Thursday October 3, 2013
CMS and the Queens Housing Collation were featured in a video which outlines how the plans for the redevelopment of Willets Point excludes a legal guarantee for affordable housing and for the group relocation of the 250 auto mechanical businesses that have been in the area for over 15 years. The Queens Housing Coalition and CMS are drawing attention to the workers and residents of the Willets Point community who deserve a voice in the redevelopment of their community.
In 2008 city officials and local community advocates agreed upon a plan to redevelop the area into a new mix used area. The plan offered benefits to the community such as a new school, a community center and it promised to relocate the workers displaced by the project. This plan offered 2,000 affordable housing units for the many residents in the area who could not afford the increasing rents in the area. The redevelopers The Related Company and Sterling Equities which own the METS and Citi Field worked with city officials and changed the plan so that there would be no legal guarantees for the relocation of the workers in the area and no legal guarantee for affordable housing.
More than 2,000 people work in the Willets Point area which is composed of small immigrant run businesses. CMS and QHC are standing in solidarity with the local leaders and the community members of the Willets Point area to demand that big companies like The Related Company and Sterling Equities should not be allowed to push workers and residents out of their own community.
There is something you can do! Watch the video by clicking here, then tweet it and post a link on your Facebook. No business should be able to opt out of affordable housing!
