Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Maurice Murrell, Harlem resident, on affordable housing in Harlem
1:54:54
·
82 sec
Maurice Murrell, a lifelong Harlem resident, testifies about the urgent need for affordable housing in the community. He expresses concern about rising rents pushing out long-term residents and essential workers, including himself, from the neighborhood they helped build.
- Advocates for enhanced housing programs that prioritize the needs of long-standing residents
- Emphasizes the disconnect between rising rents and stagnant wages
- Calls for action beyond promises to provide affordable, stable, and dignified housing for the community
Maurice Murrell
1:54:54
Dear council members, Pacific game, mister Youssef Salaam.
1:54:58
I know you personally, but how are doing?
1:54:59
My name is Maurice Morell, and I come before you today as a concerned citizen as well as a young man that's living in Harlem.
1:55:06
I work.
1:55:07
I contributed to this community my whole life.
1:55:09
And despite my roots here, I found myself in a position that so many people face, and that's I can't afford to live here in the community that raised me.
1:55:18
For years, I watched the rent rise while my wages remained the same.
1:55:22
I have seen long term resident, family, elders, and essential workers pushed out of the very community that we built.
1:55:29
This painful and unjust is a painful and unjust reality, and it's one that must be addressed with urgency and compassion.
1:55:36
I'm today I'm here today to strongly advocate for enhanced housing programs in our community and any housing initiatives that can truly center the needs of the long standing residents that actually live here.
1:55:49
We became a marginalized community.
1:55:52
We need affordable, stable, and dignity housing, and not just promises, but actions.
1:55:58
Being a longtime resident here and being a person here, I come as a true citizen.
1:56:03
I might have a representative, congressman, or none of that, but I'm a citizen here.
1:56:08
And my whole life, I can't even afford to live in the community that actually raised me.
1:56:13
So that's my concern, and I appreciate your time.
1:56:15
Thank you.