Brooklyn tenants came together to rally outside of housing court in support of one of their own who is facing eviction, reports The Indypendent. The demonstration was organized by the tenant rights group, the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, to draw attention to the ongoing struggle for affordable and safe housing in Brooklyn.
The tenant in question, Fidele Albert, has lived in her apartment for Flatbush apartment for nearly seven years and around three years ago, landlord harassment began. She suffered from being locked out of her bathroom and not given access to the kitchen, having no access to a shower for an extended amount of time and having her electricity shut off. And Albert's case is just one example of the larger issue of landlords neglecting their responsibilities to their tenants, putting their health and safety at risk, according to the Flatbush Tenant Coalition.
The rally was attended by a diverse group of people, including tenants, community organizers, and elected officials.
"We shall not be moved,” sang a lively group of members of various organizations including Crown Heights Tenant Union, Brooklyn Eviction Defense, the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, the Metropolitan Council on Housing, Churches United for Fair Housing, Communist Party USA and the Amazon Labor Union.
“Why is the government even involved in throwing people out of their homes?” Longtime Brooklyn housing organizer Michael Hollingsworth said. “You’re breaking up families. You’re breaking up communities. You’re breaking up neighborhoods. Why is the government involved in that?”
Albert is now facing eviction as her landlord, David Spindler, sought the eviction after Albert led members of the tenant movement in a direct action that turned her electricity back on.
In addition to an end to Albert’s eviction case, the groups at the rally are calling for an end to winter evictions, the passage of the good-cause eviction legislation and that courts stop processing eviction cases until all tenants enjoy the right to counsel, as guaranteed by city law.
“It is better to go down fighting and die than not to fight and still die,” said Albert.
