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By The Black Institute
Mayor Eric Adams, City Councilman Francisco Moya, Assembly member Jeffrion Aubry, and Greedy Elites are DEAD WRONG! AFFORDABLE HOUSING NOW!
Mayor Eric Adams is DEAD WRONG. City Councilman Francisco Moya is DEAD WRONG.
Assembly member Jeffrion Aubry is DEAD WRONG. The vile millionaires and billionaires backing this despicable Willets Point soccer stadium and casino project are DEAD WRONG too!
In a city already on the brink of disaster with skyrocketing homelessness and housing insecurity, the mere thought of prioritizing a frivolous stadium and casino over the fundamental needs of its residents is nothing short of an outrage.
The proposed project, a grotesque display of misplaced priorities, shamelessly puts profits and entertainment above the very survival of New York’s most vulnerable citizens.
By choosing to throw money at a soccer stadium and casino, the city is deliberately ignoring the desperate pleas of its residents, sending a loud message that sports and gambling are more valuable than their dignity and security. This morally bankrupt decision will only exacerbate the current housing crisis and widen the chasm of inequality that threatens to swallow our city whole.
Moreover, constructing this soccer stadium and casino presents Pandora’s box of perils for the surrounding community. Research has demonstrated that casinos are a breeding ground for increased crime rates, gambling addiction, and bankruptcy. Stadiums, infamous for saddling taxpayers with their exorbitant construction and maintenance costs, are no better.
The economic benefits promised by these vulturous ventures are nothing but smoke and mirrors. New York City should not waste another second entertaining this abomination.
Instead, the focus must be on creating affordable housing, infrastructure investments and improvements, along with providing essential services to its residents. This approach would alleviate the current crisis and promote long-term stability for communities of color.
The Black Leadership Action Coalition and its allies will stand firm, unyielding in our fight for a city that puts its people before the insatiable greed of developers and corporations.
We demand that Mayor Eric Adams wake up to the catastrophe that is the housing crisis and commit to using the land at Willets Point for affordable housing, NOT for the abhorrent soccer stadium and casino.
“Black and brown people are suffering from a lack of affordable housing. We CANNOT and WILL NOT stand idly by as luxury entertainment projects are prioritized over our basic needs. The Willets Point land MUST be dedicated to alleviating the housing crisis that disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities.” – Bertha Lewis, Founder & President of the Black Institute.
We demand housing FIRST – either we are in a housing crisis, or we are not! The choice is crystal clear: the proposed soccer stadium and casino MUST be stopped dead in its tracks in favor of affordable housing solutions that serve New York City’s communities of color.
We DEMAND Mayor Eric Adams and all responsible parties to make the right decision, stand on the side of justice, and prioritize housing over entertainment.
The Black Institute is an action-tank – a think-tank that takes action. Through a head, heart and feet strategy, TBI injects new ideas for achieving racial equity and justice into the policy realm. TBI’s unique mobilization strategies and our guiding strategies–knowledge, leadership and community–build power and deliver justice to communities of color.
This OP-ED was penned by The Black Institute, a Change.org petition can be signed here.