NYCHA Residents Get Informed

 NYCHA Residents Get Informed

By S. C. Samoy, RISE Director of Operations & Communications

On Friday, July 26, more than 40 residents from the five different NYCHAs on the peninsula showed up at RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity) to view “Razing Liberty Square.” The 2023 documentary has made the rounds–and continues to do so–in the United States, bringing to light the connection between housing justice and environmental justice.

Eileen Baptistin Level, founder of PaleFO Cinema, believes in the importance of advocacy and the arts. So she, along with Brenda Temple, a community activist who lives in Ocean Bay (Oceanside), worked with NYC Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers and NYS Assembly Member Khaleel M. Anderson to get the word out about this important work by director/producer Katja Esson, an Academy Award nominee.

Liberty Square is just west of Miami Beach, Florida, across Biscayne Bay. Per razinglibertysquare.org: “As rising seas threaten Miami’s luxurious beachfront, wealthy property owners are pushing inland to higher ground. The historically Black neighborhood of Liberty City has been ignored by developers and policymakers alike, for generations. Located twelve feet above sea level, Liberty City now becomes more attractive with each rising tide.”

“Razing Liberty Square” begins at the very moment when Liberty Square is being bulldozed to the ground to make way for “New Liberty Square,” a $300 million mixed-income development.

The parallels of Liberty Square and the Rockaways could not be clearer. The education and knowledge that one pursues can only better inform one’s choices. We encourage you to take 83 minutes out of your day to view the documentary.

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