This participatory oral history project documents histories and struggles of housing and land-use organizers from across New York City. 

The collaborative interviews included in this website were conducted by: 

Karen Blondel: Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice, Red Hook West NYCHA Resident Association
Julia Bryant, Movement to Protect the People, formerly involved in fighting Atlantic Yards
Seonae Byeon: Flushing Anti-Displacement Alliance
Jen Chantrtanapichate: Sixth Street Community Center, No North Brooklyn Pipeline Coalition, Cleanup North Brooklyn, Frack Outta Brooklyn (FOBK)
Luisa C.: Ridgewood Tenants Union
Jenny Dubnau: Western Queens Community Land Trust, Artist Studio Affordability Project, Justice for All Coalition, Queens
Ramona Ferreyra: Save Section 9
Ted Freed: Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale, Citywide People’s Land Use Alliance, Inwood Legal Action                                                                                                       

OK Fox, Ridgewood Tenants Union
Jeremy Kaplan: Protect Sunset Park, DSA NYCHA Solidarity Working Group          Lena Melendez: Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale, Housing Justice for All Coalition
Cheryl Pahaham: Inwood Legal Action, Northern Manhattan Is Not For Sale, Racial Impact Study Coalition
Jack Riccabono: Voice of Gowanus
Naomi Schiller: East River Alliance, DSA Lower Manhattan Housing, and PSC CUNY
Alina Shen: CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, Chinatown Art Brigade
Vanessa Thill: Art Against Displacement, Coalition to Protect Chinatown & Lower East Side 

In 2020, Naomi Schiller and Vanessa Thill convened and organized a skill-sharing workshop on oral history interviewing techniques with 18 organizers. Between 2020 and 2022, we worked together to develop interview questions about our experiences and paired-up to interview one another. Our aim was to understand each other, the goals and challenges we face, and the strategies and tactics we have used in land use and housing organizing. 

We wanted to work horizontally: we were the authors and audience. There wasn’t a team of “interviewers” and a team of “interviewees.” Instead, we are all the interviewers and the interviewees (narrators). Together, we generated a list of questions (see below). 

Generally, we paired up people from different neighborhood struggles to interview one another. 

From our first meeting as a group, we agreed to produce interviews and make them part of the public domain, where members of the general public would have access to the interviews. All the participants signed an “informed consent” form that sought to be transparent about the goals of the project, what all participants could expect to experience if they chose to participate, and what it would mean to donate a recorded interview to an archive. ​​But beyond this document, we agreed that one time consent was not adequate. Towards this end, as facilitators, Naomi and Vanessa have checked in at important moments in the development of this project to make sure participants were still comfortable with sharing their interviews. 

Our collectively-produced interview guide:

We encourage each other to ask our questions and get to know each other. Remember, there is no need to stick firmly to the guide! The best questions usually flow from our listening.

How did you get involved in activism? 

Can you tell me a little about yourself and where you’re coming from?

Why does your neighborhood struggle (or broader campaign) matter to you and why should it matter to others?

What was your first experience with a campaign around land-use? Can you recount a specific memory about one of the first actions you were involved in?

What do you feel like are the biggest challenges that you face in your organizing?

Can you tell me about when you first heard about ULURP?

What are your thoughts about how to engage city bureaucratic practices like ULURP?

Can you recount specific memories of how you and your organization navigated some of the following?

• Community board meetings 
• Draft Environmental Review Statements (and comment periods)
• City Council hearings

What has been successful and why? Please tell me a story about your experience.

How do you deal with building consensus and/or differences in opinions about strategy? How have you handled tensions between community groups as we attempt to form coalitions and build our power across the city?

Can you talk about your experiences working with elected officials and the possibilities and pitfalls?

Even when we lose specific battles, we often win something. What are the unexpected or unacknowledged wins in your view? 

Looking back at a campaign that you’ve been involved in, what would you have done differently?

Is there a spiritual component to your activism? If so, can you tell me about it?

What do you love about this work? What memories make you laugh?

What do you find frustrating or stressful?

How do you stay inspired and avoid burnout?

What do you think the experience is like for new people learning about these issues and joining a land-use struggle? What would be helpful for them to understand from the beginning?

It can be difficult to get people to stay committed to a path if they feel powerless. How do you get people to believe in their own power?

What are your dreams for the city?