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New York

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In the Trump 2.0 Era, ‘Organizing Is the Antidote’

Tenant organizers and advocates say the only way to protect communities is to stay the course—organizing for housing rights, tenant protections, and political power.

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A massive 9-story red brick armory with a curved metal roof, seen from one end. Reminiscent of medieval architecture, the edifice has two tall crenelated towers with conical roofs flanking the main entrance, and another, shorter tower topped by a gazebo. A chain-link fence borders the property, and buses, trucks, and cars can be seen in the street, and pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Reported Article

There’s a Community Oversight Fight Brewing in the Bronx

After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped—and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.

Storefront seen from the street, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Colorful Indian clothing is displayed on seven mannequins in a retail storefront. A woman in jeans and a black jacket is walking by on the sidewalk.
Poetry

Poem: Ode to Jackson Heights

Usman Hameedi, chair of Mass Poetry, captures Jackson Heights in a poem that evokes the sensory delights of a favorite place.

View from an upper-story window across the street from two three-story houses seen through the brown leaves of an oak tree. At left is the blue-gray clapboard exterior of the house from which the photo was taken.
Practitioner Voice

What Makes Rent ‘Fair’

Should monthly charges be pegged to the cost of financing, developing, and operating housing, or to household income? Or are there other ways to design how rent is calculated?

Close up of a section of a stained-glass window. Shapes are squares and rectangles, mostly blue but with pinks, purples, and greens. Toward the left is a vertical column of narrow red rectangles and to the left of that the colors are much lighter, paler shades of blue and green.
Reported Article

The YIGBY Movement—Unlocking Church-Owned Land for Affordable Housing

As the housing crisis deepens, interest in faith-based development is spreading across the country. How do “Yes In God’s Backyard (YIGBY)” zoning laws work, where are they being implemented or introduced, and what could it mean for communities and churches?

Reported Article

Housing Advocates Design a Better Homecoming for People Leaving Incarceration

Programs that offer reentry housing for formerly incarcerated people often replicate jail or prison settings. How can housing providers do better?

Four people lined up for the camera in front of a large screen; they're presenting a workshop. From left, a young bearded man with his hair up. He's wearing a dark polo shirt. A woman with straight brown hair, a big smile, and eyeglasses, wearing a black-sashed gray dress.A young woman with long dark hair in a white cardigan over a gray shell and gray striped pants. Her eyes are crinkling as she smiles. At right, a woman with braids, smiling broadly. She's wearing a black cardigan over a gray turtleneck and blue jeans, and has large silver earrings in a spiral shape.
Reported Article

An Unlikely Collaboration—Real Estate Agent Joins Community Organization to Help Voucher Holders

They’ve helped more than 100 New York City renters fight source-of-income discrimination and find housing. How did this partnership begin and what lessons can they offer others?

A graphic for Shelterforce's "Meet Me at the Intersection of Housing."
Interview

Meet Me at the Intersection of Housing, with Guest Dawn Kelly

Dawn Kelly, founder of the New York-based healthy food and beverage restaurant The Nourish Spot, chats with Shelterforce’s Schlonn Hawkins about the connection between entrepreneurship, housing, building communities, and more.

A tightly cropped black-and-white view of stone Ionic columns at the entrance to a courthouse. Words are carved on the lintel over the columns; visible in this photo are "and blessing."
Practitioner Voice

Six Steps to Ensuring a Strong Right to Organize for Tenants

Getting solid legal protections in place will help tenants stick up for themselves more safely and effectively.

A black and white photo of seven people protesting racial discrimination in housing on a street corner, as a 1950s-era Buick drives past. The signs read "Stop racial discrimination now!"; "I support open housing"; "Don't patronize picture floor plans"; and a hand-lettered sign says "There can be no innocent bystanders." Most of the people in the photo are people of color; two are hidden by their signs.
Reported Article

AFFH’s Bumpy Road to Overcoming Segregation

The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule was intended to force communities to take action to address housing segregation and discrimination. How has the rule evolved throughout the years, and will a proposed new rule finally put some teeth into the legal concept?

An illustration highlighting the 6 policies tenants are fighting for, including good cause eviction, right to habitability, right to counsel, rent regulation, tenant opportunity to purchase, and right to organize.
Explainers

Tenant Protections 101

Tenant advocates have long been pushing for a “tenants bill of rights” to codify rules that protect renters from landlords. Here’s a rundown of the top protections housing justice activists say need to be included.

A group of adults and children stand with colorful orange, yellow and blue signs. One sign reads, "Stop increasing our Rent."
Health

Top 6 Tenant Protections Renters Are Fighting For

Tenants are organizing together with increased urgency to get legal protections passed in their towns, cities, and states. What are the top protections tenants are fighting for?

Reported Article

Hands Off the Houses: Can We Stop Speculative Land Grabs?

From the macro scale to the micro scale, there are many ways in which the housing market playing field is tilted toward financial firms—and many ways being proposed to start to tilt it back.