Housing advocates and community organizers gathered Wednesday at Bryan Park on Fordham Road to protest what they called a lack of truly affordable housing in the Bronx, arguing that new developments are doing little for residents who earn the borough’s lowest incomes.
About two dozen people gathered on the steps of the pedestrian plaza at Fordham Road and East Kingsbridge Road for the rally, organized by the Affordable for You Campaign. Speakers called for greater community control over housing and challenged the way the city and developers define what qualifies as “affordable.”
“Affordable for who exactly?” one organizer asked the crowd and passing Fordham Road commuters.
The campaign is demanding that 70% of units designated as affordable housing be affordable to people earning less than $40,000 a year, roughly the median income of Bronx residents. Although the Bronx has led the city in affordable housing production, particularly in the South and West Bronx, rally goers said longtime residents have yet to reap the benefits.
Organizers also took aim at landlords they accused of allowing apartments to fall into disrepair, singling out property management company Wavecrest Management, which they called a “slumlord” for its history of housing violations. Some of the violations cited by speakers involve NYCHA buildings operated by Wavecrest under the city’s Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program.
“We’re not going to just allow them to displace us and erase our communities without putting up a fight,” said MVP, a member of Take Back the Bronx, a community organization resisting gentrification and police violence in the South Bronx.
“We, as people of the Bronx, want to set the guidelines for what we feel is affordable. Not these politicians, not these fake landlords that don’t do s— and don’t repair our buildings and let us die in them. And definitely not these developers that just look at this as a playground for the rich,” he added.
The protesters were not opposed to development outright. Instead, they argued that new construction can contribute to displacement when longtime residents cannot afford the resulting apartments.
“Gentrification is not about development; it is dispossession,” said Brandy, an organizer with Bronx Mutual Aid. “These new developments don’t mean shit because none of us are going to be in it.”
“The landlord class resolves the contradiction of rent with eviction, with neglect, with displacement,” Brandy said. “We resolve it with tenant power.”
That call for tenant organizing was echoed by other speakers, who pointed to deteriorating conditions in rental buildings across the borough, including broken doors, leaks, mold and inadequate heat. They urged residents to document housing conditions, learn about their property management companies and organize tenant associations to collectively pressure landlords to make repairs.
Sara Delaney, a member of CASA, encouraged residents to communicate with their neighbors and approach building management as a group rather than individually.
“When you come together as a group, they listen, because numbers count,” she said.
The rally also drew a sizable police presence relative to the small crowd. In an email sent ahead of the demonstration, the Fordham Road Business Improvement District warned residents and business owners of potential traffic disruptions and additional police presence.
“The Fordham Road BID has proactively communicated with our three NYPD precincts to increase police presence throughout the corridor tomorrow as a precautionary measure,” the email said.
At least 12 officers were observed monitoring the demonstration at Fordham Plaza. As protesters marched down Fordham Road toward the plaza, a police officer tauntingly honked his vehicle’s horn in rhythm with their chants.
