Ending Displacement

About

Increasing land values and speculation encourage harassment and displacement of residents and small businesses in New York City’s neighborhoods. The acceleration of residential and commercial markets leads landlords to harass tenants in order to drive out existing families and businesses as a route to higher profits. Additionally, behind these landlords is often an investment fund or bank lender who has overleveraged the building with financing that encourages this behavior.

Why This Matters

The harassment and displacement activity we are seeing across all five boroughs undermines affordability, fuels gentrification, and exacerbates existing inequality. Low- and moderate-income New Yorkers, people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized populations deserve the right to remain in the homes and communities they have built, instead of facing predatory practices that displace them.

What We're Doing

ANHD builds community power in order to create better laws and policies, protect tenants’ rights, and strengthen neighborhoods.

Our multi-dimensional campaigns seek to prevent displacement and harassment by addressing its root causes—in laws, lending practices, and administrative enforcement. For example, we are tackling speculative lending and predatory equity by using sophisticated building finance and market research to identify the most at-risk buildings, and working with our network of organizing groups to proactively support at-risk tenants. We are also advocating for stronger tenant protections.

Check out the associated projects below for more information on how we are fighting to end displacement. 

Recent Blogs and Media

Blog
November 25, 2023
This video series shares the stories of the merchant leaders of the Citywide Merchant Organizing Project. In addition to owning and operating storefront businesses, they organize to fight displacement pressures, build community wealth, and drive truly equitable economic development.

Related Resources

Though a recent deluge of articles have rung the alarm bells because citywide vacancy has dropped to 1.41%, our analysis demonstrates that our true crisis lies at the bottom of the market, where vacancy is lowest and renters most need housing.
New survey shows one in four small businesses may close this year
ANHD's map of storefront rents 2019-2021 shows large increases outside of Manhattan
ANHD's 2023 Risk Chart Shows Displacement and Increasing Rents in Communities of Color
Testimony Of Lucy Block Before the New York State Senate Regarding Deed Fraud And Deed Theft
Analysis of new storefront registry data shows Council Districts where small businesses may face displacement pressures
Instead of relying on a misleading metric, NYC should build for households that need housing the most.
The AMI Cheat Sheet shows maximum household incomes and rents for three-person households, using 2022 AMI calculations, and estimates the share of renter households and rent-burdened households at each AMI level in New York City.
The AMI Cheat Sheet shows maximum household incomes and rents for three-person households, using 2021 AMI calculations, and estimates the share of renter households and rent-burdened households at each AMI level in New York City.

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