Summary(0:28) Moving to Williamsburg as tenant organizer -- (3:40) Mobilizing tenants and holding landlords accountable to residents -- (6:00) Population change and area was redlined -- (10:30 ) Creative class moving to the Northside -- (12:00) Holding housing rights workshops with residents -- (15:00) Taking over Teddy’s bar and becoming an inclusive community venue -- (18:47) Williamsburg had largest city elderly population and changed over the 1990s to younger population -- (30:24) Lead paint factory on 12th Street and Bedford Ave. making adjacent neighbors sick -- (33:30) New residents bringing skills to community advocacy -- (35:15) Threat of Williamsburg Bridge closing
NoteAudio interview conducted on May 24, 2019, by Acacia Thompson on West Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Collected through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is funded through the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund.
SubjectImmigrants ; Discrimination in mortgage loans ; Low income tenants ; Low income communities ; Real estate development ; Rental housing--Law and legislation ; Homeless persons ; Gentrification ; Waste disposal sites--New York (State)--New York ; Electric power plants ; Lead based paint
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TitleOral history interview with Felice Kirby conducted on 15 May 2019.