WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR ACTIVIST SPONSOR:

Saturday, December 2nd

12th ANNUAL
WEST SIDE
TENANTS
CONFERENCE
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY AT LINCOLN CENTER
School of Law
150 West 62nd St.

SCHEDULE OVERVIEW:

9:30AM Registration & light

breakfast

10:00-11:00AM Welcome &

keynote address

11:15AM Morning workshops

12:30-2:15PM Lunch & Speaker

2:30PM Afternoon workshops

 PROGRAM

9:30AM 10:30AM REGISTRATION/LIGHT BREAKFAST

Skadden conference center & Constantino room (second floor)
Spanish translation provided

10:30 AM WELCOME & KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Constantino room (second floor)

-Jon Furlong Housing Conservation Coordinators, Director of Organizing

-Stephen Williams West Side Neighborhood Alliance, Steering committee member
-Afua Atta-Mensah - Community Voices Heard, Executive Director

KEYNOTE: Afua Atta-Mensah

Community Voices Heard

PLEASE SIGN-IN FOR WORKSHOPS & LUNCH SERVED AT 12:30PM

SPANISH TRANSLATION: Translation INFORMATION TABLES: Check out

equipment is available in the workshop for elected and city officials tables plus allied
those that want it. housing groups and their information.

OUTREACH TABLES: Please check out all
the organizations tabling at the conference.
They have useful information about tenants
rights. Show your support for affordable
housing by joining the West Side Neighbor-
hood Alliance (WSNA) for just ten dollars.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY: Follow
directions for elevators to take you to
workshops.
THIS IS YOUR CONFERENCE: Tenant
volunteers help put this event together each
year. In order to make the conference even
better next year, please fill out the evaluation
forms.
CONFERENCE THEME: The current
political moment in our country carries
massive implications for urban centers
across the nation. In New York City,
everything from the regulation of big
banks, to the funding of publicly subsidized
housing (NYCHA & Section 8), to the level
of city and state funding for its own
housing agencies will have significant
effect on neighborhoods and communities.
This years West Side Tenant Conference
looks to deepen the dialogue between
tenants on how we can preserve the
hard-fought wins of the past 10 years.
11:15AM 12:30PM MORNING WORKSHOPS

PANEL: The Politics Of Zoning (Room 3-02 third floor)

In late 2015 and early 2016 Mayor De Blasio made sweeping proposals that
changed zoning rules throughout the entire city. Around that same time zoning
changes were proposed for some 15 different neighborhoods, ranging from the
South Bronx to Flushing Queens to sections of Staten Island. Those proposals
were met with significant pushback from tenants and community members
who felt excluded by the process and weary of land use changes that would
potentially displace residents.
Moderator: Jon Furlong HCC, Director of Organizing
Member leader Northem Manhattan is not for Sale
Carmen Vega-Rivera Community Action for Safe Apartments,
Tenant Leader
Dorian Bon NYC Activist, Writer

Finding & Obtaining Affordable Housing Part I

(Room 3-03 third floor) Spanish translation/Traduccin al espaol

This workshop will provide an overview of a variety of federal, NYS and NYC
affordable housing programs and details on how to apply. We will cover the NYC
Housing Connect program and provide tips to enter housing lotteries for
apartments in newly constructed buildings. Information guides and website
resources will also be provided on how to apply for and get on the waiting lists
for various forms of existing: senior housing, supportive housing, Mitchell-
Lama housing, project-based Section 8 buildings and more.

Larry Wood Goddard Riverside Law Project, Director of Organizing

Daniel Arnow The Actors Fund, Director of Affordable Housing Initiatives
 Illegal Hotels in New York City (Rm 3-09third floor)

Illegal short-term rentals through online platforms like Airbnb have had a
devastating impact on the availability of affordable housing in New York City.
This past year has seen both an improvement in how the problem is addressed in
New York through enforcement and legislation, and conversely an expansion in
the number of neighborhoods online platforms like Airbnb and others have a
presence in.
Moderator: Dan Evans Staff Attorney, Goddard Riverside Law Project
Linda Rosenthal New York State Assembly Member
Matthew Abuelo WSNA Steering Committee Member
David Wachsmuth Assistan Professor, School of Urban Planning, McGill University

PANEL: Public Housing / NYCHA (Room 3-01 third floor)

Spanish translation/Traduccin al espaol

One in 14 New Yorkers live in NYCHA developments. The population of NYCHA

tenants is roughly the size of Miami. Yet, tenants who live in NYCHA develop-
ments have long struggled to get the city, state and federal governments to
provide enough funding to ensure that the buildings are safe, clean and healthy
places to live. The situation has been dire for years, but what is the future of
NYCHA in a Trump Administration? What can we learn from the past, and how
can we build tenant power in NYCHA developments? This panel will address
those issues.
Moderator: Betsy Eichel Housing Conservation Coordinators, Organizer
Gale Brewer Manhattan Borough President
Nico Palazzo Housing Conservation Coordinators, Staff Attorney
Miguel Acevedo NYCHA Fulton Houses Tenant

12:30-2:15pm: LUNCH & SPEAKER

State Senator Liz Krueger

CONSTANTINO ROOM
Lunch is in the main Constantino room;
grab a box lunch and have a seat.
This year we welcome State Senator Liz Krueger
2:30PM 3:45PM AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

Housing and Public Benefits for Seniors (Room 3-02 third floor)

From SCRIE to DRIE and SNAP to Medicaid and pooled trusts, this workshop
will cover a wide range of housing and general benefit options available to
seniors, providing practical information that attendees can take with them to
pursue these crucial yet underused services.
Linda Rosenthal New York State Assembly Member
Monica Morante Senior Community Resource Coordinator, HCC
Debra Wolf New York Legal Assistance Group, Supervising Attorney
Alfonso AbreuPEA-CAP Coordinator, New York City Department of Finance

Public Transportation in New York City

(Constantino room)

2017 was a year to forget for commuters in New York City, as the transit system
grappled with complete service outages, numerous delays, overcrowding, and
equipment breakdowns. While the MTA, the Governor and the Mayor have
weighed in on how to fix our transit system, a vast array of problems still exist.
Panelists will talk about what we can make the transit system more accessible for
all, what other cities are doing to address their own problems, what the city and
state can learn in trying to fix the MTA.
Rebecca Bailin The Riders Alliance, Campaign Manager
Adam Forman Office of the Comptroller, Associate Policy Director
Moses Gates Regional Planning Association, Director of Community Planning

Organizing 101 (Room 3-01 third floor)

Traduccin al espaol
When we fight, we win! The tenant movement enjoyed two organizing wins in
the past 18 months with the passage of Right to Council, guaranteeing tenants
the right to an attorney in housing court and new legislation passed by the city
council to reform and improve oversight by the Department of Buildings. This
panel will cover both of those changes, what they mean for tenants and future
work to improve state regulations for rent stabilized units.
Moderator Brandon Kielbasa Cooper Square Committee, Director of Organizing
Andrea Shapiro Metropolitan Council on Housing
Lauren Springer Tenant Leader, Right to Counsel Coaltion
Jose Genao Tenant Leader, Right to Counsel Coalition
Helen Rosenthal New York City Councilmember
 Saving Small Businesses in Our Community
(Room 3-03 third floor)
As neighborhoods across the city continue to gentrify, the small businesses that
have anchored those communities for decades are vanishing at an alarming rate.
These small businesses function as more than just areas of economic activity;
they provide a place of cultural exchange and interaction. This panel will
examine how and why small business retention is so crucial to the fabric of
our communities.
Moderator: Armando Moritz-Chapequellian
Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
Brad Hoylman - New York State Senator
SaMi Chester - Cooper Square Committee, Organizer
Ryan Gilliam - Fourth Arts Block, Artistic Director/Executive Director

Immigration, Know Your Rights (Room 3-09 third floor)

Spanish translation/Traduccin al espaol
Immigrants face new challenges under the current administration. At this
workshop, immigration attorneys will present and provide information on how
immigrants can stay safe and how to protect their rights, including: what to do if
youre stopped by police or immigration agents, creating a safety plan if a family
member is detained or deported, lawful permanent residents at risk of removal,
President Trumps administration policies and the political climate for immigra-
tion reform, and landlord harassment based on immigration status. Attorneys
will be presenting and will end the presentation with a Q&A session.
Moderator: Mary Fox Housing Conservation Coordinators
Director of Legal Services
Sam Palmer-Simon Immigration Justice Corps, Supervising Attorney
Sarah Borsody Bronx Defender Services, Community Engagement
Coordinator & Immigration Attorney

THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING VOLUNTEERS FOR HELPING WITH THE CONFERENCE!

Pete Diaz Matthew Abuelo

Stephen Williams Sheila Williams

Richard Brender Vivian Abuelo

Sharon Canns
 CONFERENCE PARTNERS

Housing Conservation Coordinators

www.hcc-nyc.org 212-541-5996

Goddard Riverside Law Project

www.goddard.org/srolawproject.html 212-799-9638

MFJ Legal Services Inc.

www.mobilizationforjustice.org 212-417-3700

Housing Court Answers

www.housingcourtanswers.org 212-962-4795

Met Council on Housing

www.metcouncilonhousing.org/ 212-979-0611

West Side Neighborhood Alliance

www.westsidenyc.org 212-716-1664

U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler

www.house.gov/nadler 212-367-7350

Manhattan Borough Pres. Gale Brewer

manhattanbp.nyc.gov/html/home/home.shtml 212-531-1609

State Senator Brad Hoylman

www.nysenate.gov/senator/brad-hoylman 212-633-8052

State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried

www.dickgottfried.org 212-807-7900

State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal

www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=067 212-873-6368

City Council Member Helen Rosenthal

www.council.nyc.gov/d6/html/members/home.shtml 212-873-0282

Public Advocate Letitia James

www.advocate.nyc.goc 212-669-7250

City Comptroller Scott Stringer

www.comptroller.nyc.gov 212-669-3916
THANK YOU TO OUR ALLY & NEIGHBORHOOD SPONSORS
THANK YOU TO OUR ALLY & NEIGHBORHOOD SPONSORS
 BE PART OF THE MOVEMENT FOR AN AFFORDABLE,
DIVERSE & LIVABLE WEST SIDE!

www.flickr.com/photos/wsna/albums
212-716-1664 (p) JFurlong@hcc-nyc.org

THANK THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS WHO

PURCHASED ADVERTISING SPACE IN OUR PROGRAM

To HCC and WSNA on your 12th Annual West Side Tenants Conference

Central Park
Gardens Tenants'
Association
 THANK THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS WHO
PURCHASED ADVERTISING SPACE IN OUR PROGRAM

is proud to support HCC

Katie Goldstein
Executive Director
The Community Development Project at the
Urban Justice Center is proud to partner
with the Housing Conservation Coordinators
in the movement to dismantle
exploitation in NYC