The Chase is on! Report from December 2 rally at JPMorgan Chase

Yup, the Chase is on!  On Wednesday, December 2, homeless New Yorkers and our allies rallied outside the JPMorgan Chase tower on Park Avenue, demanding "Change, not Charity"!

* Check out the Indypendent story *

 [photo: Sam Miller, PTH]

Following from PTH's July occupation of a Chase-owned vacant property in East Harlem... We called on the financial services firm -- which received $25 billion in taxpayers' bailout -- to participate in the creation of housing on the many un-utilized vacant properties it owns, for the poorest New Yorkers who received no bailout.  We delivered a letter to the upper management, demanding a meeting towards the creation of a Community Land Trust -- and delivered a message that this is just the beginning, we'll be back!

Picture the Homeless member-leader Indio:  "When you control the land, you control the people. Bailed-out banks like JPMorgan Chase profit from owning vacant properties, without concern for the use of them, or the needs of homeless, poor, disabled, and other New Yorkers. We are here to demand a meeting, to build a foundation that will get us our just due. The time is now!"

Picture the Homeless member-leader Pete:  "The rich got their bailout -- how about the poor?  The banks can go to the government when they're in trouble, to hold onto their properties -- where's our trust fund?"

Checkout more great photos -- courtesy of Michael Premo of the Housing is a Human Right project.

**UPDATE**  a great video with audio testimony from PTH members, the great work of Michael & Rachel Falcone from the Housing is a Human Right project.