Stop the Land Grab!

“A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR: The Push to Stop the Demolition of Public Housing in Chelsea”

A film documentary screening - free and open to the public! - followed by a panel discussion focused on the financialization of housing.

Doors will open at 6:00pm, and the film screening will begin at 6:30pm.

Panel consists of public housing and land rights advocates.

Pratt Manhattan Campus, 144 West 14th Street, room 201, New York, NY 10011

Registration is required. Please bring a valid photo ID to enter the building.

About "A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR":

Through the eyes of longtime residents fighting to save their homes, A Home Worth Fighting For, exposes a flawed political process that prioritizes private developers over the preservation of public housing and dismisses calls for transparency. While pitched as resident-driven, the proposed demolition clearly aims to clear valuable land in Chelsea to make way for market rate development on public land. Determined to defend their community, residents organize to resist a profit-driven plan aimed at privatizing public housing. Run time: 40 min.

Natasha Florentino (Director, Producer, Co-director of Photography), Oliver Metzler, (Co-director of Photography), Jason Alarcòn (Editor)

Panelists:

Renee Keitt

President, Elliott-Chelsea Resident Association/FEC Tenants Against Demolition

Layla Law-Gisiko

District Leader, NYS Assembly District 75

Chris Marte

NYC Councilmember, Manhattan District 1

Rob Robinson

Community Organizer

Adjunct Professor of Urbanism, New School

Kristen Hackett, PhD

Public Housing Scholar and Organizer

Moderated by:

Natasha Florentino

Director, Producer, Co-director of Photography, "A Home Worth Fighting For"

Introduction by:

Caitlin Cahill

Associate Professor, Urban Geography & Politics

Co-Sponsors & Community Partners:

Pratt Institute Social Science and Cultural Studies Department

https://www.pratt.edu/liberal-arts-and-sciences/social-science-and-cultural-studies/

Art, design, architecture—these disciplines exist in a rich world of ideas and cultural expressions. Our Social Science & Cultural Studies programs help you more deeply understand them. A core part of the Pratt experience, these courses act as both a complement to your creative endeavors and a lens through which to further explore them. Across psychology and economics, history and philosophy, you’ll build context of how culture is created, and in the process, a perspective on how to change it.

Pratt Institute Social Justice/Social Practice Minor

https://www.pratt.edu/liberal-arts-and-sciences/social-science-and-cultural-studies/social-justice-social-practice-minor/

The Social Justice/Social Practice Minor gives Pratt students the opportunity to bring their studio and design practice into dialogue with critical and transformative perspectives related to equity and justice.

Pratt Institute Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment

www.pratt.edu/gcpe

Faced with climate change, systemic racism, and growing inequity, communities need forward-thinking approaches to urbanism now more than ever. Practice-based and rooted deeply in the network of communities we serve, our alliance of four graduate-level programs works to address these evolving threats, working in partnership to build asset-based solutions at the intersection of environment, equity, culture, and economy.

Pratt Center for Community Development

www.prattcenter.net

Pratt Center for Community Development, based at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, works to build community power and advance the equitable distribution of resources for low-income BIPOC communities across New York City. Founded in 1963 as the nation’s oldest university-based community planning organization, the Center partners with frontline, community-based groups to provide research, participatory planning, policy advocacy, and implementation support. Guided by core values such as local knowledge, democratic process, creativity, excellence, and genuine exchange, Pratt Center promotes a just city where all residents have access to housing, clean air, good jobs, and the ability to thrive in place.

Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea (FEC) Tenants Against Demolition

www.stopfecdemolition.org

As residents we demand the immediate stop to the Proposed demolition of our homes. Our community has endured enough terror and corruption from both unelected tenant leadership and Real Estate interests seeking to transform New York City into an exclusive playground for the wealthy. For generations, our neighborhood has been a vibrant tapestry of lives and livelihoods, and we will not stand idly by as it is torn down. We demand state funding for affordable housing as the only viable solution. Demolition is not the answer and we are outraged at the lies and deceit of NYCHA, Essence, and Related. We never voted for demolition, and we will not allow our homes and community to be destroyed without a fight. Together, we can save our homes, our neighborhood, and our way of life. Join the Stop FEC Demolition movement today and fight for your friends, your homes, and your community.

Midtown South Community Council

www.midtownsouthcc.org/

We live in a world where millions of people are impoverished so that a few can be wealthy. We’ve commoditized health, food and housing for maximum profit, leaving people cost-burdened and destitute. Housing prices are through the roof, healthcare costs are out of touch, and the access to nutritious food slips further from our reach. That’s why we’re tackling three foundational problems: Health, Housing, and Hunger.

This event is part of “Dismantling Disinvestment - Fulton and Elliott Chelsea Tenants Reclaim the Narrative,” supported by a Pratt Center for Community Development. The Pratt research team includes:

Stop the Land Grab!

“A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR: The Push to Stop the Demolition of Public Housing in Chelsea”

About "A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR":

Natasha Florentino (Director, Producer, Co-director of Photography), Oliver Metzler, (Co-director of Photography), Jason Alarcòn (Editor)

Panelists:

Renee Keitt

President, Elliott-Chelsea Resident Association/FEC Tenants Against Demolition

Layla Law-Gisiko

District Leader, NYS Assembly District 75

Chris Marte

NYC Councilmember, Manhattan District 1

Rob Robinson

Community Organizer

Adjunct Professor of Urbanism, New School

Kristen Hackett, PhD

Moderated by:

Natasha Florentino

Director, Producer, Co-director of Photography, "A Home Worth Fighting For"

Introduction by:

Caitlin Cahill

Associate Professor, Urban Geography & Politics

Co-Sponsors & Community Partners:

Pratt Institute Social Science and Cultural Studies Department

Pratt Institute Social Justice/Social Practice Minor

Pratt Institute Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment

Pratt Center for Community Development

Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea (FEC) Tenants Against Demolition

Midtown South Community Council

Caitlin Cahill

Associate Professor, Urban Geography & Politics

David Burney

Visiting Associate Professor, GCPE

Leonel Lima Ponce

Academic Director, MS in Sustainable Environmental Systems

Visiting Assistant Professor, GCPE

Contact the host of Stop the Land Grab! Film Screening of "A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR" followed by a panel discussion on the Financialization of Housing