This has been the winter of disenfranchisement and dysfunction with the affordability crisis pandemic and the masses of rent-burdened citizens of this city.
Your city, right Mr. Mayor?
And this post doesn’t even get to NYCHA because there is no fucking room in this post for those assholes.
Disposable Hero
Starting with upscale Brooklyn’s disposable hero; a 98-year-old man who was at Pearl Harbor when it got rained with bombs which led to the last time America outright won a war righteously. Rev. James Blakely was ordered to leave his apartment studio by a (formerly) non-profit group, The Black Veterans For Justice that donated to him over 5 years ago that was inspired by an article by NY Daily News Denis Hamill.
Apparently, the medal honored Navy veteran of three missions has apparently worn out his welcome with the aforementioned (F).N.P.G. as they sold the building to a developer Silver Rock Equities LLC and they fervently want him out of there. This revolting shitting on a man who gave his life to defend the freedom and security of this nation disputes any hyperbole being that these vulture capitalists are giving him the neoliberal version of a Pearl Harbor attack. To add to the insult and maligning of the veteran and history in general, the supposed Justice Veterans are demanding back payment of over $24,000 for the allotted time he lived there. Most recently, Rev. Blakely has experienced what thousands of other renters have experienced, being denied maintenance services and lack of heat.
“What are those fucking rent-stabilized tenants still fucking doing there?!”
In the gorgeous area of Brooklyn Heights, a building run by good old presidential advisor Jared Kushner’s realtor company is again trying to kick out undesirable but responsible people who pay their rent on time but not enough for their and his liking. It looks as though Jared’s habit of doing slipshod oversight when he signed his security clearances was in full effect as his namesake firm is being sued in a class action lawsuit when he and his company did not file re-registration for a majority of rent-stabilized units in 2 buildings he bought 4 years ago from Brooklyn Law School, naturally pilfering money out of the tenants there and possibly also pilfering tax dollars from the state by claiming the qualifying amount of affordable housing for tax abatements.
The quasi-secretary-of-state’s, even though he made the proper divestment from his real estate firm Westminster Properties, his pernicious influence is still being felt on the firm’s East Village properties with their persistent tormenting neglect of their rent-stabilized tenants as complaints about festering growing black mold and myriad other health hazards, structural damage and energy service refusals continue to induce their departure from their homes.
It might be safe to say that Kushner is quite lucky that his pop-in-law won the election or he would be sharing a cell with his scumlord inspiration Steve Croman.
Or maybe not…
Bill de Blasio is a consistent critic of President Trump, but he and his deputy Alicia Glen have lots of nice things to say to his son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to emails obtained by Politico.
“Jared, I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a little break from the swirl of activity these last few weeks have brought,” de Blasio wrote Kushner. The email came just weeks after the election of Trump, whom de Blasio has compared to dictators and called “profoundly racist.”
The two exchanged a number of pleasantries like this until March of this year, according to the report, with much ado about getting coffee sometime.
“I can only imagine how tough your schedule has become, and I’m happy to accommodate whatever time and place works for you. Much appreciated — Bill.”
Digital mingling like this gives the impression that Kushner’s egregious tactics are not only acceptable but an established business model as the savage demolition harassment with blatant threats by contractors going on in an apartment building in Bushwick East Williamsburg shows. Making a mockery of the recent law ratified by the bought mayor and city council to thwart such destructive tactics and machinations and seeing such paltry fines and court hearings as minor costs and a slight inconvenience for future prospects and profits.
In the pleasant town of Dyker Heights, one of the only areas in Brooklyn that hasn’t seen the scourge of exorbitant renting and dining, superfluous cafes and rooftop bars, an organization run by nuns has decided to sell a senior citizen center they run to moneyed developer and have demanded it’s elderly tenants to get the hell out even though the transferring of ownership won’t happen until the summer. The now ironically named Sisters Of Mercy won’t even reveal who the mystery buyer is. Showing how the impunity culture is being heinously nurtured by the Gentrification Industrial Complex of real estate and politicians, especially when it comes to perennially trendy Brooklyn, shows no mercy or sympathy when it comes to the elderly that is now rendered expendable for their replacement prospective desired clientele of the young and stupid with lots of money. Just the same as the W.W. II vet cited earlier.
This hypothesis and methodology displays extreme brazen cruelty with what’s happened in Chinatown.. In 85 Bowery, a broken down staircase was finally cited by the D.O.B as a safety threat led to the evacuation/city sanctioned eviction of all 75 tenants in the building. The natural shock by the residents was compounded by the fact that they have levied complaints about the dilapidated steps for years that were being ignored by Joseph Batesh, who bought the building only 5 years ago and by the craven indifference of and disrespect from their councilwoman Margaret Chin, who had the audacity to show the night of the evacuation/eviction. Suspicions by the now homeless victims of Batesh’s willful neglect as a tactic to boot them for less discriminating high spending prospects to replace them makes it legit, including the fact that he has been persistently trying to kick them out for years and this ousting comes after a judge declared the building rent-stabilized just a few months ago and now the city sends the suddenly active D.O.B. with assistance from the FDNY and NYPD to bum rush them outside in sub-20 degree weather and then shuffle them to a shelter way out in East New York Brooklyn. This savage and callous bureaucratic treatment of these poor people has inspired a daily day to night protest and even a hunger strike to get back to their homes.
Some of the Bowery 75
As if this city government posse that unceremoniously kicked the tenants out that freezing night with just the clothes they had on wasn’t enough of an insult, and a stupid way for the city to utilize emergency services this way as there have been a lot of fires happening and muggings happening lately, the police that showed up at a protest demanded they stop using the tarp to keep them warm.
It’s a wonder why there doesn’t seem to be someone in elected office to show actual support and convey commanding presence so that these egregious crimes against humanity and devilish profiting off the vulnerable and impoverish can be deterred or even result in punitive measures. Like a public advocate. But that person is Letitia James, who was recently more concerned with the fate of a bar she frequents than to bother with the existential sorrow of all these victims of negligence, theft, intimidation and city inaction. Especially since Ms. James blew off the complaints of 85 Bowery residents herself and gave up months before a judge ruled in their favor for stabilization later on.
Public Advocate Letitia James championed a settlement that wound spare the tenants eviction and get-them long-term leases, but withdrew from representing them in June 2016 when the deal fell apart.
James cited “irreconcilable differences,” after many of the tenants objected to moving out during the repairs.
This is coming from the person who tabulates the worst 100 landlords list every year, which despite years of complaints from the Bowery 75, Betesh is conspicuously missing from it.
All these recent awful incidents makes salient the collusion of government and real estate and the machinations inherent of the Gentrification Industrial Complex and how it continues as exhibited by the useless public advocate. Making these aforementioned tactics executed is not only a preferred business model but a solidified fact of life.
This is the new depression for the working poor and middle class trying to cope and live in this city being overcome by the menace and metastasis of the presence of luxury towers, upscale living and exorbitant real estate speculation/fabrication. Oh, and city planning that caters and panders to a population/demographic that is not even here instead of the existing constituency being denied civic services and accountability right now.
Did I mention I didn’t even get to NYCHA yet?
Impunity City 