Occupation against Gentrification

Up to 100 protestors took part in a day-long demonstration organized by housing advocates Picture the Homeless, Not An Alternative, Reclaim NYC, and others. Participants staged a fake music video shoot on 115^th St in East Harlem to cover for the team of volunteers as they cut the chain link fence surrounding the vacant lot. Inspired by the Hoovervilles of the Depression, the crew constructed a tent city to demonstrate that “poor people can build a community and houses for themselves if they are given the opportunity.”  By mid-day, there was a diverse group of about 100 people gathered in the JP Morgan Chase property to talk and share food under a banner that read “they say gentrify, we say occupy!”

One protestor stated that the takeover was “directed at some of the same banking interests. . . that redlined and ghettoized this neighborhood.” Another pointed out that the problem of displacement “shouldn’t be reconciled by business entities in collusion with banking cartels making decisions in closed rooms.” Although many spoke out against gentrification, a spokeswoman for Not an Alternative said the message was not anti-development or “yuppies go home,” but a call for development to be more inclusive. Police looked on from across the street until a sergeant ordered the crowd to leave the private property or be arrested. Most people left, and the 10 that remained were arrested before workers replaced the chain link fence. Check out video of the day's events here.