Stapleton, New York, New York

"Urby", a gentrifying luxury apartment complex faces lawsuit for racist list of "undesirable" tenants.

LJ July 14, 2018

Full article from  amny: https://www.amny.com/news/urby-staten-island-1.19771442

As each borough of NYC gentrifies, community members are priced out, evicted, and displaced. The folks who struggle to stay in their neighborhoods may find their new neighbors richer, whiter, and more likely to inflict state violence on them. (For reference: https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/311-complaints-spike-gentrifying-harlem-block-report-finds & https://theintercept.com/2018/04/11/saheed-vassell-brooklyn-gentrification-nypd/ )

On the forgotten borough of Staten Island, the north shore is having its own gentrification struggle. Urby, a luxury waterfront apartment complex placed in Stapleton, appeared a couple years ago and is already facing a discrimination lawsuit. Surprising!

When Urby's market-rate tenants complained about their neighbors, Urby management apparently created a list of "undesirable" tenants, all of whom are Black.

Zaro Bates and Asher Landes, the white dreadlock having people who run the urban farm and feel it necessary to steal from Black culture as they displace & discriminate against Black people. No, I can't believe they put this image on their Craigslist ad either. 

As Urby denies that they did anything wrong, we must hold them accountable. Urby must halt all evictions of affordable housing tenants, pay reparations to the people of Stapleton (they have tons of money via tax incentives), and address their white, market-rate tenants who seem to just be afraid of people of color. 

All anti-gentrification struggles are connected. We are fighting the new colonialism and solidarity is crucial. Share this story to your networks in Brooklyn, Harlem, the Bronx, and everywhere else that gentrification rears its ugly head.

Urby's office phone number is (718) 273-8000.

You can send them an email at this link: https://www.urbystatenisland.com/contactus.aspx



More stories