Is Selling Off New York City’s Public Assets Ever a Good Idea? Brooklyn Forum Sat. April 8

bill de blasio as public advocate defending libraries 2013
Then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio 2013

The negative impacts and consequences of privatization on parks and public spaces have been covered frequently at this blog (here, here, and at my Huffington Post page). Another recent unwelcome trend in New York City has been the selling off of our public libraries: these crucial institutions have increasingly been viewed as real estate ‘assets’ vs. vital public spaces offering societal and cultural enhancement as well as important resources for their communities.

A forum on the “Sell Off of Public Assets” will be held Saturday, April 8th in Brooklyn Heights addressing what’s been going on under the De Blasio Administration and what can be done about it.

Forum on the Sell Off Of Public Assets

Are you concerned about the loss of public spaces or what is often referred to as the public commons or public realm?  Learn how selling off public assets connects to growing inequality in New York City.

Fourth public discussion sponsored by First Unitarian Congregational Society Weaving the Fabric of Diversity and Citizens Defending Libraries.

Featured speakers include activists and community leaders:

Lynn Ellsworth, founder of New Yorkers For a Human Scale  

Alicia Boyd, founder of MTOPP, The Movement to Protect the People

Tom Angotti, Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Director of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning & Development (CCPD)

Also featuring singer, songwriter, and activist Judy Gorman

Free.

Saturday, April 8th 2:30 – 5 p.m.

Location: First Unitarian Congregational Society Chapel
116 Pierrepont Street (between Monroe Place and Clinton Street)
Brooklyn Heights
Trains: F train (Jay Street), A (High Street), 4, 5, R (Borough Hall) or 2, 3 (Clark Street)

Photo:  Citizens Defending Libraries

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