HOMELESS PEOPLE TAKE OVER VACANT BUILDING IN EAST HARLEM/EL BARRIO

19 March 2009
East Harlem

Rebel Diaz performance at Picture the Homeless occupation and rally

Press Release:

This morning, homeless people and community allies took over a vacant building in El Barrio/East Harlem. The target was a beautiful two-story building at the corner of Madison Avenue and 116th that has been vacant for decades.

Upon seizing control of the property, the occupiers determined that the building was structurally unsound, with a roof cave-in and significant floor damage, and that it was not safe to remain inside the building (earlier attempts to gain entrance to the building to assess the conditions had resulted in immediate unwanted police attention). The takeover crew left the building to join a crowd of hundreds of supporters who had braved the rain to hold a solidarity rally outside. See THIS BLOG POSTING for a few initial pictures - we have tons more on the way!

While we're sad that the occupation of the building could not be sustained, the sorry state of this beautiful building is just more proof that the City needs to prioritize development of vacant property into housing for low-income folks. A building like this would make an amazing community center, something El Barrio sorely needs.

So tomorrow night, we'll be turning the SIDEWALK into a community center! We'll be holding a SLEEP-OUT celebration outside the building, and we would love it if you could come! Bring poems and songs for a community cultural event; bring food and blankets and sleeping bags for yourself and to share with everyone else.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20th
STARTING AT 7PM
at MADISON AVENUE & 116th STREET

We are incredibly energized by the massive show of support from the El Barrio community and the entire city. This is the first step, not the last. The next one will be even bigger. The time is right for all of us to be stepping up out game and bringing our direct action strategies to the next level.

To everyone who was at the rally, taking pictures or shooting video or doing interviews with Picture the Homeless folks - if any of your stuff is posted online - blogs, social networking sites, etc - let us know! Send us links, copies, etc! We hope to pull together a clearing-house of links and clippings, to send around so everyone can see what went down today.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• picture
• homeless
• occupation
• harlem
• nyc
• new
• york
• rebel
• diaz
• gentrification

[triumphelf]

The Government See's the Homeless as a Eyesore for Tourism,,they want to hide IT!!

[BertoV]

Alright now!

Much love from Chicago!

NO to Gentrification!

NO to Raids & Deportations!

NO to displacement and ethnic cleansing!

[UBchick33]

@tifacola & @MrBullfrog9876 this has nothing to do with white privilege - there are plenty of poor whites among the rest. This isn't an issue of laziness or bumming off of people either. How can you expect low-income people to survive when college grads can't even find jobs right now? Thank our government and society for leaving their people jobless and our futures bare. As Jimmy McMillan would say"Rent is too DAMN high." We need a living wage and affordable housing for ALL.

[tifacola]

@MrBullfrog9876 Stop it with your white privilege.

[MrBullfrog9876]

Get a job - make something of yourself - quit bumming off of everyone else - take a bath --quit stinking up the place. My parents taught me this years ago, Is that really asking to much for these bums?

[haitianzoezoe]

yup , i hear chicago going through the same mess

[thackston]

That was ill dood.

[pathfinderdaddy]

BAD ASS! YOU OWNED IT BY TAKING IT!

[mungcray]

get out the cities or else partake of its plagues before it's too late.