Mar 15, 2020Our response to COVID-19 can’t be the same as 9/11 and The Great RecessionWriter’s Note: Now that I’m stuck inside for the foreseeable future, I am going to take some time to do what I love most: write nerdy policy stuff. Over the next few days-ish, I will write three posts about why our response to COVID-19 might be doomed to repeat the…91110 min read91110 min read
Nov 14, 2019Public Housing Green New Deal Act StatementStatement on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders’s Public Housing Green New Deal Act: To end the housing crisis, it’s crucial that we fully fund and fix our publicly owned homes in a way that empowers residents, upholds strong labor standards, and addresses the challenges of climate disaster head-on…Housing2 min readHousing2 min read
Aug 14, 2019I’m a housing activist running for Congress because having a home must be a right in AmericaRight now in New York City, there are 100,000 empty homes and 60,000 homeless New Yorkers. …Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
Apr 30, 2019Demolishing NYCHA to Save It Won’t Work. Let’s Try Funding it.Last week, the de Blasio administration floated a plan to demolish 2 of the 11 buildings that make up Fulton Houses, a NYCHA development of 944 homes near the High Line in Chelsea. They would be replaced in with 3 private developments that would allegedly pay for improvements for the…Housing5 min readHousing5 min read
Mar 18, 2019‘Good Cause’ is the great cause of market-rate renters in 2019 — so let’s get it passedOn June 15th, rent regulation laws are once again set to expire in New York, potentially impacting millions of renters. This happens every few years but, outside of a collection of tenant groups, politicians, and journalists, most New Yorkers don’t ever notice. Why should they? More than half of the…Housing5 min readHousing5 min read
Feb 18, 2019The Green New Deal needs a theory on cities, fastLast week, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey introduced a resolution outlining the broad ambition of the Green New Deal. It’s a stunning document that calls for the full transformation of the American economy and society to a degree that our political system has seemed incapable of producing for decades…Climate Change6 min readClimate Change6 min read
Jan 17, 2019Report Confirms Obvious: Rent Control WorksNow that the new legislative session has opened in Albany, the Housing Justice for All campaign has ratcheted up its fight for Universal Rent Control, a platform of bills that strengthen and expand tenants’ rights across the state. …Housing6 min readHousing6 min read
Jan 3, 2019Progressive Housing Priorities for 2019: Go Big or Go HomeFor many housing activists in New York, 2018 felt like the beginning of something big. The relentless scale of the affordable housing crisis finally reached a tipping point with the public. Hundreds of community groups on the ground around the state mobilized around this new energy and the result was…Housing11 min readHousing11 min read
Dec 13, 2018The Mayor’s Plan to Fix NYCHA Will Nix Public Housing (But Don’t Blame Him)Yesterday Mayor de Blasio announced an updated plan to fix the crumbling public housing stock in NYC before it falls into federal receivership — and even more uncertainty. …Housing7 min readHousing7 min read
Nov 6, 20185 Reasons to Support Universal Rent Control and the Candidates that Want itElection Day is here and, depending on your perspective and persuasion, our country will be saved or doomed. Maybe both, maybe neither. On a personal note, I’m proud of playing a small part in a cycle that has seen the emergence of a progressive left as a growing electoral force. …Housing8 min readHousing8 min read
