On Monday, December 12, student organizer Izzy Bohn (GS ’23) and Morningside Heights community member Dan McSweeney hosted a teach-in and poster-making session to educate students about tenant rights and Columbia’s forced displacement of local residents.

On the last day of classes, Dan McSweeney, a Veteran and prominent community organizer, joined Izzy Bohn (GS ’23), with support from Columbia’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialist of America (YDSA), to lead a teach-in on Columbia’s campus. According to the Eventbrite link, Monday’s event was aimed at educating Columbia students about the University’s, “expanding its empire and actively evicting long-term residents of Morningside Heights in the process.”

Columbia University is currently one of the largest landlords in New York City, managing about 150 buildings with thousands of residents. As Columbia continues to expand in order to provide housing for faculty, graduate students, and other affiliates, residents and activists in Morningside Heights have been calling on the University to provide affordable housing in the area to non-affiliates as well, including families who have lived in the neighborhood for generations.

At Monday’s student teach-in, organizers explained that for the stability of the community, Columbia should preserve rent-stabilized housing and welcome non-affiliates into it. According to McSweeney, it is in Columbia’s broader long-term interest to preserve rent-stabilized housing because it will in turn contribute to the stability of the community and maintain the diversity that is one of its most important and influential qualities. Meanwhile, Columbia community members must recognize the Morningside Heights community that exists outside of the University and support its long-term security and protection, which are being threatened by Columbia’s financial interests.

Event organizers also screened a video from the JUST Housing Committee, a group that was recently formed by members of the Morningside Heights Community Coalition. According to the video, “The lack of affordable housing has reached crisis levels in Morningside Heights. Gentrification continues and real estate development brings only institutional and luxury buildings largely inaccessible to the community.” The video features testimonials from local residents as well as a speech from New York State Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell, who urges Columbia to “do the job they’re supposed to do and honor the people who live here.”

Meanwhile, according to the JUST Housing Committee, “As a tax-exempt institution, the University should also demonstrate moral and social leadership and and a real commitment to its ideals by including affordable units in future housing developments.” 

McSweeney and Bohn planned a rally for the evening following the teach-in, but ended up postponing it due to the cold weather and possibility of low turnout with students studying for finals this week. They plan to host more teach-ins in the spring semester to engage students and help break down the divide between local tenants and the University.

More information is available on the Morningside Heights Community Coalition website. Managing Editor Grace Fitzgerald-Diaz and Events Editor Ava Slocum contributed reporting to this article.

Posters on Alma via Izzy Bohn