Patrice Riemens on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:50:08 +0100 (CET) |
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---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [Nettime-nl] Fwd: Occupy Goes Home (fwd) From: "Nictoglobe" <a.andreas@nictoglobe.com> Date: Thu, December 15, 2011 11:03 To: nettime-nl@nettime.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sent from my eXtended BodY Begin forwarded message: > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:29:54 > From: Portside Moderator <moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG> > To: PORTSIDE@LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG > Subject: Occupy Goes Home > > Occupy Goes Home > > The movement takes back foreclosed houses after leaving the park > > By Nick Pinto > Wednesday, Dec 14 2011 > http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-12-14/news/occupy-goes-home/ > > A cold, persistent rain fell on East New York last Tuesday > as a crowd of hundreds snaked its way through the Brooklyn > neighborhood, filled the street, and filed past blocks > scabbed with vacant, boarded buildings. > > By design, the front of the procession was dominated by > local residents and community activists. But the bulk of > the crowd was made up of people who had probably never > been so far out on the 3 line before: displaced residents > of Zuccotti Park marching under the banner of Occupy Wall > Street. > > The marchers made frequent stops outside vacant foreclosed > homes and marked them with black-and-yellow-striped tape > that read "Occupy." At one stop, a young man named Quincy > stood on a stoop and told the crowd he was slated for > eviction that very day. City Councilmember Charles Barron, > speaking for the crowd, said, "We are not going to let > this young man lose his home today." Quincy wept. > > The final destination of the march was a secret to all but > a few until the crowd turned up Vermont Avenue, where > balloons and banners outside number 702 heralded a > housewarming party. > > The previous resident of 702 Vermont had been forced out > three years earlier when his Countrywide Financial > mortgage went into foreclosure after just a year. The > small two-story house has stood vacant ever since, a > dumping ground for construction debris and a source of > concern for neighbors who feared it might turn into a drug > den. > > For the past month, Occupy Wall Street activists and their > allies had been vetting foreclosed homes throughout the > city as possible sites for a new kind of occupation. They > settled on 702 Vermont for its easy access and the > neighborhood's eagerness to see the home occupied. They > broke into the building three days before the housewarming > party and began preparing it for its new residents. > > When Occupy Wall Street put the word out that they were > looking for homeless families to take over "de-foreclosed > homes," Alfredo Carrasquillo, homeless himself and a > community organizer with VOCAL-NY, volunteered. He would > take up residence in the house while the necessary repairs > were completed. Then, his two young children and their > mother, Tasha Glasgow, also homeless after exhausting the > city's dwindling assistance programs, would move in. > > A rotating cast of Occupy Wall Street volunteers has been > staying on site to support the new residents in case the > police try to kick them out. Hundreds more are ready to > rush to their defense when notified by Twitter or text > alert. > > The action in East New York was mirrored by dozens of > similar events across the country last Tuesday, and > activists promise more home occupations to come. Together, > the Occupy Our Homes actions represent the movement's > first major shift in strategy since police evicted > occupations in many cities from their encampments in > public parks last month. > > This new strategy presents a much tighter fit between > tactics and message than was seen in OWS 1.0. When Occupy > Wall Street was in Zuccotti Park, the media seized on the > drum circles and sleeping-bag lifestyle to paint a picture > of aimlessness and chaos--Woodstock tipping over into > Altamont. But the occupied homes present a much clearer > narrative: previously homeless families and young > children, put into homes that the bankers' broken system > had left vacant and rotting for years. > > "The foreclosure crisis is where the rubber hits the road > with the financial sector and the real economy, the 1 > percent and the 99 percent," says Mike Konczal, a > finance-reform expert at the Roosevelt Institute who > attended the East New York occupation. "If you really want > to challenge the banks' power and the way they're > stripping wealth out of communities, leaving wreckage > behind, foreclosures are a key point to go to." > > The robo-signing and chronic mortgage fraud that has > characterized the banks' conduct during the foreclosure > crisis are fertile ground for Occupy Wall Street, not > least of all because the Obama administration's eagerness > to sweep the scandal under the rug with a quick settlement > speaks to exactly the poisonous alliance between Wall > Street and Washington that the movement decries. > > There was some indication last week that the banks were > rattled by this new tactic. A former subsidiary of > Countrywide Financial, now owned by Bank of America, sent > an e-mail warning field agents about the home occupations > and asking them to check the bank's foreclosed properties > to "ensure they are secured." > > That e-mail was heralded by Occupy Wall Street supporters > as evidence that the new campaign has banks quaking in > their boots. But it's not clear that awareness of Occupy > Our Homes has triggered an all-hands-on-deck response from > the captains of finance. Late last week, a spokesperson > for the American Bankers Association said she had never > heard of last Tuesday's actions and had to have them > explained to her. > > Whether or not the bankers are paying attention, Occupy > Wall Street is hoping this new campaign will resonate with > a wider audience than the movement has been able to reach > so far. A survey last spring found that nearly one-third > of Americans personally knew a distressed homeowner, and > with all indications showing the foreclosure epidemic > rolling on for the foreseeable future, Occupy Wall Street > is betting that home occupation is a form of civil > disobedience the 99 percent can get behind. > > "I'm just like everyone else," Glasgow said, speaking in > her new home last week. "All I want is for me and my kids > to be safe." > > npinto@villagevoice.com > > ___________________________________________ > > Portside aims to provide material of interest to people > on the left that will help them to interpret the world > and to change it. > > Submit via email: portside@portside.org > > Submit via the Web: http://portside.org/submittous3 > > Frequently asked questions: http://portside.org/faq > > Sub/Unsub: http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe > > Search Portside archives: http://portside.org/archive > > Contribute to Portside: https://portside.org/donate ______________________________________________________ * Verspreid via nettime-nl. 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