Housing Rights Protesters Fight Against Predatory Landlords
Tenants unions and organizations protest The Real Estate Board of New York’s Gala, dubbing the rally a “People’s Gala.”
By Claudia Gohn
The "“People’s Gala” Awards (Claudia Gohn)
Hell’s Kitchen, New York — Under the heat lamps of The Glasshouse, a tall and sophisticated high rise overlooking the Hudson River, security guards manned the doors as individuals in expensive suits and elegant heels entered the building. They were attending the REBNY Annual, a gala on January 16 by the Real Estate Board of New York to honor leaders in the city’s real estate scene. But not long after attendees began showing up a chant echoed from a couple blocks north.
“REBNY, REBNY, you can’t hide! We can see your greedy side!” they cried, hoisting signs that read “Real Estate Money Out of Politics” and “Rent Freeze Rent Freeze” high in the air.
Once the crowd reached the building, they marched around in a circle in front of the entrance. Activists of all ages banded together with one goal in mind: to fight for affordable housing, a rent freeze, and a dissolution of real estate’s connection to politics. But the fight won’t stop with protesting, according to advocates, who believe the mayoral primary election will play a vital role in their mission this June.
Walking towards the REBNY Annual (Claudia Gohn)
The protesters joined from several tenants advocacy organizations—including CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, Housing Justice for All Coalition, Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) in the Bronx, Housing Campaigns Manager at VOCAL-NY, Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association, New York Communities for Change, and the Astoria Tenant Union.
Among the leaders at the rally was Joanne Grell, a leader in CASA and rent-stabilized tenant of 23 years. She viewed this action as giving REBNY attendees an opportunity to listen to the residents of New York. “We are making sure that we give them an alternative. This is the People's Gala,” she said. “We're giving them a chance to stand with the people—the people that voted them in, and the people that can vote them out.”
For over an hour, protesters marched back and forth in front of the doors. More and more activists gathered throughout the rally, braving the cold weather. REBNY Annual attendees walked through or by the picket while protesters booed and yelled “shame” as they entered. Some of the attendees smirked and waved, while others avoided eye contact.
The fury behind protests like this one is largely fueled by skyrocketing rents and trends in the connection between real estate investment and New York City political spending. New York City rent is rising 7 times faster than wages. A StreetEasy report published in November stated that in October 2024, median asking rents continued to rise in all five boroughs. Several instances throughout the rally, protesters and leaders pointed to the jump in real estate lobbying spending, particularly in Mayor Eric Adams’ and Governor Kathy Hochul’s campaigns.
According to a press release from CAAAV following the rally, “Real estate lobbies have spent nearly $14 million on lobbying New York politicians between 2019 and 2023, and more than $100 million since 2000 … real estate donors rank among the top contributors to Eric Adams’s [reelection] bid and legal defense fund, as well as Kathy Hochul’s reelection campaign in 2026.”
Both Hochul and Adams gave speeches at the 2024 and 2025 REBNY Gala.
For CAAAV’s Executive Director, Sasha Wijeyeratne, housing plays a significant role going into the mayoral election this year. While Wijeyeratne acknowledges that housing has certainly been important in past elections, it is especially pertinent this June. She points out that the economy was already a big issue in the Presidential election this past fall, and that this point has not only remained of note, but is also interwoven with other topics, including housing.
“Because of the ways that New Yorkers are struggling right now, it's more important than it's ever been for anybody who wants to be elected to state very clearly that they understand the struggle of working class New Yorkers,” Wijeyeratne explained. “That they understand the struggle of the 70% of us who are renting.”
New York State Representative, Zohran Mamdani, who announced his bid for city Mayor in October, made an appearance at the People’s Gala. He is a favored candidate among affordable housing advocates. “I pledge to you as the next mayor of New York City, I will not raise the rent any of the years that I am the mayor,” he yelled into the microphone. Mamdani has made a rent freeze part of his platform in his push for the democratic nomination in this year’s mayoral race.
“We are going to have that rent freeze because we are going to win it,” he said, as protesters around him yelled “Shame!” to arriving gala attendees.
Esteban Giron also alluded to the push for housing equity this year. “We want them to know that we are not only fighting for a rent freeze, but that we're going to make life difficult for real estate at this point,” Giron said. “It's going to be an interesting year.”
After about an hour, once the arrival of attendees began to slow down, the protesters made their way to Clinton Dewitt Park a few blocks away. A light snow began to fall, and protesters gave out hand warmers to each other. To wrap up their People’s Gala, they announced some awards to major players in real estate. This wasn’t an honor, but rather a sardonic call out to some of those who have hurt their communities the most.
Richard LeFrak, a real estate businessman and billionaire, was awarded “Most Likely to Evict Working Class People for Profit” who also filed 2,627 evictions during the pandemic.
The award “Most Likely to Bulldoze Working Class People for Empty High Rises” was granted to Two Trees, a property management company.
And, as expected from his massive unpopularity among organizations at the “People’s Gala,” was an award for Mayor Adams. Dubbed “Real Estate’s Bestie,” they gave the award “Most Likely to Dump Working Class New Yorkers for a Real Estate Check” to him.
The activists’ comprehensive goal wasn’t just to send a message to the real estate sharks, but also to the people struggling to find affordable housing.
“We are not going to stop until [elected officials] know that they cannot walk into a room with REBNY, shake hands with someone at REBNY, have backdoor conversations and pretend to be progressive,” Wijeyeratne said.
Vicki Yang, a tenant leader in CAAAV Chinatown Tenants Union, posited that there is power among the collective. “It is really hard to do something individually, but there's millions of us tenants in New York and together we're a force to be reckoned with.”
“Fight together and we will win together.”
Claudia Gohn is a co-founder and co-editor-in-chief at Grassroots. She can be reached at claudia@grassrootsmagazinenyc.com