Panelists Ponder “How Can Big Change Happen in NYC?”

By Phyllis Eckhaus

In New York City, stuff happens. And sometimes — thanks to the concerted efforts of activists and policymakers — the stuff that happens is change for the better.

An array of wicked-smart, savvy panelists tackled the topic “From Affordable Housing to Bike Lanes: How Can Big Change Happen in NYC?” on April 15 at the Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center, at their annual Lillian Wald Symposium.

The panelists weren’t Pollyannas. And the political scientist on board, Mason Williams of Williams College, was bluntly clear that the single biggest obstacle to change for working-class New Yorkers is entrenched — namely shrinking wages and the diminished clout of a shrinking labor movement.

Still, there were surprising glimmers of hope. Anne Williams-Isom, who served as Eric Adams’ deputy mayor for health and human services, said change happens from the bottom up: “The people have the power.”

She cited Black women who spoke up to spark dramatic change in New York City’s foster care system. “Why are you taking my kids, instead of giving me the support I need to raise my kids?” they had demanded — and since 1996, the child welfare system has become more parent-supportive. Thirty years ago, there were 47,000 kids in foster care and now there are 6,000.

She also pointed to a big shift in homeless services, given the “right to shelter” — 98% of New York City’s unhoused today have shelter, albeit temporary.

Manhattan District 1 City Council Member Chris Marte reminded the audience that change can come from surprising quarters. He pointed to Mayor Adams’ collaboration with the City Council to launch “New York City Reads,” an evidence-based shift to phonics. Piloted in Marte’s district, at PS 18 where a majority of students are unhoused, Marte recounted the excitement of parents whose children suddenly love books.

Public Housing and Affordability

And Marte has his own ambitious dream — getting the 6,700 vacant and warehoused apartments within the New York City Housing Authority back online. It costs $40,000-$60,000 per unit to make repairs, and takes NYCHA close to 400 days to complete them. Yet with market rate housing, landlords make repairs in one or two months. Marte has brought the issue to the Council’s Progressive Caucus, Black and Latino Caucus, and Committee on Public Housing, and looks forward to fixing this problem pronto. “This can help thousands of families and we can do it right now. We have the political will,” he said.

Barika Williams, executive director of the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, noted that the biggest employer of NYCHA tenants is the NYC Department of Education. A New York City that serves only the rich, she suggested, “can’t operate.”

Ultimately, she said, the city will “have to pick up the [housing] tab.” Failing to do so, she argued, is ultimately more expensive than not — sending tenants to homeless shelters and spurring a whole array of unfortunate and costly long-term family outcomes.

Though sympathetic to small strapped landlords, she called out the landlords who object to rent regulation because they believe they should be entitled to maximize their profit: “Government should not be responsible for making sure you get a certain return for your investors.”

The Budget Dance

Panelist Norah Yahya, the chief government affairs officer at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, highlighted another change for the better — the $45 million baseline increase to the city Department of Cultural Affairs budget. That increase, she said, somewhat frees cultural institutions from “the budget dance,” where they are forced every year to fight for funding. For nonprofits in general, the budget dance keeps staff from fulfilling their organization’s mission and creates uncertainty about employment beyond June 30.

Marte praised a “transformative” budget decision by a public official. In 2022, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso allocated his entire $45 million discretionary budget to launching maternal health programs at Brooklyn’s three public hospitals. As a council member, Reynoso had learned that Black women in New York City — including his own wife, pregnant with their first child — were eight times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.”

Mason Williams underscored the costs of budget decisions that ignore long-term consequences: “It’s expensive not to have effective early childhood education. It’s extraordinarily expensive to use Rikers Island as your number one mental health system.” Not addressing housing insecurities is “hugely expensive in the long run.”

Identity and Experience

Barika Williams observed that the “lived experience” of the policymaker at the table is key. “Someone who doesn’t have the lived experience” of how transformative and impactful art can be may be dismissive of arts programming, for example.

Yahna described launching a Met Museum internship program specifically for youth in NYCHA housing, as so competitive “it’s like applying at Harvard.” Concerned about the lack of diversity among art history majors, she’d wondered “how do we change that trajectory so that we can continue to have diversity in leadership?” The program grew out of her personal experience with similar outreach programs: “If I wasn’t in that room, that program wouldn’t exist.”

Mason Williams noted that big real estate was best understood as a power juggernaut comparable to big oil in Texas. Marte added that the vast power of the city’s real estate lobby isn’t invisible — in fact, one can often identify its support for candidates by researching the political action committee named on political mailers. The lobby is also conspicuous at community board meetings.

Advice for Activists

Barika Williams urged a young audience member to ask questions and not to respect elder activists too much: “Sometimes you’re right and we’re wrong.” And she counseled patience, acknowledging that some victories won’t happen till we’re gone. For today, “The win is in the fight.”

The panel was moderated by Jessica Yager, senior director of housing justice initiatives at the Center for Justice Innovation. A video of the event will be posted to Henry Street Settlement’s YouTube channel.