MSCC Homeless & Housing Meeting March 3, 2026: Unjust Development Policies with Layla Law-Gisiko & Nina Schwalbe. State Budget with Alex Yong

February 22, 2026 | Events

MSCC, John Mudd, Event Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026 Time: 9:30 am-11:00 am, Location: ZOOM.US

SUMMARY

Ron Schiffman discusses his proposal, Reparations Initiative for NYC Public Housing Community — A focused and concerted effort to revitalize and sustain NYC’s publicly owned housing communities.

Layla Law-Gisiko President Of New York City Club of New York will discuss her book Soft Sites & Hard Truths; Nina Schwalbe (Congressional Candidate) will be with us to discuss her health efforts and more. And we will explore, with our guests, how to create accessible housing when the developers or their government lackeys have control of the land.

Alex Yong, MSCC’s legislation Advocate will talk about Public Land For Public Good (a new organziation MSCC’s supports).Khadija Hussain, Right To Counsel’s Campaign Organizer discusses Clean Hands Senate Bill S4098 2025-2026.

WELCOME / INTRODUCTIONS

We appreciate all suggestions to help us run this meeting proficiently.

  • Housekeeping (Zoom protocols) copying chat, muting, etc.
    • Signing in: Please sign in with your name and organization
  • Please email subject and speaker suggestions by the 15th of each month
  • Items to Triage: To give time to pressing topics, please forward items at least 24 hours prior to meetings
  • Introductions, welcoming new and old members (keeping it short and sweet)
  • Need someone to summarize actions and followup

PURPOSE

The Homeless and Housing members, attendees, and speakers share knowledge, ideas, and resources to identify problems and find solutions to the homeless, housing, and health crisis.

2 min

POLICY MEETING UPDATES

The prior 8:30 Homeless and Housing Policy meeting wrap-up as presented by attending members.

0 min

COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

Council’s progress report on actions and initiatives (see Addendum A for more).

  • Public Housing Temporary injunction status, actions, and legal defense.
  • Public Housing: We are still fighting in the streets and in the courts. Follow the breadcrumbs and see our trajectory of the fight to save public housing (see ADDENDUM C)

3 min

SPECIAL INTRODUCTION(S) AND OR UPDATES: 

The below list of intros and updates should be brief; everyone is welcomed to present for a lengthier discussion at a planned date

  • Need Board and committee members (funding & Finance, Street Sheets) 
  • Elected officials/agencies—updates
  • Alex Yong, RTC, Member of the End Apartment Warehousing Coalition, MSCC Legislation Advocate
  • Stock Transfer Act Updates
  • Others & new attending members?

 5 min

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET 

The critical phases of the New York State budget process start with the release of the Executive Budget. The State Legislature (Senate and Assembly) has until early March to respond with their proposed budgets. This response should reflect the will of the people, as the legislators are expected to attend hearings and consider public input during February.

Click to view the process further.

PUBLIC LAND FOR PULIC GOOD

New group looking for members fighting for control of land

Speaker: Alex Yong, legislation Advocate

4 min

CLEAN HANDS BILL

Senate Bill S4098 2025-2026 Requires a landlord to have clean hands to bring action for rent or eviction in certain cases.

Speaker: Khadija Hussain, Right To Counsel’s Campaign Organizer

3-5 min

REPARATIONS INITIATIVE FOR NYC PUBLIC HOUSING COMMUNITY

 — A focused and concerted effort to revitalize and sustain NYC’s publicly owned housing communities.

Ron Shiffman’s proposal outlines a comprehensive reparations plan to address the urgent needs of residents in the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) various housing estates. The initiative seeks to rectify years of public neglect, enhance living conditions, and ensure the long-term sustainability of this vital publicly owned housing inventory, which provides homes to many very-low, low-, and moderate-income New Yorkers.

Speaker: Ron Shiffman, FAICP, Hon. AIA, Professor Emeritus, Pratt Graduate Center For Planning and Environment

25 min

SOFT SITES & HARD TRUTHS

This book demystifies the mechanics of how New York gets built-and unbuilt-with entries that illuminate the big fights of our time: housing, transit, public space, climate resilience, NYCHA, Penn Station, the waterfront, and the ever-present tug-of-war between public good and private power.

Speaker & Author: Layla Law-Gisiko

20 min

LAND DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING, AND THE CONNECTION TO HEALTH

How can we possibly etch out a humane accessible and safe housing for all when our land is controlled by developers, or their government lackeys?

Glysophate, carcinogen, poisoning of our food supply.

Speakers: Layla Law-Gisiko, NYC Council D3 Candidate; Nina Schwalbe, Congressional Candidate

25 min

ZOHRAN MAMDANI Vs. THE REAL ESTATE — Held Over

Rob Robinson is senior advisor at Partners in Dignity and Rights, and a human rights movement-builder with roots in New York City and networks worldwide. Rob will discuss the opportunities for a real housing initiative develop within the Mamdani administration.

40 min

PUBLIC HOUSING

Public housing across our city and nation are under attack. Private developers (Related) want to take over the largest stock of affordable housing. They are working to end Section 9, and demolishing Chelsea campuses for huge gains. We are continuing to discuss public housing tenant struggles in and outside of New York 

15 min

PUBLIC CONCERNS

  • Immediate needs?

ACTIONS

  • Summary
  • Additional Requests
    • Secures sustainable funding for Section 9 public housing,
    • Protects residents from privatization and displacement
    • Uses a fair, progressive revenue source
    • Strengthens health, safety, and community stabilitySign On For Community Investment: Repeal the Stock Transfer Tax rebate now! Assembly Bill A01494 and Senate Bill S1237: Send a clear message to our elected officials: Our communities want this legislation to pass!
    • Please take a moment to sign or share the letter here!
    • See New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s annual report examining the performance of New York City’s securities industry.

3 min

ANNOUNCEMENTS / EVENTS

  • Additional announcements from new attendees, committee members, elected officials, others 
  • Last words?

2 min

DEVELOPING INITIATIVES & PROGRAMS

  • Hurt Committee
  • Objectives/Mission/Vision: MSCC is busily restructuring to become more effective in accomplishing its goals and making plans for the coming new year to complete their:
    • Mission: Midtown South Community Council strives to dismantle the causes of homelessness by building an equitable, just, and sustainable social infrastructure to ensure dignity, health, and home for all. 
    • Vision: Midtown South Community Council envisions a city where homelessness and poverty are eradicated
  • Committees: Managing our overwhelming tasks together with our intersecting network. If anyone wants to be involved with building committees to serve programs and projects of mutual interests (Housing, Urban Farming, Education & Awareness, healthcare, incarceration, workshops, health access, Home Improvement, communications/social media messaging, Midtown Street Sheets…), please let us know
  • Street Sheets

2min

AOB

  • Topic & Speaker Suggests:
      • The Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan (MSMX) faces major critiques for prioritizing market-driven development while neglecting affordability, climate resilience, infrastructure, and community input. Like past rezoning in SoHo, East Harlem, and Long Island City, it risks displacing low-income residents and industrial jobs, offers vague affordability promises, and lacks strong public benefits, inclusive economic planning, and future-proof zoning.
      • Marquis Jenkins discusses public housing with members from Riis Houses, Ladan from Glendale Housing in Minneapolis — This discussion was on May 6, 2025. Further discussion is needed. 
      • Discussion with Andre P, about his Post Feb 4, 2025 Homeless and Housing Meeting Comments
      • Illusion of Choice: How Source of Income Discrimination and Voucher Policies Perpetuate Housing Inequality, UnlockNYC — Done!
      • Department of Building’s Office of Tenant Advocate (OTA) advocates for tenant against obtrusive or illegal construction within multi unit residential buildings. Speaker(s): Rakell Washington & Ana Pluchinatta
      • Charisma White (MSCC), what does deeply affordable housing mean
      • Network marketing and communications committee (suggestion)
      • Prison to shelter and back again
      • Policing the problem away; 50% of the Riker’s Island jail population are mentally ill
  • Speaker Suggestions: All suggestions are welcomed
  • New Members: Thank you for joining, feel free to tell us your needs, schedule a presentation, and connect with anyone within this network
  • NEXT Meeting Homeless and Housing Meeting: 9:30 AM Tuesday, April 7, 2026
      • Always the 1st Tuesday of every month

2 min

Contact hello@midtownsouthcc.org or john.mudd@usa.net for more information and Zoom invitations.

ADDENDUM A: PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

ADDENDUM B: BIOGRAPHIES

Layla Law-Gisiko, 18 years on Manhattan Community Board Five As a District Leader for Assembly District 75, Part A, I’m here to lead and serve. I’ve proudly served on Manhattan Community Board Five for 18 years, where I currently hold dual leadership roles as Chair of the Land Use, Housing and Zoning Committee and the Landmarks Committee.

Nina Schwalbe, MPH, PhD, is a New Yorker, public health practitioner, scientist, and advocate who has spent her career working to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to health.  She is now running as a democrat for US Congress in NY-12 (https://www.ninafornyc.com/)

In 2021 she was appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration to design, launch, and implement a US$7 billion USAID emergency initiative delivering one billion COVID-19 vaccines to low- and lower-middle-income countries.

From organizing local grassroots action to international head of state summits, she believes that progress happens when people work together, listen to one another, and lead with empathy

Viren Brahmbhatt is an architect, an urban designer, and the founder of de.Sign Studio in New York City -an international design practice that works towards significant and implementable change through design. His work includes various community and recreational centers and urban design projects for affordable housing including many for the City of New York and Seoul, Medellin, Mumbai and New Delhi. He has been teaching at various  schools of architecture as an adjunct professor including at GSAPP, Columbia University, Sam Fox School/WashU St. Louis, , CCNY’s The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture and Pratt Institute, New York.

Rob Robinson is senior advisor at Partners in Dignity and Rights, and a human rights movement-builder with roots in New York City and networks worldwide. His work focuses on economic justice and addresses issues such as debt, police violence and access to broadband. Robinson also has been involved with the U.S. Human Rights Network, the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights, and the Land and Housing Action Group of the Take Back the Land national movement.

 

ADDENDUM C: PUBLIC HOUSING STATUS

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