciate what we do for them.
July 25th, 2009 at 11:00 am
East Harlem Boricua 4Ever - the only reason we did not reach out to you directly was because the security and legal issues involved with the action demanded we keep a pretty tight lid on information. We work closely with a lot of neighborhood organizations - we’re also part of the East Harlem Anti-Displacement Task Force - and a ton of our members are homeless folks who lived in East Harlem until gentrification pushed them out. Many of our African-American and Puerto Rican allies from East Harlem participated in the action. We hope to have an East Harlem community forum in the coming month, to dialogue with the community about the action and the need for a real, organized push-back against gentrification, at which point I hope you and others will attend. Please drop me a line at sam@picturethehomeless.org if you’d like more information on that as it happens.
And actually, folks, “actual homeless people” were actively involved in all the planning and execution of the event, right up to and including the moment when arrests went down. Our police negotiator, half of our security team, our three press spokespeople, the coordinator for the food effort that fed dozens of East Harlem residents, the people behind the scenes who developed the messaging and demands of the action, and dozens of other critical roles were all filled by homeless or formerly homeless. And Picture the Homeless definitely does NOT support the idea, as mentioned by “Housing Activist,” that people are “whining” when they demand involvement in the changes that are hitting their community, and good organizers know that posting information on Twitter is a very tiny part of the process of building consensus and participation among all stakeholders. Even an awesome amazing edgy direct action like this tent city will not create real, substantive change in the way housing works in this city unless it is part of a radical shift whereby homeless people and other oppressed communities become a unified, organized, effective voice DEMANDING that change.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Why does the indypendent not investigate Council Member Mark Viverito and expose her true voting record in favor of displacement? The fact that Picture the Homeless works so closely with her does not mean that she is supportive of housing for the poor. In fact, the East Harlem Anti Displacement task force is funded and is a creation of Mark Viverito. Through the East Harlem Anti displacement task force, Mark Viverito can create a false public image and then turn and take action in SUPPORT of displacement. She is very clever.
Her voting record on housing and displacement issues are very clear.
Here are only SOME of her actions, not just words:
-Led effort with Mayor Bloomberg and voted in favor, despite vast community opposition, of the 125th St. “River to River” plan. This plan will displace low income residents & small businesses thoughout Harlem.
-Led effort with Mayor Bloomberg and voted in favor, despite massive community opposition, of the East 125th St. Development Plan. This plan will displace small businesses in El Barrio. Because of Mark Viverito it is now under threat of imminent domain.
-Led efforts with Mayor Bloomberg and voted in favor, despite massive comunity opposition, of the Columbia University Expansion plan. This is already displacing both low income residents and small businesses in West Harlem. The city is using immenent domain to do this.
-Voted in favor of EVERY SINGLE OTHER DISPLACEMENT PLAN IN NEW YORK CITY, despite community opposition. Please research her voting records on this and you can verify it.
Leave a Reply
July 25th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Adding onto what my comrade Sam J Miller posted above, we invite all folks interested in ending displacement to attend out next Housing Not Warehousing meeting. We actively conducted outreach in el barrio and all over Harlem and lots of folks and community leaders from the neighborhood were there including public housing residents. Homeless folks and neighborhood folks might not “appear” to be so, but that is because of the image people have in their minds about what they should look like.
We need more help to get the word out. Part of our strategy for these public actions is to get the word out and build support because just having meetings and talking doesn’t change anything.
Picture the Homeless doesn’t mind taking a risk and we are open to constructive criticism but it is most helpful when suggestions are accompanied by action to help fight the fight.
Props have to be given to Not An Alternative, artists who I guess are mostly white, but who took direction from homeless campaign leaders at Picture the Homeless and weren’t there to do things for us, but with us.
Thanks again to everyone who came out and keep checking with Picture the Homeless 646 314 6423 to find out whats up next
July 26th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Congrats to Sam Miller and Lynn Lewis for speaking for themselves as true
homeless leaders of PTH!
This is VERY INSPIRING.
Too often, the image of the homeless that is promoted is that homeless
people cannot lead their own struggle & cannot speak for themselves.
Sam Miller and Lynn Lewis shatter that myth and break that stereotype. As homeless leaders themselves, they both show us all that homeless people can be their own spokespeople and lead their own fight!
Props to Lynn and Sam.
We will support you in your own struggle for housing and all the other homeless people such as you.
FREE THE LAND!!
July 28th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Last night, two people from Picture The Homeless were on “Housing Notebook” with Vajra Kilgour (sub-hosting for Scott Sommer) on WBAI www.wbai.org where it will be archived for 90 days from
last night. The show is produced by the Metropolitan Council on Housing, and has been for many years. If you don’t know Met Council, google. You get helpful information when you call their hotline.
I’ve used it a few times over the years.
One of the guests last night, on “Housing Notebook”, was a woman who is/has been homeless, and is also identified herself as a
“disabled nurse” and mother of 3 girls. I was not able to write down her name or the male guest, a
“peer” organizer. I thought the woman gave a clear history, as well as the problems in dealing with
the beaurocracy to find/obtain/keep housing in this city. (As a person who is disabled, I could relate.)
I will get someone to print out some pages of the website for me (no printer), for a homeless pal (who
votes since we helped him get registered as a homeless person in time for the 2008 election).
Since I am mentioning WBAI, I shall mention www.wbaix.org WBAI-in-Exile, because there is a GAG rule at WBAI. There are videos of news coverage done by Don DeBar, “fired and banned” from WBAI, who set up www.wbaix.org after he was “fired and banned” several weeks ago. I was so impressed with it,
that I put the url for it on my wheelchair (1 each side), and sent a photo of me/wheelchair to Don DeBar, who posted it as a STATION ID (located in the ON-DEMAND section, last item) in June. A
new website, it’s doing great work, including protests of the Gaza humanitarian boat seizure and related, video of NAACP Convention protests, etc. (DeBar has 28 years news experience.)
There is a GAG rule at the station.(e.g. this morning, callers have been cut off, if mention the “fired and banned” or the coup. The coup by the new Pacifica “head” enabled by the new majority on the Local Station Board). Show producers who mention the coup are “punished” - either they are put off
the air for several weeks (Bill DiFazio),or “banned and fired” Don DeBar, or lose their morning spot, such as Mimi Rosenberg, who had “In Brief” on Wednesdays (as a volunteer) for some long time during “Wake Up Call” (from where news person DeBar was “fired and banned”). She still has her award winning evening show, with Ken Nash, “Building Bridges”, labor and community activism show. Others “fired and banned” are Bernard White, Program Director and Ayo Harrington, a producer, and Errol Maitland, who was a producer at “WakeUpCall”.
So, because of the GAG rule, I am posting url for information:
www.wbixradio.org (Started after the previous coup, called the Xmas coup, which ended in 2001, I think.) In use re this coup: Recent videos of interviews, meetings, rallies of people in support of undoing the coup, this coup.
Also www.takebackwbai.org Interviews, etc. Answers questions about the history and coup.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:14 am
I live in El Barrio. As I walked home from work, I noticed this happening. I was pleased to see it taking place. It was great. I was quite disappointed to notice though, as I spoke to those participating in it, that it was not a reflection of those who live in East Harlem. Where were the Puerto Ricans, the Central Americans, Dominicans and the Mexicans that ALSO make up our beloved community. Where were my Black neighbors? Where were we not reached out to? I live in public housing down the block and was not made aware of it. We have a very active tenants association. None of us were invited to be part of it. My neighbors were asking “Who are those people?” and “Where are they from?”. I tried to convince them that regardless of you being from outside our neighborhood, you were doing a good deed. Unfortunately, the perception left in East Harlem, our neighborhood, is that you invaded it.
I support your message, but think it is critical to build a grassroots struggle from the bottom up. This way we can truly build a multi racial movement that includes all people of color that are impacted.
Nevertheless, the intention was a good one and I appreciate your concern for us.