Last week, our members safely took the fight for excluded workers and tenants to Albany for the first time since COVID-19 began.
Our message to Governor Cuomo is more urgent than ever: #MakeBillionairesPay to #FundExcludedWorkers and #CancelRent now!
On Tuesday, we unveiled a billboard near the State Capitol demanding Governor Cuomo take immediate action to meet community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic by taxing billionaires, funding excluded workers, and canceling rent. Our billboard, located at Exit 3 on I-787, a common route for Capitol visitors, is a reminder of what New Yorkers need during this time: Recovery for all.
On that same day, over 150 hungry New Yorkers with empty plates, including Make the Road NY members, formed a multi-block bread line outside Cuomo’s mansion in Albany to see if we would be received the same as his billionaire and millionaire friends, for whom he’s offered to cook. However, the gates were closed to us.
Our member Daniel Cortes said: “For the past five months, Governor Cuomo has refused to listen to us. We are out of work, we can’t pay our rent, we’re struggling enormously to feed our families, and we continue to be excluded. We will do everything we can to get the Governor’s attention so he finally stops ignoring the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are struggling to survive.”
Please consider donating to our organizing for relief for immigrant and working class communities.
On Thursday, we flew a plane over billionaires’ homes in the Hamptons on Long Island, unveiling the message: Tax the Rich, Fund Workers. Our action was in response to Cuomo’s refusal to raise taxes on the rich, citing daily conversations with wealthy New Yorkers in the Hamptons.
And lastly, on Friday, our members joined the Housing Justice For All coalition for a powerful march on billionaire landlords demanding the following: universal rent cancellation, an eviction moratorium for the duration of the state of emergency and 1 year after the emergency is over, and housing the homeless immediately.
The Governor continues to turn his back on our communities, but we won’t stay silent. Thank you for being in the fight with us!
¡Sí se puede!