A social media campaign is in the works this morning to oppose the New York City Housing Authority’s controversial plan to lease some of its property for market-rate development.Â
Popping up at several public housing projects on the Lower East Side are signs like this one — urging lame-duck Michael Bloomberg to leave the issue for incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio. Developers have submitted proposals for sites alongside eight developments, including five on the LES. City officials have not revealed any information about the proposals. In this neighborhood, the housing authority has targeted the Smith, Baruch, LaGuardia and Campos Plaza Houses, plus Meltzer Towers.
Photos of the signs are making their way across Twitter and Facebook today (via #StopNYCHALandLease).
Last night, City Council member Rosie Mendez talked about the plan at Community Board 3’s monthly meeting. One idea she’s heard about is a housing project geared for senior LGBT residents on the site at Meltzer Towers on East Houston Street. While it’s the kind of project that she said “pulls at her heartstrings,” she will not support any development plan that is opposed by her constituents. Mendez speculated that the Meltzer Towers proposal could be “fast-tracked” by the Bloomberg Administration on the assumption that it would stand a reasonably good chance of surviving the new de Blasio regime. De Blasio has criticized the community-engagement process surrounding the land-lease scheme, but has said he would consider any proposal “that provided enough value to the surrounding community.”
Man, I support their cause, but they could have made this sign a little bit more clear. “Bloomberg Let” being on one line makes it confusing. What an annoying oversight.
It reads as “Bloomberg let DeBlasio decide” instead of “Bloomberg, let DeBlasio decide” or “Bloomberg: Let DeBlasio decide”
Let Debalsio kill this rediculous idea.