To paraphrase Martha and the Vandellas: “Summer’s here and the time is
right for passing Intro 48.”
Hope you’re all staying cool during this “heatwave” (to stick with the
Vandellas theme) and are able to attend our next HNW
meeting which will take place on Monday, July 26th at 7pm here at
Picture the Homeless, 2427 Morris Avenue (take the #4 or D train [last
car] to Fordham Road, walk a block or two to Morris Avenue and look
for big blue billboard with our name on it).
Our agenda will focus on fighting for the passage of Intro 48, a bill
currently in the Housing and Buildings Committee of the City Council.
Written by homeless people, Intro 48 would mandate an annual census of
all vacant buildings and lots in the five boroughs. If passed into
law, Intro 48 will be an important community planning tool for
Community Boards to have an inventory of all the vacant property in
their districts, and thereby facilitate the creation of desperately
needed housing that is truly affordable to poor and working people, a
worthy accomplishment indeed.
While we're excited to see that the bill has 28 Co-Sponsors -
including 10 of 15 members of the Committee on Housing and Buildings -
we need to step up the pressure and make sure that we can bring about
a committee hearing soon and a full floor vote at which time we are
confident of passage into law... so on the 26th, we'll be talking
about:
* UPCOMING LOBBY DAYS
* GETTING SUPPORT FROM FAITH COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITY BOARDS
* GRASSROOTS AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA
* DIRECT ACTION
We need the rest of the council, as well as the mayoral
administration, to see that communities around the city agree that a
vacant building count is a low-cost, common-sense first step towards
the enactment of new housing policies that return these properties to
productive use. Vacant property has "nowhere to run to, baby / nowhere
to hide..."
At the meeting we will also get updates on the Chase Bank and Squatter
campaigns in progress. Look forward to seeing you all on the 26th. In
the meantime, stay cool and take care.
A la Victoria Siempre!
Frank Morales
Housing Organizer
646.314.6423
