BY JACKIE LARA | Twenty-three years ago, after months in the shelter system with my kids, I got the call that changed our lives: An apartment was open at Fulton Houses in Chelsea. We came straight over. When we stepped inside and the kids ran to claim their rooms, I kissed the floor. It was ours. No curfew. No line for a shower. A door we could lock. That feeling, home, has anchored everything since.

Today, NYCHA, in cahoots with Related Properties, wants to tear our homes down.

The plan on the table would demolish the 24 buildings of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea and replace them with new shiny towers, privatize our public housing, and add thousands of luxury apartments on our campuses. Spare us the sales pitch, A/C, dishwashers, rooftop gardens, glossy renderings; we don’t need fluff.

What drives me crazy is the story line that we, the tenants, supposedly asked for this. People on the NYCHA board keep saying that tenants want this, as if they know better than us what is good for us. In 2025, I ran for City Council to protest as the anti-demolition candidate, and I won hands down both electoral districts where the buildings are located.

If you want to know why, you should knock on doors with us, or attend a community board meeting.

We were never told demolition was part of the plan. A survey went around; only a small minority of tenants participated; options were framed as “new construction” or “rehabilitation,” without plain-English explanations. When I knocked on one woman’s door and said, “They’re planning to demolish,” her eyes went wide: “I thought they meant construction, like repairs.” This survey was not consent; it was on-purpose confusion.

Today, people are so scared, so upset, so anxious. We don’t need a luxury amenities list; we need timely work orders, working elevators, safe hallways, and respect. We need the basics done right, not a bulldozer with a bow on it.

Pro-demolition people say, “Don’t worry, you’ll have a right to return.” Anyone who’s watched past NYCHA redevelopments knows how fragile that promise can be. Construction drags. Income rules shift. Relocations get extended. People get scattered. Let’s not play Russian roulette with my neighbors’ lives.

Let me say something else as plainly as I can: We are a broad and large coalition, and Chelsea is with us. When people say we are manipulated, they are being condescending and patronizing. No one is manipulating us. Instead, we are organizing our community, between tenants and residents of Chelsea. Our coalition includes tenants, seniors, parents of PS33, workers, students, and residents of Chelsea—rich and poor—who have shown much more care than our elected officials ever did. We don’t need handlers. We need a hearing where our voices aren’t treated like an obstacle.

The folks who want this plan treat us like problems to be solved, instead of people to be served. If the concern were truly our wellbeing, the first investment would be in repairs and accountability, not demolition. Fix the boilers. Replace the pipes. Abate the mold. Fund the work orders that already exist. Allow resident leaders to participate in budgeting and timelines. We’re not allergic to improvement; we’re allergic to displacement disguised as improvement.

Fulton saved my family. Because we live in NYCHA, my kids could afford community college. Being poor doesn’t make you disposable; it makes stable housing even more important. I’m not envious of anyone who has more than me. I’m asking the city to value what we’ve built here: a real neighborhood with real relationships and a history you can’t pack into a moving truck.

What should the next chapter look like? Keep our buildings. Go back to the original rehab plan. Bring back mom-and-pop stores on the avenues. Keep the community center open late. Fund the repairs we’ve been requesting for years. Respect our presence. Respect our knowledge. We’ve been living here long enough to know what works and what just sounds good in a press release.

To officials who insist “tenants want this”—come walk with me. Meet the grandmothers who sit on the benches at dusk, watching the kids chase each other between buildings. Meet my 17-years-old grandson who campaigned for me because he, too, believes the buildings should be repaired, not torn down. Sit at a kitchen table where the walls have family photos and the rent receipt is clipped to the fridge. Ask whether “temporary relocation” feels temporary a frail, 92-year-old.

I’m not naïve about what needs fixing. I’ve spent too many hours on hold, logged too many work orders, and seen too many promises expire. But tearing down people’s homes without their clear, informed consent is not justice. It’s erasure.

I’ll end where I bega—with gratitude and with hope. The day we moved in, we had almost nothing, just each other. Fulton gave us a chance to build a life. I want the ending of this chapter to match the beginning: Security and happiness in the place we call home.

Keep our homes standing. Fix what’s broken. Listen to the people who live here. And please, just leave us alone. These are our homes.

Jackie Lara has been a Fulton Houses tenant for 23 years and is an organizer.

NOTE: The views expressed by our Guest Opinion writers are not necessarily those of Chelsea Community News.

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