#CancelRent And Eviction Blockades in Brooklyn: Black Queer Women and Femmes Fight for the Right to Housing
Item
#CancelRent And Eviction Blockades in Brooklyn: Black Queer Women and Femmes
Fight for the Right to Housing
Emily Batista
Abstract:
This autoethnography is centered around the eviction defense of 1214 Dean Street in
Crown Heights, Brooklyn. This research serves as a vessel to explore the growing calls for
“Cancel Rent” as a response to the COVID pandemic and people losing forms of income an
unemployment. This project highlights the amplification of these demands as a result of COVID
as a call that has not integrated the history of housing for Black queer women and femmes.
While unemployment and income instability is new for many, Black queer women and femmes
have faced structural issues that have always limited housing options, which often leads to a
situation like 1214 Dean St..
Methods:
This autoethnography incorporates research from housing reports and homelessness
reports to support the lived experiences, and to contextualize the span of housing issues for Black
queer people. I also look at articles that talk about the “#CancelRent” movement housing
movement. Of course, my own experiences from tenant organizing largely will mainly inform
this autoethnography, as well as my work with 1214 Dean Street.
Dean St. tenants Venmo payment fund to support their move out.
1214 Dean Street. Eviction Blockade synopsis:
The morning of July 7th, sltumlord Gennaro Brooks- Church and Loretta Gendville The
slumlords came with their family and entered rooms in the home where tenants of 1214 Dean st.
stayed, demanding previous months rent and later attempting to illegally evict them. They cut off
the tenants wifi, they paid for a Uhaul and removed their possessions from the home without
their consent. The tenants reached out to Equality for Flatbush, a local grassroots community
organization, to support them with eviction defense and mobilization. An hour or two later, there
were dozens of people gathered on the sidewalk in front of their home, defending the tenants.
When J arrived to help with on the ground organizing, I didn’t recognize the faces of any
of the leaders that night except two, who I had met through mutual friends a few days prior. I
later spoke to them, asking how they started to lead. They told me they saw the Instagram post
and ran down here to protect the tenants. The led fiercely the first night. I couldn’t express my
gratitude for them, as regular concerned neighbors, but also as Black life long residents of NYC
who told me “this could soon be me with my landlord”. Later that night, two unknown men
pulled up to the house in a car, and attempted to rush into the home. Luckily, the door was
locked before they could try to enter. People created a chain without bodies in front of the door
to stop the men from entering. After a small group of people followed the car down the block, we
realized that they stopped to talk to someone in a familiar small black car, Loretta Gendville’s
car. The men later left, everyone was unharmed.
wee
er) equality4flatbush
a
Gennaro Brooke- Church, slumlord, sitting on steps while tenants things are removed from the home
without their consent.
For the next week, we organized shifts for people and stay in the front yard of the tenants.
We stayed every day all day from Tuesday until Friday morning. People stayed in shifts and
slept in the living room, as well as outside. There was a surplus of food an PPE. Many people
Just ordered food from local restaurants and it delivered to the home. People came with masks,
gloves, toilet paper, folding chairs, and much more to donate to our efforts. Even after people
who supported and tenants took what they wanted, there was a huge surplus to be donated and
redistributed. Eventually, there was so much food that even local community fridges were full,
and food had to be given away on the street to people and donated to other places, like a shelter
that was nearby.
This eviction blockade is an example of the response to evictions of Black queer residents
of the city. Because of the pandemic and the ruthlessness of the landlord during this time, people
are mobilizing intensely to stop evictions and support residents. However, what we’re seeing
now is a new wave of people organizing solely around eviction defense because of COVID.
While this organizing is not completely new and necessary, there are some gaps that need to be
acknowledged within the growing movement. The centering od the Black queer, Trans, Femme,
Disabled and low-income experience should be mandatory for this movement because they are
the people who have been and continue to be most heavily impacted by evictions. For insight, we
can look at 1214 Dean St.. While 7 tenants lived in the home, at the time of the illegal eviction
only 4 tenants remained. Within the next few days, only two tenants remained, who were both
Black, queer, and women/ Femmes. They did not have the financial ability to move immediately,
they did not have resources that could’ve helped them escape that living situation at that time.
The living situation at firsthand is a result of structural and systematic limitations of living in
NYC when you’re Black, queer, and femme or a woman.
Cancel Rent:
#CancelRent is a growing movement pressuring the government to stop rent payments
from tenants to landlords. Since people have already stopped paying rent because they literally
cannot pay, there have been massive rent strikes, both organized and unorganized. It only makes
sense that people are not punished for not being able to afford rent after losing their jobs because
a global pandemic broke out. However, what the people received was an eviction moratorium
from Governor Cuomo and NY state chief administrative Judge Marks, which was originally
until August Ist, but has now been extended to October. This moratorium has put a hold on the
housing court, which means that landlords cannot start a legal eviction process for tenants; this
all means that it should be completely illegal to evict tenants during the COVID pandemic.
While this movement is calling for a change that would require legislative change, what the
movement is really striving for is organizing and mobilizing in a “take the street” style. The
bottom line for tenants and tenant organizers is not paying rent, period. This escalated approach
is reflected in eviction defense responses, where people are refusing to allow harassment and
eviction to go unnoticed. But as we know, this is a new movement that was jump started because
of the pandemic. While people have incorporated the history of evictions and landlord
harassment, because this movement started in a new, different place, the pandemic is centered
versus housing issues of folks who are most impacted by landlord violence every day.
Data:
As of May Ist, the unemployment rate in NYC was 18.1%, although it is probably
higher, as the city doesn’t recognize forms of employment outside of their official definition of
unemployment. The chart beneath this text from the Gothamist shows the percentage of people
who are unable to pay rent and risk eviction. In New York, 46% of people face that risk. In the
“LGBT Youth Crisis” report from the Ali Forney Center, studies have shown that LGBT youth
make up to 40% of the already homeless youth in NYC. The study also shows that LGBTQ street
youth experience greater levels of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking
violence, trauma, HIV infection, mental health issues, and substance abuse than their
heterosexual counterparts in the homeless youth population.
Facing eviction
37% 35
AK ME
34% « 34%
wi vt NH
28% 37% 6 34 29% 42% 40% 46% an 35% 27%
WA iD MT ND MN iL MI NY cT RI MA
33% 43% 44% 48% 44 419 40% 44% 31%
OR NV WY so A IN OH PA NJ DE
37% 29 33 3 48% 48% Oo 34% 42% 3m
CA UT co NE MO KY WV VA MD oc
38 42% 34% 43% Oo * 43% 43%
AZ NM KS AR ™N NC sc
42 5¢ SS% 42% 46
OK LA MS Al GA
4 48% St
HI ™ FL
According to another study from the Willaims Institue “At the national level, on average,
approximately 1 to 5 complaints per 100,000 protected adults are filed per year: 3 complaints of
sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are filed for every 100,000 LGBT adults
each year; 5 complaints of race discrimination are filed for every 100,000 adults of color; and 1
complaint of sex discrimination filed for every 100,000 women. Additionally “In 16 states (all
states except DC and Maryland), sexual orientation and gender identity complaints were filed at
a slightly higher rate than sex discrimination complaints”. This data helps us understand the
history of housing discrimination, which provides insight into homelessness and housing.
Housing discrimination is a systematic problem that withholds Black queer femmes from access
and opportunities to find safe, stable housing.
This next section will focus on Crown Heights, particularly the zip code (11216) where 1214
Dean st. resides. The racial demographic of Crown Heights is: Black: 57%, Hispanic: 17% and
White: 15%. 34.5% of households are nonfamily households. The average income of NYC is at
about $60,000. In the 11216 zip code, about 49% of people make less than $60,000. The average
rent of a Brooklyn apartment is $2,951. Most landlords require you to make 40 times your rent,
so at that rate, the income that must be made to rent an apartment at the average rent is $118,040.
In 11216, about 30% of people would be able to afford an apartment at that rate. This data
supports our understanding of the financial inaccessibility to safe and stable housing options.
Conclusion:
This project is necessary because we obviously are still going through the pandemic
despite the nonchalance from the government. We know that people will still be evicted, and we
fear what will happen when the moratorium is lifted. The housing justice movement is vital at all
times, but especially now. However, the movement will not be able to grow and efficiently serve
its purpose if it is not centered around those who have faced the brunt of this violence for years.
We need to expand the barriers of space and time to understand how to mobilize a unified
movement that advocates for helping the most discriminated and underserved, because without
it, it's a movement based in self-interest and not one that fights against what it claims to.
Bibliography:
Brooklyn, NY Rental Market Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ny/brooklyn/
Haag, M., & Dougherty, C. (2020, May 01). #CancelRent Is New Rallying Cry for
Tenants. Landlords Are Alarmed. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/nyregion/rent-strike-coronavirus.html
LGBTQ Youth Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.aliforneycenter.org/about-us/lgbtq-youth-crisis/
Mcgeehan, P. (2020, July 07). A Million Jobs Lost: A "Heart Attack' for the N.Y.C.
Economy. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/nyregion/nyc-unemployment.html]
Pereira, S. (2020, July 30). Looming Eviction Crisis Has NYC Renters Fearing The Worst.
Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://gothamist.com/news/looming-eviction-crisis-has-nyc-renters-fearing-worst
Spivack, C. (2020, March 26). These Are The Protections New Yorkers Have From
Eviction. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://ny.curbed.com/2020/3/26/21192343/coronavirus-new-york-eviction-moratorium-co
vid-19
Thisisloyal.com, L. (2020, April 14). Evidence of Housing Discrimination Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-housing-discrimination-us/
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New York city, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19,
2020, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcitynewyork/PST040219
Verde, B. (2020, July 09). Crown Heights Tenants Say Prominent Brooklyn Couple Tried
to Illegally Evict Them. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.brownstoner.com/real-estate-market/crown-heights-brooklyn-tenants-harassm
ent-eviction-1214-dean-street-gendville-brooks-church/
Fight for the Right to Housing
Emily Batista
Abstract:
This autoethnography is centered around the eviction defense of 1214 Dean Street in
Crown Heights, Brooklyn. This research serves as a vessel to explore the growing calls for
“Cancel Rent” as a response to the COVID pandemic and people losing forms of income an
unemployment. This project highlights the amplification of these demands as a result of COVID
as a call that has not integrated the history of housing for Black queer women and femmes.
While unemployment and income instability is new for many, Black queer women and femmes
have faced structural issues that have always limited housing options, which often leads to a
situation like 1214 Dean St..
Methods:
This autoethnography incorporates research from housing reports and homelessness
reports to support the lived experiences, and to contextualize the span of housing issues for Black
queer people. I also look at articles that talk about the “#CancelRent” movement housing
movement. Of course, my own experiences from tenant organizing largely will mainly inform
this autoethnography, as well as my work with 1214 Dean Street.
Dean St. tenants Venmo payment fund to support their move out.
1214 Dean Street. Eviction Blockade synopsis:
The morning of July 7th, sltumlord Gennaro Brooks- Church and Loretta Gendville The
slumlords came with their family and entered rooms in the home where tenants of 1214 Dean st.
stayed, demanding previous months rent and later attempting to illegally evict them. They cut off
the tenants wifi, they paid for a Uhaul and removed their possessions from the home without
their consent. The tenants reached out to Equality for Flatbush, a local grassroots community
organization, to support them with eviction defense and mobilization. An hour or two later, there
were dozens of people gathered on the sidewalk in front of their home, defending the tenants.
When J arrived to help with on the ground organizing, I didn’t recognize the faces of any
of the leaders that night except two, who I had met through mutual friends a few days prior. I
later spoke to them, asking how they started to lead. They told me they saw the Instagram post
and ran down here to protect the tenants. The led fiercely the first night. I couldn’t express my
gratitude for them, as regular concerned neighbors, but also as Black life long residents of NYC
who told me “this could soon be me with my landlord”. Later that night, two unknown men
pulled up to the house in a car, and attempted to rush into the home. Luckily, the door was
locked before they could try to enter. People created a chain without bodies in front of the door
to stop the men from entering. After a small group of people followed the car down the block, we
realized that they stopped to talk to someone in a familiar small black car, Loretta Gendville’s
car. The men later left, everyone was unharmed.
wee
er) equality4flatbush
a
Gennaro Brooke- Church, slumlord, sitting on steps while tenants things are removed from the home
without their consent.
For the next week, we organized shifts for people and stay in the front yard of the tenants.
We stayed every day all day from Tuesday until Friday morning. People stayed in shifts and
slept in the living room, as well as outside. There was a surplus of food an PPE. Many people
Just ordered food from local restaurants and it delivered to the home. People came with masks,
gloves, toilet paper, folding chairs, and much more to donate to our efforts. Even after people
who supported and tenants took what they wanted, there was a huge surplus to be donated and
redistributed. Eventually, there was so much food that even local community fridges were full,
and food had to be given away on the street to people and donated to other places, like a shelter
that was nearby.
This eviction blockade is an example of the response to evictions of Black queer residents
of the city. Because of the pandemic and the ruthlessness of the landlord during this time, people
are mobilizing intensely to stop evictions and support residents. However, what we’re seeing
now is a new wave of people organizing solely around eviction defense because of COVID.
While this organizing is not completely new and necessary, there are some gaps that need to be
acknowledged within the growing movement. The centering od the Black queer, Trans, Femme,
Disabled and low-income experience should be mandatory for this movement because they are
the people who have been and continue to be most heavily impacted by evictions. For insight, we
can look at 1214 Dean St.. While 7 tenants lived in the home, at the time of the illegal eviction
only 4 tenants remained. Within the next few days, only two tenants remained, who were both
Black, queer, and women/ Femmes. They did not have the financial ability to move immediately,
they did not have resources that could’ve helped them escape that living situation at that time.
The living situation at firsthand is a result of structural and systematic limitations of living in
NYC when you’re Black, queer, and femme or a woman.
Cancel Rent:
#CancelRent is a growing movement pressuring the government to stop rent payments
from tenants to landlords. Since people have already stopped paying rent because they literally
cannot pay, there have been massive rent strikes, both organized and unorganized. It only makes
sense that people are not punished for not being able to afford rent after losing their jobs because
a global pandemic broke out. However, what the people received was an eviction moratorium
from Governor Cuomo and NY state chief administrative Judge Marks, which was originally
until August Ist, but has now been extended to October. This moratorium has put a hold on the
housing court, which means that landlords cannot start a legal eviction process for tenants; this
all means that it should be completely illegal to evict tenants during the COVID pandemic.
While this movement is calling for a change that would require legislative change, what the
movement is really striving for is organizing and mobilizing in a “take the street” style. The
bottom line for tenants and tenant organizers is not paying rent, period. This escalated approach
is reflected in eviction defense responses, where people are refusing to allow harassment and
eviction to go unnoticed. But as we know, this is a new movement that was jump started because
of the pandemic. While people have incorporated the history of evictions and landlord
harassment, because this movement started in a new, different place, the pandemic is centered
versus housing issues of folks who are most impacted by landlord violence every day.
Data:
As of May Ist, the unemployment rate in NYC was 18.1%, although it is probably
higher, as the city doesn’t recognize forms of employment outside of their official definition of
unemployment. The chart beneath this text from the Gothamist shows the percentage of people
who are unable to pay rent and risk eviction. In New York, 46% of people face that risk. In the
“LGBT Youth Crisis” report from the Ali Forney Center, studies have shown that LGBT youth
make up to 40% of the already homeless youth in NYC. The study also shows that LGBTQ street
youth experience greater levels of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking
violence, trauma, HIV infection, mental health issues, and substance abuse than their
heterosexual counterparts in the homeless youth population.
Facing eviction
37% 35
AK ME
34% « 34%
wi vt NH
28% 37% 6 34 29% 42% 40% 46% an 35% 27%
WA iD MT ND MN iL MI NY cT RI MA
33% 43% 44% 48% 44 419 40% 44% 31%
OR NV WY so A IN OH PA NJ DE
37% 29 33 3 48% 48% Oo 34% 42% 3m
CA UT co NE MO KY WV VA MD oc
38 42% 34% 43% Oo * 43% 43%
AZ NM KS AR ™N NC sc
42 5¢ SS% 42% 46
OK LA MS Al GA
4 48% St
HI ™ FL
According to another study from the Willaims Institue “At the national level, on average,
approximately 1 to 5 complaints per 100,000 protected adults are filed per year: 3 complaints of
sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are filed for every 100,000 LGBT adults
each year; 5 complaints of race discrimination are filed for every 100,000 adults of color; and 1
complaint of sex discrimination filed for every 100,000 women. Additionally “In 16 states (all
states except DC and Maryland), sexual orientation and gender identity complaints were filed at
a slightly higher rate than sex discrimination complaints”. This data helps us understand the
history of housing discrimination, which provides insight into homelessness and housing.
Housing discrimination is a systematic problem that withholds Black queer femmes from access
and opportunities to find safe, stable housing.
This next section will focus on Crown Heights, particularly the zip code (11216) where 1214
Dean st. resides. The racial demographic of Crown Heights is: Black: 57%, Hispanic: 17% and
White: 15%. 34.5% of households are nonfamily households. The average income of NYC is at
about $60,000. In the 11216 zip code, about 49% of people make less than $60,000. The average
rent of a Brooklyn apartment is $2,951. Most landlords require you to make 40 times your rent,
so at that rate, the income that must be made to rent an apartment at the average rent is $118,040.
In 11216, about 30% of people would be able to afford an apartment at that rate. This data
supports our understanding of the financial inaccessibility to safe and stable housing options.
Conclusion:
This project is necessary because we obviously are still going through the pandemic
despite the nonchalance from the government. We know that people will still be evicted, and we
fear what will happen when the moratorium is lifted. The housing justice movement is vital at all
times, but especially now. However, the movement will not be able to grow and efficiently serve
its purpose if it is not centered around those who have faced the brunt of this violence for years.
We need to expand the barriers of space and time to understand how to mobilize a unified
movement that advocates for helping the most discriminated and underserved, because without
it, it's a movement based in self-interest and not one that fights against what it claims to.
Bibliography:
Brooklyn, NY Rental Market Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ny/brooklyn/
Haag, M., & Dougherty, C. (2020, May 01). #CancelRent Is New Rallying Cry for
Tenants. Landlords Are Alarmed. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/nyregion/rent-strike-coronavirus.html
LGBTQ Youth Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.aliforneycenter.org/about-us/lgbtq-youth-crisis/
Mcgeehan, P. (2020, July 07). A Million Jobs Lost: A "Heart Attack' for the N.Y.C.
Economy. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/nyregion/nyc-unemployment.html]
Pereira, S. (2020, July 30). Looming Eviction Crisis Has NYC Renters Fearing The Worst.
Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://gothamist.com/news/looming-eviction-crisis-has-nyc-renters-fearing-worst
Spivack, C. (2020, March 26). These Are The Protections New Yorkers Have From
Eviction. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://ny.curbed.com/2020/3/26/21192343/coronavirus-new-york-eviction-moratorium-co
vid-19
Thisisloyal.com, L. (2020, April 14). Evidence of Housing Discrimination Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-housing-discrimination-us/
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New York city, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19,
2020, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcitynewyork/PST040219
Verde, B. (2020, July 09). Crown Heights Tenants Say Prominent Brooklyn Couple Tried
to Illegally Evict Them. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from
https://www.brownstoner.com/real-estate-market/crown-heights-brooklyn-tenants-harassm
ent-eviction-1214-dean-street-gendville-brooks-church/
Title
#CancelRent And Eviction Blockades in Brooklyn: Black Queer Women and Femmes Fight for the Right to Housing
Description
Written and submitted by Brooklyn College student Emily Batista over the summer of 2020, this autoethnography focused on the eviction defense of 1214 Dean Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Batista framed this research project as a "vessel to explore the growing calls for 'Cancel Rent' as a response to the COVID pandemic," with specific attention to the underrepresented role of Black queer women and femmes in the history of NYC housing struggles.
This item is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) Distance Learning Archive, a group project developed as part of Prof. Matthew K. Gold's Spring 2020 Knowledge Infrastructures seminar in the Ph.D. Program in English at The Graduate Center, CUNY, in partnership with the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Certificate Program. The project's goal was to resist or trouble the discourse of catastrophe around the shift to online learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by documenting the lived experiences of students, faculty, and staff across CUNY's 25 campuses. Further, the project wanted to document the moment of crisis response by taking a critical approach to educational technology.
This item is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) Distance Learning Archive, a group project developed as part of Prof. Matthew K. Gold's Spring 2020 Knowledge Infrastructures seminar in the Ph.D. Program in English at The Graduate Center, CUNY, in partnership with the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Certificate Program. The project's goal was to resist or trouble the discourse of catastrophe around the shift to online learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by documenting the lived experiences of students, faculty, and staff across CUNY's 25 campuses. Further, the project wanted to document the moment of crisis response by taking a critical approach to educational technology.
Creator
Batista, Emily
Date
June 2020 (Circa)
Language
English
Publisher
CDHA
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution
Source
CUNY Distance Learning Archive
Original Format
Report / Paper / Proposal
Batista, Emily. Letter. 2020. “#CancelRent And Eviction Blockades in Brooklyn: Black Queer Women and Femmes Fight for the Right to Housing”, 2020, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/1829