Emergency Demonstration in NYC: Protest the Demolition of New Orleans Public Housing

Join the New York Solidarity Coalition with Katrina and Rita Survivors and the Concerned Citizens of Greater Harlem for a press conference and rally to STOP THE DEMOLITIONS OF PUBLIC HOUSING IN NEW ORLEANS! Today, Tuesday November 13th from 4:30 to 7pm at 26 Federal Plaza, Manhattan NY. From Jena to Katrina, STOP the racist acts towards survivors. Be there for a national day of protest to expose the Bush administration and HUD.

If you don't already know about it, here's what's going on right now:
The Bush Administration through HUD and it’s criminally planned demolition of about 5000 affordable housing units in New Orleans is a continuation of the corruption, cronyism and the marginalization and forced removal of the unwanted poor from New Orleans, that began with the incompetence and willful negligence demonstrated by FEMA and the Bush administration before and after Hurricane Katrina.

NYSCKRS and Public Housing Coalitions are outraged at the continued corruption through HUD to demolish New Orleans’ four largest housing developments, to replace them with“mixed-income” neighborhoods. This will drastically reduce New Orleans public housing by 82% at the cost of 762 million dollars. Meanwhile HUD’s Secretary, Alphonso Jackson is under investigation by the FBI for awarding New Orleans public housing contracts to business friends.

Ms. Ivy Parker, a New Orleans resident, points out that it’s “only a scheme to push long-time residents out of prime real-estate.” that would greatly drive up rents, so that even the supposedly affordable new units would be out of reach for many of the long-time residents who are fighting to keep the badly-needed housing open….the buildings proposed for destruction are solid brick buildings, needing slight renovations, whereas the replacement buildings may be beautiful, but are made with cheap materials and cheap labor

“There was no damage to those structures so why can’t the people go home and reoccupy those units…Housing is a human right!” says Joetta Chestnut, Gulf Coast Survivor/NYSCKRS

New York city residents outraged that the city has a budget surplus of over a billion dollars with no plans for funding public housing says it could result in the loss of 7000 units stand in solidarity with cities across the nation facing similar plights. Long time Public Housing Activist/Resident Derek Norvell, of Concerned Citizen of Greater Harlem added, “The Gulf Coast had the water of Katrina, low income housing residents in our cities especially New York has had Katrina without the water.”