NYC’s affordable housing crisis is currently a high-profile issue in Albany, due in part to a critical agenda from State Senator Cordell Cleare. Cleare represents District 30, which includes most of Harlem and Upper Manhattan, as well as a portion of the Upper West Side. She recently invited AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón to speak on the topic during New York State’s Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus Legislative Weekend.
Angel joined fellow panelists Valerie J. Bradley of Save Harlem Now! and Donald C. Notice of West Harlem Group Assistance to explore “Providing Affordable Housing for Harlem Through Preservation & New Strategies to Preserve our Homes & Culture.” The group discussed how the combined efforts of legislative action, the renewal of existing building stock, and community advocacy and activism can help meet the housing needs in Manhattan’s northern neighborhoods.