CualaLES at the United Nations
On October 17 CualaLES songwriters program performed their own original song and spoken word piece at the United Nations for International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The song addressed poverty, gentrification and displacement on the Lower East Side.
We are pleased to welcome and present noted author and activist John Bissett to our Lower East Side community from Ireland, to talk about his book ‘It’s Not Where You Live, It’s How You Live,’ followed by a conversation with Cuala co-director Eddie Rodriguez.
Join us to hear stories of the obstacles and triumphs faced by Dublin 8 public housing residents as well as here on Ave D and the Lower East Side. Since 2024 John and Eddie have been collaborating on our ‘Shared Struggles’ project, exploring the challenges faced by public housing residents in Ireland and New York City amid escalating levels of privatization, displacement and dispossession of public housing. Just last month here on Avenue D residents of Jacob Riis Houses overwhelmingly rejected NYCHA’s efforts to convert the development to the PACT privatization process, voting 2:1 against it – a monumental victory for resident activists at the end of a year-long campaign and leading the way in resisting privatization and protecting public housing on the Lower East Side.
ABOUT JOHN BISSETT
Activist and writer John Bissett has been a community worker for over 35 years, has organized and participated in significant housing, anti-austerity and public debt campaigns, and is the author of Regeneration: Public Good or Private Profit.
John will give a talk about his most recent work ‘It’s Not Where You Live, It’s How You Live,‘ a ground-breaking and compelling work that takes us deep into the world of a public housing estate in Dublin, showing in fine detail the life struggles of those who live there. The book puts the emphasis on class and gender processes, revealing them to be the crucial dynamics in the lives of public housing residents. The hope is that this understanding can help change perspectives on public housing in a way that diminishes suffering and contributes to human flourishing and well-being.
Combining long-term research into residents’ lived experience with critical realist theory, ‘It’s Not Where You Live, It’s How You Live’ provides a completely fresh perspective on public housing in Ireland and arguably, beyond.
John’s talk will be followed by what promises to be a lively and engaging discussion between John and Cuala Foundation co-director, educator and activist Eddie Rodriguez.
Reserve your tickets here to avoid disappointment