BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A coalition of activists called on the city’s developers Wednesday to employ better practices at non-union construction sites, demanding better worker wages and “real” affordable rents for tenants.
Local residents and members of the affordable housing advocacy group Real Affordability For All gathered at a Bed-Stuy construction site to protest what they saw as low-paying jobs and low-quality housing that is running rampant throughout the city.
“The community here is rising up because it’s not OK for these developers to build housing that is not affordable for our communities,” said Maritza Silva-Farrell, a spokeswoman for the coalition.
“We’re asking our city government to ensure they actually award these developments that are going to be given through subsidies to really good developers who create quality housing and create good union jobs.”
The protesters accused developers and contractors of "stealing" wages from non-union construction workers, as well as exposing them to unsafe conditions.
Jenger Orobio, 33, said he worked up to 90 hours a week for U.S. Crane and Rigging and saw little safety oversight at building projects in Manhattan and Queens.
“I was working for a company that didn’t care about my safety,” Orobio said. “It was long hours, all they cared about was to get the job done. If we are tired, working long hours, anything could happen to us.”
While erecting a crane in Flushing, he added, Orobio was handed a rope that had been exposed to the elements for about two months. After tying it to materials to lower down, the rope snapped, he said.
“Nobody took the time to check or anything.”
A representative from U.S. Crane and Rigging could not be immediately reached for comment.
During the protest, dozens rallied outside the new residential project at 27 Albany Ave., blocking off the road near Fulton Street while chanting, “Fight, fight, fight, housing is a right!” and “Whose money? Our money!”
Developer BRP Companies is constructing the 10-story building, which includes 50 apartments, according to city filings and reports.
Protesters placed "WAGE THEFT" tape around a construction site on Albany Avenue, saying developers and contractors are robbing affordable housing construction workers of their pay. Photo Credit: DNAinfo/Camille Bautista
The developer is a member of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, a trade group advocating for policies and legislation to promote affordable housing.
Protesters targeted the association, saying the group and its members exploit construction workers and perform a "bait and switch" with affordable rents for low-income tenants.
Activists wrapped the Albany Avenue site in yellow caution tape that read, “WAGE THEFT,” as workers who said they were non-union continued construction.
During the rally, Real Affordability For All members called attention to their latest report, in which they claim affordable housing developers who are primarily members of NYSAFAH have underpaid construction workers more than $19 million in wages.
“This is the second such erroneous report from RAFA in the past few months,” Jolie Milstein, NYSAFAH president and CEO, said in response.
“It would appear that this group is being used by the construction unions as a voice for their campaign for an inflated prevailing wage that would raise construction costs and prevent thousands of affordable units from ever being built.”
A representative from BRP Companies could not immediately be reached for comment.
Wednesday’s report also highlighted a tenant survey from RAFA that targeted affordable housing constructed between 2001 and 2011 by NYSAFAH members.
Out of 115 surveyed tenants from Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx, 36 percent paid more than 30 percent of their income in rent — a number that designates tenants as “rent burdened,” according to the coalition.
Nearly half of NYSAFAH tenants surveyed saw rent increases of at least 10 percent since they moved into the building, the report found, and more than 10 percent of tenants had rents increased at least 40 percent.
“The construction unions who fund Real Affordability for All should fire their researcher,” Milstein shot back.
“This document lacks the basic fundamentals one would expect from a credible report, such as a methodology and a real explanation of the survey sample and whether it was statistically significant.”
Attendees at the Brooklyn protest said affordable housing needs to be built “with dignity” for workers, as well as keeping rent prices low to allow community members to stay in their homes.
Christian Mejia, a 28-year-old construction worker, was one of many who said he’d like to see apartments in which non-union and union workers alike can afford to live in.
“I believe in living in one of these buildings because I built it, my co-workers built it, we were there, we did it," he said, "and we deserve a better future and a better way of life."
