“Jefferson Market Jail,” The Masses, December 1914 back cover
In 2019, the New York State tenant movement achieved major legislative gains with only one socialist in office. Now, with more SIO’s than ever before, why is the tenant movement facing serious rollbacks in the 2024 NYS budget? As socialists we understand this speaks to the need for diversified tactics. In addition to legislative fights, we need to build independent organizations and we must increase democratic working class engagement in all spheres of DSA’s work.
In the week leading up the budget vote, DSA’s IWCO (Independent Working Class Organizing) Tenant Basebuilding Initiative alongside several Tenant Unions organized a rapid response campaign to pressure electeds against voting yes on the budget, completing numerous actions citywide within the span of a few days. Through this, IWCO demonstrated its potential for supporting the coordinated efforts of Tenant Unions citywide while also highlighting a missed opportunity to raise tenant awareness of potential rollbacks sooner. It also underscored the need to continue building synergy with independent tenant organizations while improving communication with DSA’s legislative and electoral work.
Once the budget passed, IWCO called a meeting made up of representatives from Tenant Unions and IWCO members to discuss the implications of the budget, particularly the rollbacks to the 2019 tenant laws that many in the room had helped secure. The goal of the conversation was to build a narrative describing what happened from the tenants’ perspective, reflect on what was learned and create a strategy to move forward in a more coordinated manner.
The group started with an overview of the rollbacks and an agreement that landlords are more organized than ever and flexing their power. First, the rollbacks will motivate landlords to push tenants out, thereby allowing for apartment renovations, increased rents and further gentrified neighborhoods. An expansion of landlord tax breaks will also mean a major loss in potential revenue for the city. Additionally, there is expected to be a significant increase in new housing development under the guise of “affordable housing” that is not actually affordable for working class New Yorkers.
The conversation then turned to IWCO’s relationship with DSA’s legislative side and how much energy should be devoted to working with and seeking political alignment with this group. Although it is important to maintain a line of communication with the other half of DSA’s housing work, it was agreed IWCO’s primary role should be focused on tenant base-building. Additionally, IWCO should work to increase democratic processes within DSA and its associated nonprofit coalitions so that tenants will have a say in future campaigns and legislative fights.
The IWCO Budget Debrief meeting generated palpable momentum, with 21 participants in attendance representing most major independent Tenant Unions and geographical areas of the city. The question is how to maintain that momentum beyond political alignment and execute tangible next steps. Some suggested steps include writing reflections on potential strategies; engaging labor in tenant fights; eliciting feedback from Tenant Union members; and raising public awareness about potential landlord tactics in the wake of the new rollbacks.
IWCO members also emphasized the need to consider next steps that fully involve Tenant Unions and their members. Ultimately, the hope is to bring together priorities representing a much wider swath of rank-and-file tenants in a “Manifesto” that clarifies points of unity across IWCO and independent Tenant Unions so that we may better articulate our shared vision, work towards our priority goals and be more prepared for the next fight.