Images of tenants working on painting banners to demonstrate their building is organized and here to stay!

The tenants of 109 E 9th Street began organizing with Cooper Square Committee in September 2024. They came to us when the Department of Buildings issued a class C violation to their landlord and they were told they would have to vacate the building. Since September, Cooper Square has assisted them in attempting to negotiate with the landlord and connected them to free legal representation with Take Root Justice. They are fighting to get the Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) removed. They now have an open HP Action against their landlord and an official OATH hearing will begin on May 8th regarding their CONH.

The tenants have done incredible organizing and are still in their homes!

Read more in HellGateNYC's recent deep dive on these powerful tenants' stories (sign in required). (If you prefer, download a free PDF version)

On Monday, May 5, 2025, Cooper Square tenant leaders spoke at the NYC Banking Commission Hearing about what they face from living in buildings funded through many of the banks that have applied to be “NYC designated banks.” These banks want to hold our NYC tax dollars, but tenants described the poor conditions and treatment they’ve lived through because the banks loan to bad-acting landlords. As part of the Public Bank NYC coalition, we also called for the creation of a public bank that will fund community land trusts and other affordable, tenant-owned and controlled housing instead of bad-acting landlords!  

The NYC Banking Commission will meet to announce which banks will be designated to profit from our public money for the next two years. Join us as we rally with the Public Bank NYC coalition ahead of the meeting and send a clear message to the city: we must divest from Wall St. and invest in a public bank! 

The rally will take place on May 13th, at 9AM, at 1 Centre St. in Manhattan. The NYC Banking Commission meeting and vote will begin at 10 AM.

Please reach out to jodiel@coopersquare.org and confirm you will be attending. 

We have a problem in NYC. The same banks that want to hold our tax dollars for the City then turn around and loan to bad actor landlords.  

We came out in force to testify at the Bank Commission public hearing last week.

The Commission will vote on May 13, 2025 at 10 AM. We will be holding a press conference and rally as part of the Public Bank NYC coalition. Save the date and come!

RSVP to jodiel@coopersquare.org to let us know you will attend and to receive help preparing testimony for either event.

We're offering our next series of Performing Arts Classes.

Building a Character (six sessions on Mondays and Fridays, starting May 2)

Laying Your Foundation: Master Class (May 5)

Performance and Poetry Workshop (May 31)

Sign up using this form!

All New Yorkers can call 311 to get a free lead water test from NYC Dept of Environment Protection (DEP). DEP will mail the testing kits right to your home. The test is very simple and takes just minutes to conduct. There are different ways lead can enter your drinking water, either from the pipes that deliver water from the water main to your building or from your building's plumbing.

When assessing your home's water quality, we encourage you to do what makes you feel safe, but also consider the views of the Filtered not Bottled campaign. This campaign aims to support clean water efforts and also reduce plastic pollution.