Rent! Not the Musical

It's the basis of the NYC economy, myth and muscle. You don't get to 8 million people - 9 is the estimate by 2020 - without a heck of a lot of leases. There's a lot of talk about zoning around here - some people want to build more affordable housing and plan for smart growth; some people think the City will hoodwink us if we do so. No matter to the thousands of people already living here, many of whom are scared to read the mail from their landlords.

So what can you do? What if 100,000 people showed up at this? Think Albany could ignore us then? I don't think so. Look, maybe you're not political. Fine. Plan a day in Manhattan and stop by Foley Square and go grab some dinner after. Go to a movie or one of those late night Museum things. And be counted. And if your so inclined grab a sign and save your voice for the big scream. It's fun to see the full fabric of NYC laid out in one big colorful flag.

The line "stop gentrification" misses the point as far as I'm concerned, and is unnecessarily class and race divisive. If you really want EVERYone to show up, don't single out people as part of the problem. People move here all the time, and they move where they get the best rent. And some of them are connected in ways that could make the battle an easier win. Sigh. That's all from the critique side, but I can see why it's helpful to get out the numbers.

But screw it. When has an issue ever been totally cut and dry? See you there!