Tenants in the Northwest area of the Bronx, have been organizing for months now against their landlord Milbank realty of California. Milbank has failed to provide essential services to their tenants such as heat and hot water, and is engaged in a tenant harrassment campaign, as it tries to move low-income tenants from their properties in an attempt to make a profit.
These tenants painted banners that they hung all over the building, only to have them ripped down that same night. The next morning they were back at it, and directly confronted the Milbank representative about their horrible buisness practices. The Milbank representative responded by entering into a verbal altercation with NY state assemblyman Nelson Castro (D), and almost engaging in a fist fight with a tenant leader.
With help from the city they had their heat and hot water on by 5pm that day, but it didn't last, so tenants are continuing to organize and will see victory soon....
Affordable housing is being lost through the expiration of affordability at a faster rate than affordable housing is being created in the Bronx. Rising rents in an increasingly expensive housing market mean that tenants are being increasingly squeezed and harassed. Ladlords are neglecting their buildings and avoiding making repairs in an effort to save money and push tenants out. Given that the housing stock of the Northwest Bronx is more than 85% rental, and our membership mirrors this statistic, it is clear that these issues deeply affect our organizing base.
NWBCCC is primarily concerned with preserving affordable housing and improving housing conditions in privately owned housing in the Northwest Bronx, although we also support continued non-profit affordable housing development, energy efficiency through our Weatherization Assistance Program, and issues related to public housing.
Our organizing strategies include:
Developing new and supporting existing Tenant Associations
