Reflections from NY

Hello from New York - 

I'm on my way back from visiting "home" for the weekend - in whatever sense that word continues to hold. As I spend this summer trying to figure out where I'd like to go after law school, the concept of "home" seems nebulous. I have now come to know so many wonderful people all over Canada, the United States, and the rest of the world that many places hold different conceptions of home for me. In a sense, moving around every few months and spending time across borders has kept me in a constant state of displacement. One way I cope is by writing - both to keep in touch, and to keep grounded. 

As I near the end of my time in New York, I thought this was as good a time as ever to reflect - reflect on New York City and the prospect of working for social change here and well as the general nature of this work. 

I generally love the work I do. I've loved it since I realized that the most effective way I could promote the change I believe in was by empowering the communities I care about. And I've loved the aspect of engaging with resilient and diverse communities. But it can still be frustrating. More than anywhere else I've ever worked, working for real transformative social change and social justice in New York feels like a fight. The inequality between the marginalized and the powerful here are just so striking and structurally embedded in the way the city runs, and developing alternative programs often seem inapposite with New York reality and its future trends. 

Take housing for example. I have been doing a lot of work with tenant and low and modest income homeowner associations fighting to preserve and create affordable housing in Brooklyn, a New York borough. Brooklyn is infamous amongst older generations as a neighborhood of crime, but also famous for its vibrant Black and Latino culture and beautiful brownstones in affordable neighborhoods so near downtown Manhattan. To our generation, its emblematic of the gentrification sweeping across many urban neighborhoods across the country. The communities I have been working with continuously describe how they see one neighbor after another being pushed out of their communities. They describe horrendous practices employed by landlords trying to get tenants living in remaining rent-stabilized units to move out, and many others talk about how they work two jobs and pay over 50% of their incomes just to pay their rent or mortgage. The alternative reality provided by the market is to offer 20% of new units in buildings benefiting from local or state subsidies and rezoning benefits as "affordable housing". Even these units are unaffordable for many of the current residents of these communities and can be flipped to market rate in a decade. The preservation and creation of affordable housing therefore will not come through the market - and in many ways will require restricting seemingly insatiable real-estate development in New York City. But this means a very big fight - against corporate developers, against the urban elite that wants to move into currently low-income and colored neighborhoods, against politicians funded by money, and sometimes even against young professionals trying to themselves find more affordable and livable communities. 

In New York, I worked with an organization that partners with membership organizations across the country and supports them with anything from policy research, legislative and legal support, and communications and organizing work. Its founded on the same values and theories of change I believe in and staffed by some of the most innovative individuals I've ever met. I miss working more closely with communities and more directly on the ground but have loved supporting the campaigns that I'm interested in - from the fight for a living wage, to school reform, to fighting the power of the big banks. 

Being in New York has also been incredibly eye-opening. Being from Toronto (Canada's New York right?), I figured it would be much of the same. But seeing New York from Brooklyn has made it especially interesting. Brooklyn is beautiful, diverse, and under siege in many ways. I love its parks, its bodegas, its neighborhoods, and the fierce sense of community and "home". Manhattan on the other hand, has kept life busy. Between all the friends who've come to visit on the weekends and the never-ending events, I've never gotten bored. New York is exhausting - in the best way if you keep the right attitude about it and find ways to be balanced. Its been a great experience though and I'm definitely leaving the city with a lot more love for New York then I came into it with.  

And now, in just over a week, I'm leaving New York for New Orleans where I'll be working at a workers' center. Its going to be community-based and in Louisiana - a world away from New York and I'm really excited! 

Looking forward to writing more updates from there,

- S

My street in Brooklyn

Minimum wage advocacy in Albany

A night in on my fire-escape

Concerts in Prospect Park

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn

Street art from the High Line 

Central Park

Minimum wage strikes in NYC