Housing Our Future:Now

10/25

It was a beautiful day for a march. Though it felt a bit more like Thanksgiving than Halloween. Crisp fall air. And sun. We gathered at 86th Street and Second Avenue to march to Gracie Mansion, Mayor Di Blasio's home. The march was in support of the "House Our Future" campaign...a call for 30,000 new homes. The point was obvious, I think. The mayor  has his home. A lot of New Yorkers don't.

A crowd that would grow to 250-300 or so is gathering. Marc Greenberg, Director of the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (which I chair), asks me to help hold our banner.

Bob Brashear and Marc Greenberg with the banner

"Looks like a good crowd," he says. His broad smile reminds me that this is what Marc lives for. The gathering  of people, the marching, the chanting, the never ending struggle for housing justice that he has remained faithful to for decades.

The housing crisis which blossomed under Bloomberg has only worsened under Di Blasio. We now have record numbers of homeless, approaching 61,000. One third of those are working poor. Ten percent of city school children are homeless. It is scandalous. More so because Di Blasio campaigned as a progressive, promising 30,000 units, a promise yet to be delivered. (In more ways than one, Mayor Di Blasio, not unlike President Obama, came into office with a strong progressive base. And instead of using that base for truly progressive change has instead fallen into more traditional liberalism. Sad because the base is there...)

The march winds down 86th to East End. What do we want?Housing. When do we want it? Now. If we don't get it...shut it down..Hey, hey, 30K...and more chants. The crowd gathers.

In the crowd

A bombastic heckler is barely heard. There are homeless people working people, faith community people. People sharing their own stories. What will it take to be heard?

The Interfaith Assembly has been faithful to this witness since the "Kochville" occupation of City Hall Park thirty years ago in 1988. (See John Jiler's Sleeping With the Mayor ....https://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Mayor-Story-John-Jiler/dp/1886913145.) Founded by a faith community trio of steadfast witnesses Marshall Meyer, Dan Berrigan and my predecessor, Bob Davidson, Marc has led the IAHH through these many years. There would be no better way to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Kochville than action on the 30000 badly needed homes.

It can only begin with the grassroots

7/15

The sounds of the string quartet Ethel are once again keeping me alive. Even if their power strip and bag of energy efficient light bulbs have gone missing, the sound of the strings in the semi-dark keeps me going.

An African-American woman comes in with bags of clothes the family she works with has sent her over with. I wonder if she had a chance to look  first. 

RL has his beginning of the week check in before he is off to see Harvey.

Karen wanders in. Has a lot on her mind, but I’m so preoccupied with survival I don’t have a lot to say. She will play awhile on the piano before Ethel takes up again. 

Each day this week a gang of kids from the Jewish Community Center (JCC)summer day camp experience in their red t-shirts are dropped off on our steps and await their parents to pick them up.

Rudolfo comes in. That same long, sad, quizzical face. Looking for la nina ( that’d be Danielle)...longing for Cuba again. So a few dollars for a cold drink.

Marc Greenburg comes in. I’ve just finished re-reading Sleeping with the mayor..the book by John Jiler about the 200 day occupation of city hall park in 1988 by homeless people. An occupation before occupy...The so-called Kochville that embarrassed and enraged Mayor Ed Koch. I will give Jiler this...none of the characters in his book re one dimensional. Despite the few things he misses, he captures the complicated  humanity of Koch and the homeless leaders. Of my predecessor Bob Davidson, who helped found the Interfaith Assembly, among so many other things...And of course of Marc himself.

I’m curious how he’s changed in 25 years. We share so much. A commitment to live on the edge. A long perspective and perseverance. A struggle with focus. (I admit to wrestling with  ADD) The difficulty of turning a vision into actual reality. And yet over 25 years the Assembly has survived. And I consider it part of my duty to keep interpreting Marc to the outside world and protecting him with  the board which (rightly) wants a stable institution.

How many times over the years have I seen amazing grassroots  ministries started by friends who were visionaries become overcome  by boards that lament the creators’ lack of business skill then release the creator and then see the whole enterprise collapse. Somewhere between vision and business there has to be a meeting ground.

While we are talking, a young man cones in. From India. A professor of English literature. A love of church architecture. He saw the church  from on board  the M11 and jumped off to look inside. I take him and Marc..who had forgotten or never knew some of the story...and give him the classic tour.

I cannot believe, he says, as his eyes well up, the openness, the acceptance, the ongoing vision and commitment...how can it be? I never see this in my country...how can it be?

I’m not sure it can be, I think. But we conclude our tour. Khalid from Punjab is happy to have visited. he seems somewhat embarrassed by being a Muslim. I explain we welcome all, and mean that. Marc shares  that he has joined the Ramadan fast in solidarity It’s a good visit. Still, Khalid seems a bit shy when I say to him Ramadan Kareem...

Marc and I try to figure out what we need to do to keep ourselves going. I'm thinking we need to commemorate the end of Kochville 25 years ago at Christmas. Talk about the learnings of two occupations, Kochville and Occupy Wall Street. And then we have to get back to basic grass roots organizing. Today, that's the only way.