{"id":15677,"date":"2025-10-25T00:17:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T00:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/15677\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T00:17:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T00:17:11","slug":"opinion-new-york-city-is-at-a-crossroads-and-its-youth-are-ready-to-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/15677\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | New York City Is at a Crossroads, and Its Youth Are Ready to Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

In New York<\/a> City, things seem to be falling apart. Prospect Park<\/a> and Van Cortland Park<\/a> are on fire; 6-year-old students<\/a>, high school seniors<\/a>, and college students<\/a> are being detained and deported by Immigration<\/a> and Customs Enforcement; gender-affirming care<\/a> remains out of reach for many, and trans hate is escalating<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is our future under governments led by the likes of New York City<\/a> Mayor Eric Adams and President Donald Trump<\/a>. It\u2019s one of fear, climate disaster, fascism<\/a>, genocide<\/a>, unaffordability, and violence. It\u2019s not one we will accept.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this September, dozens of New York City youth organizations, New York City Council members, and 150 youth leaders came together to chart a new vision for our interconnected movements, unveiling the Livable Future Package<\/a>. Now, the New York City Council Progressive Caucus, a 17-member bloc of elected officials, joins our campaign centered on the four most urgent crises facing New York City youth.<\/p>\n

The priorities include 1) the NYC Trust Act<\/a>, which will strengthen enforcement of our sanctuary city laws. 2) Intro 1180<\/a> to lower utility bills<\/a> and hold ultra-wealthy landlords accountable by enforcing our landmark 2019 climate and energy efficiency law. 3) The Community Opportunity Purchase Act<\/a>, which will give community organizations the first chance to purchase buildings, providing youth communities a pathway to stable housing<\/a> over corporate speculation. Lastly, 4) City G.I.R.D.S.<\/a> and a companion bill<\/a> to make sure that young trans, non-binary, intersex, and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers in the jail and prison systems have access to housing decisions aligning with their identity and to gender-affirming medication and items.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew up in New York. We want to stay here, and I want to be proud of the place I am from.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a model for a city government that stands up for our generation in the face of fascism and won\u2019t back down from the fight for a city we can afford.<\/p>\n

The Livable Future coalition spans both traditional movement divides and the five boroughs. Our coalition, from middle schoolers to young adults newly entering the workforce to sitting NYC Council members, collectively shares in the belief that a livable future is possible. Our future is not just 100 years into the future; it\u2019s 2026, 2030, and every minute in between.<\/p>\n

‘A Road Map for Our Youth Movements in Cities Across the Country’<\/p>\n

\"\"The 15+ youth organizations behind the Livable Future Package united at the September 20 Make Billionaires<\/a> Pay March, holding banners for each of the bills and demanding New York\u2019s leaders put their future over Trump-allied billionaires. (Photo by Ken Schles)<\/p>\n

Our campaign presents a road map for our youth movements in cities across the country. From New York City to Los Angeles<\/a>, Chicago<\/a> to DC, and Houston to Philadelphia<\/a>, we can and we must organize our cities as fortresses against encroaching oligarchical fascism.<\/p>\n

Leaders across New York City have already taken note of our organizing, joining us at our launch event in September<\/a> and for rallies<\/a> outside City Hall.<\/p>\n

As youth-leader Emma Rehac of Youth Alliance for Housing said at one of these events, \u201cWe grew up in New York. We want to stay here, and I want to be proud of the place I am from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Livable Future Package is about ensuring New York is a city that stands up for all our communities. We deserve to afford to grow old in the neighborhoods we grew up in, to live in a place that defends against detention and deportation\u2014somewhere that takes action to fight the climate crisis<\/a> and for affordability, and ensures our basic human rights<\/a> are protected no matter our gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our work on the package is just beginning. The Council, led by Speaker Adrienne Adams, and the mayor have a choice.<\/p>\n

Will they stand by as our city capitulates to Trump? As ICE<\/a> floods our schools, and our future disappears? Or, will they join us and pass the Livable Future Package by the end of the year?<\/p>\n

We hope they will help us build a city that stands up, that fights back, and charts a livable, affordable future for the next generation.<\/p>\n