Eugene Manson

224 York Street #7F

Brooklyn, NY 11201

My name is Eugene Manson and I live in Farragut Housing in Brooklyn.

This development at Albee Square is wrong for this community. They are pushing us out. The developers are pushing us out. There are poor people here that can’t afford this kind of housing. Even though there are bad elements here, there are people who have worked all their lives by the rules. Where are they supposed to go? I am on social security. Where am I supposed to go? Neighborhood stores are disappearing. Neighborhoods are disappearing. I’m quite sure all these projects are going to be turned into co-ops sooner or later, because the City and these developers and all these new people who will live here are not going to let us stay in this little patch while they are developing all around us. Condos and high-rises. This is my home and they are pushing me out. Where are we supposed to go?

The developer shouldn’t get any tax money for Albee Square. I want to see the money reinvested into the community. Local projects that hire local people, training for youth – it needs to go for things that are needed by this community. If they are going to develop these housing units then they need to hire people from the community to maintain it. There are a lot of bright children in this community looking for a better life. And we need affordable housing for the working class and underprivileged. We could really use a community directing board so that drugs and the homeless situation can be taken care of. A lot of things can be done through the community and by the community. We don’t need someone else telling us what to do. We don’t need outsiders taking up space that we need, taking housing that we need. I want a nice home. A lot of people in this community want to live in these fancy condos, but no one wants us to. They want to push us out. Push us where? We don’t know because there is no place else to go. But we won’t leave. We are fighting. That’s why I am here today. I have no place to go. This is my home.