CPC One: Displacement and Wage Theft in One Monstrous Tower
On May 14th, 2017, the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue at 60–64 Norfolk Street suspiciously burnt down. Afterward, the property lot that the church was on quickly changed hands to a nonprofit called the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), who swooped in to establish a monument to themselves called CPC One.
This majority market-rate mega-tower now looms over the Lower East Side and establishes CPC as the latest luxury developer in a neighborhood that’s constantly under threat of displacement. Though CPC One includes some “affordable housing”, the impact on the neighborhood is reflective of their values — on the surface level they look appealing, but the truth is they are leeches. Even the “affordable” units are given to people based on their income level — but these income levels are far higher than what working people on the Lower East Side and in Chinatown actually make! CPC’s priority is always sucking resources and money out of communities and into their own pockets. Now, they get to try their hand at displacement!
This new luxury tower puts pressure on surrounding properties by raising their property value. In New York City, this means that surrounding building’s property taxes will go up too. This speculation motivates landlords to squeeze out rent-stabilized tenants and small businesses and look for higher-paying tenants to cover the property tax, or they’ll sell their building to the same kind of mega-developer partners that helped CPC build their luxury tower. This cycle of development driving displacement wreaks havoc on working class communities, turning them into developer playgrounds!
The infamous Virginia Kee, founder of CPC, said at the press conference, “CPC One means we are here to stay. It represents how far we have come as a community, and our promise to continue to serve and empower our community for decades to come” HA! The only promise that CPC has delivered is their stubborn commitment to exploiting and destroying the health and lives of immigrant women who work for their home care agency. But in a way, she’s right. CPC has empowered the community — to rise up against them!
CPC is NOT here to stay. After hundreds of workers and thousands of supporters rallied and marched against CPC’s racist violence, they are once again launching a picket of CPC kicking off on June 27th right outside this new headquarters (45 Suffolk St) at 11am. Exploitation and displacement go hand-in-hand, whether it’s CPC board member Michael Lee becoming the new president of MOCA, or opening a new luxury tower on the Lower East Side. But we won’t let them get away with it!