PBP at Affordable Housing Conference

I'll be speaking about participatory budgeting as a tool for affordable housing at this conference on Saturday:

No MAHS: No More "Affordable" Housing Scams
Saturday, March 27
9:30 – 5 @ Hunter College West, 8th Floor
6 to 68th Street - Hunter College

Affordable housing programs were designed to fail. They do not serve low-income people, they are not permanent, and they benefit developers more than communities. They contribute to gentrification and displacement of communities of color. They rob our communities of the power to make decisions about our future. The longstanding affordable housing crisis has gotten worse with the current financial crisis, leaving us with vacant buildings, massive foreclosures, and even more homelessness.

This is a call for those who are tired of being told that their dream for truly sustainable housing, free from market pressures, is unreasonable, impractical, or naïve. This conference aims to create a space where we can radically re-imagine what is possible in our struggles over land, learn about some of the concrete skills to implement new strategies for community control over our resources, and build and strengthen ties within the housing, community and social justice movements.

There are other paradigms for community-based control of land and resources that can help move our communities forward!

NO MAHS is a forum for housing activists, tenants, squatters, community organizers and homeless people to discuss radical strategies for accessing, securing, and preserving land, community space, and truly affordable housing.

Panelists:

Setting the Context --
Commodification of Land: Frank Morales and Sam Imperatrice
History of New York City’s Housing Movement: Tom Angotti and Peter Marcuse
Current Affordable Housing Programs: Mario Mazzoni

Tactics for Control of Community Land --
Community Land Trusts: James Tracy and Alice Liu (San Francisco CLT)
Limited Equity Coops: Jessica Hall (HDFC), Marina Metolis (UHAB)
Participatory Budgeting: Josh Lerner (The Participatory Budgeting Project)
Community Planning: Ester Wang (CAAV), Julie Lawrence (Community-Based Planning Campaign)
Mutual Housing Associations: Val Orselli (Cooper Square)
Squatting and Occupations: Frank Morales, Rob Robinson (Picture the Homeless)

Purchase lunch on-site ($7.00) or bring your own.
Please let us know if you require childcare or translation services.

To RSVP or for more information, contact:
212-650-3328
communitylandnyc@gmail.com

Conference organizers: Peter Aleksa, Tom Angotti, Sam Imperatrice, Francesca Manning, Mario Mazzoni, Frank Morales, Felix Gottdiener, Avi Rosentalis, Mary Tek