BRONX, NY — Andre Easton, Bronx teacher, father, and socialist candidate running for New York's 15th Congressional District, issued the following statement regarding the plan to demolish NYCHA's Fulton and Chelsea-Elliott Houses:
"I oppose the plan to demolish NYCHA's Fulton and Chelsea-Elliott Houses. Instead of fighting to fully fund NYCHA repairs and expand our public housing stock, city and federal officials are pushing privatization—handing NYCHA over to developers, moving tenants from Section 9 to Section 8, and putting management in the hands of profit-seeking corporations."
Andre Easton's platform centers the fight for fully funded public housing as the real solution to the housing crisis. Each month, one in three Bronx households faces the same impossible math: more than half their income gone to rent, leaving little for groceries, transportation, or a moment of rest. When rent takes everything, even a small setback can put workers in a financial emergency. The urgency of the crisis calls for a bold new vision: housing built for people's needs, not corporate profit.
Homes are controlled by corporate landlords who care solely about lining their pockets. The only solution is to take the profit motive out of housing. Step one: repeal the "Faircloth Amendment," the federal ban that has blocked new public housing construction for decades.New public housing will not only be high-quality and fully modernized, but also truly affordable, with rents costing no more than 20% of our income.
And for those already living in public housing, Andre Easton will fight to accomplish what neither party has been able to do: fully fund the backlog of needed repairs—including thorough safety inspections—so no family lives in danger.
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