Facing landlord harassment, potential eviction, unfair rent increases or dilapidated apartments, residents of public housing turn to GOLES for guidance on how to battle the monolithic New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and negligent landlords.
"We're fighting to help keep this community inclusive, not exclusive," said Executive Director Damaris Reyes, a lifelong LES resident who lives in public housing. "We don't want it to be a place only the wealthy can afford. We want to preserve the neighborhood character - its nitty-gritty, rebellious culture."
At the height of the last economic crisis in 1977, lawyer Floyd Feldman started GOLES to address arson, building abandonment, and landlord neglect of properties, all of which forced people out of affordable housing. Landlords began burning down their buildings, because it was cheaper to burn them down than to maintain them.
With the state rent regulation laws set to expire in June, GOLES' work in tenant advocacy and community organizing for public housing has taken on a renewed importance. City council members and local activists rallied Wednesday on the steps of City Hall, pressing Governor Andrew Cuomo to include the new rent regulation law in the budget deal.
GOLES approaches its mission of keeping people in their homes and their community with a three-pronged approach: community organizing, direct services, and training and education workshops, said Reyes.
Through community organizing, they try to address the root causes of the issues affecting residents of the Lower East Side, which has the highest density of public housing in the United States. (Here is a great Google Map of all the public housing developments in New York City.)
With community activism at the local, state, and national levels, GOLES works to combat the larger trends of tenant displacement, rising rents and decreasing public housing. They help an entire building or a full block of tenants to organize for improved housing conditions or better treatment by a landlord.
In 2005, the city threatened to build a luxury seafood restaurant on a stretch of public waterfront land near Montgomery Street, in an area heavily populated by public housing developments. GOLES helped residents band together and demand free or low-cost recreational space. Next summer, the city will develop the land as a park.
"These new luxury developments are pushing out long-established communities and allowing the Lower East Side to become a playground for wealthy people," said GOLES Community Organizer Joel Feingold.
They also offer support services to low-income residents, such as housing court assistance, landlord-tenant mediation and senior services. Educational workshops in job training, computer literacy, and tenant rights give residents the tools to better their situations and advocate for themselves, said Reyes.
"We try to prevent people from getting illegally evicted from their homes, and we help them know what their rights are, so they know when they're being targeted," said Victoria Lugo, assistant director of GOLES and a lifelong LES resident.
Other community groups agree that GOLES' work has positively influenced community development in the Lower East Side.
"They fight for the every day man and woman who lives and works in the Lower East Side," said Jessica Williamson, spokesperson for Grand Street Settlement. "I think they work hard to protect the people who don't always have the resources they need."
In 2010, GOLES provided services and counseling to 1400 people. More than 60% of that assistance went to people who were 50 years of age or older.
Close to 3,000 people attended a meeting, workshop or training hosted by GOLES last year. And they outreached to more than 15,000 residents last year through direct mailings and fliers.
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