Demand Mayor de Blasio Step Down for Racist Rezoning

January 16 – City Hall. (Image credits – Lanny Li, Destiny Mata)

The Citywide Alliance Against Displacement held a rally at City Hall to demand Mayor de Blasio step down for promoting racist rezoning plans that target communities of color and to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of fighting against racial and economic injustice all over the country. Around 500 protesters gathered to call on the mayor to step down. The Alliance said it chose this day to hold the rally to reclaim the day from politicians like Mayor de Blasio who use celebrations on this day to cover up their own racist policies.

Lai Yee Chan from Chinese Staff & Workers Association pointed to the impact on workers in the area. She said, “I’m a home attendant, who have been taking care of Chinese seniors and patients for years. If the low-income families in the Chinese community are being pushed out, we will lose our jobs as well. Whether in Chinatown, Brooklyn or Flushing, both seniors and us home attendants are the victims of displacement, because we will face job loss. The mayor is making our lives desperate.”

For more, visit the Coalition’s website at https://peoplefirstnyc.org/.