MSCC, Marni Halasa, June 18, 2026

Many of the residents who attended were seniors who traveled across Manhattan to confront NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt and NYCHA Chair Jamie Rubin directly. Leila Bozorg , the city’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning, was also present. Tenants further challenged Cea Weaver , the city’s chief tenant protection official, over the administration’s continued support for a redevelopment plan that would displace residents, demolish their homes and transfer control of the development to private interests.

Residents repeatedly demanded a clear answer: Will NYCHA terminate the demolition and privatization plan for Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea?

“The tenants came because NYCHA continues to make decisions about our homes while refusing to listen to the people who live here,” said a tenant of the senior building, the first building slated for demolition. “Residents have rejected demolition again and again. NYCHA must stop treating tenant opposition as an inconvenience to be managed.”

The proposed redevelopment would demolish the existing residential buildings of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses and convert the development through the federal Section 8 privatization PACT program, placing management and redevelopment responsibilities in the hands of private partners Related Companies and Essence Development.

A central concern for many tenants was Cea Weaver’s apparent misunderstanding of what public housing actually is. During an exchange, Ms. Weaver stated that she considers Section 8 housing to be “public housing.” That claim is incorrect. Public housing refers specifically to housing owned by a public authority and supported through the federal Section 9 program, with a distinct legal framework and tenant protections. Section 8 is a rental-subsidy program that may place public funds into privately owned or privately managed housing, where tenants can face different rent calculations, less stable funding, and greater dependence on private developers and management companies.

Under the plan, public housing tenants currently living across 18 public housing buildings would be concentrated into six privately managed replacement buildings. The land cleared by demolishing the remaining buildings would then be made available for luxury development designed to extract the maximum possible profit from some of Manhattan’s most valuable public land, for the benefit of the private developer.

Tenants maintain that the plan represents a land grab and a fundamental abandonment of NYCHA’s responsibility to preserve permanently public, deeply affordable housing. Residents would bear the disruption and risk of demolition, while private developers would gain access to land made valuable by generations of public investment and tenant stewardship.

Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea residents are demanding:

• The immediate termination of the demolition and privatization plan;
• Comprehensive rehabilitation of the existing buildings as Section 9 public housing;
• Full disclosure of all financial agreements, subsidies and obligations connected to the buildings;
• Meaningful resident decision-making, rather than manufactured consent and public-relations exercises.

Seniors should not have to chase NYCHA executives across the city to defend their homes. Public housing residents have spoken. They do not consent to demolition. NYCHA and City Hall must finally listen.

Public housing must remain public.

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Marni Halasa: 917-501-9444

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