Republicans Just Laid Bare One
Of New York City’s Biggest Secrets
And you know what? It’s about
damn time.
By Ossiana Tepfenhart
A couple months ago, I got a
phone call from my friend Eli*. Eli is extremely housing insecure and does
walking deliveries for a living. After eight years of sleeping on couches and
in the street, he finally got his Section 8. He lives with his brother, Jason.*
Too bad SNAP doesn’t pay
enough for food on a regular basis.
“Ossiana, is it alright if me
and Jason come by?” he asked. “I haven’t had much food lately. I’m really
hungry and I feel like if I don’t get serious food, I’ll faint.”
The answer, of course, was a
resounding yes. We cooked him and his brother a turkey dinner, had them spend
the night, and then let them raid our pantry. Then, we wrapped up the rest of
the turkey and sent them on their way.
That dinner was a sight most
people will never see. You see, Eli, Jason, my husband, and I all were homeless
at one point. And yes, all of us squatted in New York City. So, we all get it.
Lately, I’ve been watching
the Migrant Crisis unfold. And it was one of the most telling things I’ve ever
seen in my life.
For those not in the know,
the Migrant Crisis is a GOP-fueled crisis where they bus migrants to New York
City.
The Republicans do this
allegedly to prove a point that we need to secure the border. In reality, the
GOP recently turned down border security bills. It’s a song and dance to upset
blue states and flex their power.
But, I digress.
The Migrant Crisis is a real
crisis. Over 100,000 migrants have arrived in New York City over the past year.
This led to a multitude of emergency shelters, over $14.5 billion in spending
for food and shelter, and a full overhaul of the schools.
Most of these people are
trying to seek asylum, but the truth is that they don’t have much of a chance
and the system is backlogged. Asylum is not for economic reasons. It’s for
political persecution that has to be noticeable and proven.
Many of the working poor in
New York City are livid about this — and rightfully so.
It’s not that New Yorkers
don’t want migrants here. It’s that the Migrant Crisis put on a huge show about
New York’s “humanitarian” side while proving that they had the means to shelter
the homeless people in the city.
The hypocrisy is laid bare
for all to see.
Prior to the crisis, there
were 100,000 homeless people in New York City. Many of them were rejected for
permanent shelter, denied food, and denied medical care that could have helped
them get back on their feet. How do I know? My friends and I lived it.
We were told to “get a job,”
despite no one wanting to hire a homeless person. The shelters themselves have
about 100,000 homeless people sleeping in them.
Many people don’t want to
sleep there because they are SO DANGEROUS. People rape you and steal your shit
there. It’s happened to my late friend several times until he decided he
preferred sleeping in the subways. Meanwhile, migrants often get their own individual
rooms in hotels. What the fuck.
Schools have shut down to
house them, hotels were converted into shelters, and many permanent buildings
are now being planned for them. So, what the NYC government is telling me with
this is that they could have done this all along for the homeless that desperately
wanted safe shelter. They just chose not to.
Migrants are getting free
daycare while New Yorkers have to pay for it. Fucking really? Even daycare?
New Yorkers who are working
poor that struggle to keep a roof over their head with rising rents get to
watch people who are not even from here get discounted rents, freebies, and job
placement. The average rent in Manhattan is around $4,000. That’s not tenable
for two people earning $50,000 each — and that’s very bad. NYCHA is backlogged
and reasonable rents are done by a lottery that can take years to get.
It’s really, really bad in
New York for the average person. There are tons of apartments that are sitting
vacant because landlords don’t want to rent them out at a reasonable price —
thousands, even.
My friends who are in New
York right now? They want to leave because they are fed up with getting slums
for $3,000 a month and I can’t blame them.
Legally speaking, New York is
bound to shelter migrants due to the 1981 “right to shelter” mandate, but that
doesn’t explain the double standard.
New York is legally bound to
shelter people who apply for shelter in the city, period. I get that. And I
also get that these people are fleeing bad situations in their home countries.
I also understand that.
But why is it that this
city’s stupid-ass politicians are so okay with an increasingly cramped and
stressed-out middle class? Why is it that people who were born here have to
struggle to find SAFE shelter? Why is it so hard to find affordable healthcare?
More importantly, if New York
really cared about the housing crisis, why the fuck does the city not stop
developers and landlords from charging these ridiculous prices? They could.
They absolutely could do that if they cared.
They don’t care. They haven’t
cared for fucking decades.
As long as New Yorkers are
willing to pay taxes and pay exorbitant amounts for apartment living, they will
ignore the elephant in the room because these fucks profit off it.
For the longest time, New
York was able to quietly ignore that double-standard. The politicians could
quietly scuttle all the complaints of locals under the rug as long as they did
the “we care” song and dance.
The Migrant Crisis? Yep, it’s
forcing them to put their money where their mouths are. And Eric Adams is
facing a world of shit because it’s time to pay the Pied Piper.
Newark is a prime example of
a city that is working hard to remain affordable.
High-key, I love Newark’s
politics. When I lived there, Newark was a lot more dangerous. Today, the city
has turned around and despite that, the area still remains one of the most
affordable in New Jersey.
Newark is currently giving
working-class families homes for $1 as long as they agree to fix up the homes
and live in them. The city also has one of the best-run social services net
I’ve personally seen in a city that size.
This is one of the only
cities where my friends can afford to live and still do their artwork. It’s
also one of the only cities that seems to welcome working-class people and
immigrants with open arms.
Newark is an example of what
New York City used to be. Is it perfect? Nope, but I can tell you from personal
experience that Newark is a lot more poverty-friendly and a lot more capable of
upward mobility than the Big Apple ever will be again.
It used to be possible to go
to New York with $20 and a dream, and somehow make it into an apartment. You
can’t do that anymore. People are furious at New York’s housing crisis and the
double standards they’re seeing.
This will reach a breaking
point soon and I’m not beat for it.
There. I said it. New York
City earned the veritable shitstorm it’s dealing with because it gave into
every fucking whim of end-stage capitalism. There will be a point where you
won’t find people willing to work minimum wage jobs in the city because it will
make no sense to do so.
I mean, why work if you can’t
pay the bills that way? Why work if the chance at having a roof over your head
is a big fat zero? You might as well enjoy the permanent vacation or go to a
place that’s not as fucking awful to you.
While I would still never
vote for the party that took women’s rights away, I absolutely know of people
in the Big Apple who switched political parties over this shit. And you know
what? The political machine of New York has no one to blame but themselves.
