NYC-DSA Members: Sign onto this letter here.

Hundreds and thousands were inspired and mobilized by Zohran Mamdani’s campaign to build a city government that centers the needs of the city’s millions of tenants over its real estate barons. Organized tenants have been central to his administration since day one. It is clear that the Mayor needs the tenant movement, in its full breadth, to succeed in his stated platform.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is home to over 345,000 working-class New Yorkers. NYCHA was some of the country’s first public housing and remains its most robust. NYCHA’s endurance as true public housing in the face of decades of federal disinvestment is a testament both to our city’s long socialist tradition and the unceasing resistance of NYCHA residents.

Unfortunately, NYC-DSA and the socialist mayor we have elected are currently failing NYCHA residents and leaders at a critical juncture. Mayor Mamdani is continuing plans developed under Eric Adams to demolish and rebuild the 18 buildings of the Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses despite unambiguous protests from residents and community members.

We, the undersigned members of NYC-DSA, are calling on Mayor Mamdani to halt the demolition. In doing so, we are uplifting the demands of the organized residents of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea (FEC):

• STOP the demolition and privatization of FEC.
• STOP all evictions and forced relocations.
• FUND repairs needed at the FEC houses to preserve public housing.

In addition, we are calling on the Mayor to:

• Hold open and transparent vote among FEC residents with clear language regarding the demolition.
• Commit to the development of NYCHA’s capacity as a public developer and fight to protect Section 9.

Recently, a judge lifted the restraining order that had paused the demolition process. This means that Mayor Mamdani’s administration will once again be harassing the residents of FEC to leave their homes. NYCHA operates under the direct authority of the Mayor. The buck stops with our socialist mayor.

This effort to demolish over 2,000 public housing apartments and put 4,500 NYCHA residents at risk of displacement is being led by Related Companies, the real estate firm responsible for Hudson Yards. This process has been anti-democratic, with residents misled and harassed. In addition to tearing down a community, the demolition poses a severe environmental hazard.

Since Mayor Mamdani’s inauguration, organized residents of FEC have repeatedly requested a meeting with him but have been met only with silence and obfuscation. Instead, his administration has continued to push forward plans to demolish FEC, with its highest housing official–Leila Bozorg–going door-to-door trying to convince residents to move out of their homes. The greenlighting of the demolition is bad in itself, but the Mayor’s refusal to meet with FEC residents and address the issue head-on makes for a further disappointment and adds to the frustrations of an anti-democratic process.

Resident leaders of FEC warn that if this demolition goes through, not only will their homes be torn down, but it will serve as a model for similar demolitions across the city. Public housing has been under attack for decades, but this would open the floodgates of private market predation in our city. Letting this happen under the cover of socialist governance is simply unacceptable.

NYC-DSA has long struggled to develop inroads with NYCHA residents. Our electoral efforts consistently underperform in public housing complexes and its residents are deeply underrepresented within our chapter membership; much of the militant layer of NYCHA organizers are reasonably distrustful of NYC-DSA. Pushing our Mayor to stop this demolition is an opportunity for us to begin to right this ship.

STOP THE DEMOLITION!

NYC-DSA Members: Sign onto the letter here.

To learn more: read about the fight to stop the demolition here, here, and here; or book a screening of the documentary “A Home Worth Fighting For.”

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