Your contribution helps communities enact their own vision for the places where they live and work. When developers planned to build three massive luxury buildings in the Two Bridges neighborhood on the Lower East Side, community groups* fought back. They saw that this development would not help the community but would instead disrupt the lives of people who were already living in the area. TakeRoot represented these groups in suing both the City and the developers for ignoring zoning constraints on the development, and over the summer a court ordered that construction on the megatowers would not go forward. This was a huge win for New York City communities, one that local press called a David and Goliath story.
At the same time, TakeRoot is helping these groups in applying for a community-initiated rezoning of Two Bridges. The rezoning is based on a plan created by the Chinatown Working Group—a collection of over 50 organizations, including several groups that organize workers and residents in Two Bridges—and reflects five years of intensive community input. With TakeRoot’s technical and legal assistance, the people of Two Bridges are not only able to resist unwanted development, but to manifest their own dreams for their neighborhood’s future. By working together in solidarity, battles can be won even against New York’s wealthiest developers. Help us continue the fight to build communities and neighborhoods on their own terms by donating to TakeRoot during this season of solidarity.
*Tenants United Fighting for the Lower the Lower East Side (TUFF-LES), Organizing Asian Communities (CAAAV), Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), and the Lands End One Tenants Association (LEOTA)