Honoring Christine Burke

Dear neighbors,

We are crushed to share the passing of one of our leaders, Ms. Christine Burke, Tenant Association President from Howard Houses and a fighter for section 9 public housing.

Christine found Save Section 9 about three years ago. She came with a simple question, is PACT good? This question had planted itself in her mind because PACT was being presented to Howard Houses. Christine’s intuition had sensed the danger. But she sought out proof. And SS9 slowly gave her that. 

In our meetings and calls we talked about the research by Human Rights Watch. We discussed the testimony provided by neighbors undergoing PACT. We pulled apart the testimony by lawyers that confirmed those tenant experiences. We helped Christine reach the answer “PACT is bad”. We also encouraged her to get involved, to run for tenant association president, to educate her neighbors. And she did. Christine ran for office, won, overcame a challenge to the results and did everything in her power to lead Howard. This took a toll on her. Leadership always does. 

SS9 has tried to support leaders by using strategic ice breakers, we create space for sharing in every meeting, Nilda and I get on calls to support folks. But this isn’t enough. We’ve been talking for months about bringing in mental health specialists. I tried to develop a workshop that would address the emotional and psychological trauma created by this organizing. I knew that we needed to have a conversation that started at:

“How do people who are simultaneously residents, caregivers, organizers, advocates, and community leaders sustain themselves when the conditions they are organizing around are also the conditions they live with?”

I am still looking for a partner ally or resource that can help us navigate this difficult question. But while we find that we are still dealing with the impact. I don’t have a solution or plan to hold us over. And Christine’s death has made it painfully clear that we need that. 

Tenant leaders opposing privatization or demolition experience stress, isolation, paranoia, retaliation, and harassment. We all feel like we are screaming into a void, screaming facts and evidence, and NYCHA our elected officials and others in positions of power refuse to listen. We become hoarse and try speaking louder, softer, using big words, using threats, crying, begging… and it doesn’t matter. And we keep doing this over and over. All while dealing with NYCHA as a landlord and experiencing outages, infestations, and neglect. 

Christine did all of this. And it took a toll on her. It put a strain on her heart and her spirit. And her heart simply stopped.  I and SS9 bear some responsibility for encouraging her to fight back. But NYCHA’s real estate team killed her. Their pressure campaign, their demand that she sign a non-disclosure agreement, their disregard for her opposition, broke her heart. Because Christine tried to say no to PACT. She tried to stop their progress. But NYCHA’s real estate department kept pushing forward. The kept bringing developers on site tours. They kept treating Howard Houses like a done deal.  

That dismissiveness is what kills our spirit. 

I don’t know how we break this cycle and finally stop yelling, becoming hoarse using threats, crying, begging… but I promise that I will look for resources to help us through the cycle. I will create the space so that we can… be okay. In the meantime please don’t hold the pain inside. Turn to your support team, seek out a therapist, and call 988 for help. This fight is taking a toll on us. And we’re strong, Christine was so strong! But this fight is hard. And if we don’t get help it will end us. 

We will be sharing information about Christine’s end of life services as that becomes available. 

In solidarity,

Ramona, Mitchel Houses

If you have experienced pressure on your mental or physical health because of the conversion of public housing under PACT, RAD or the Trust at any point, please submit testimony on our website: https://www.savesection9.org/testify. These testimonies will be used to strengthen our demand for a moratorium on RAD/PACT and section 18 conversions. 

TONIGHT’S EVENTS

Join us tonight for either of two meetings:
Save Section 9 Biweekly Meeting
7:00 - 8:30pm EST
on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83727429468
OR
NYCHA in your Neighborhood, Staten Island
6:30 - 8:30pm EST (doors open at 6pm)
at the Gerard Carter Community Center at Stapleton Houses, 230 Broad St., Staten Island, NY 10304
Find Nilda or Reverend Kevin McCall if you want to help pass out flyers to tenants!

OTHER EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

 Friday, October 2. 7:30pm EST. Screening + Panel of A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR: The Push to Stop the Demolition of Public Housing in Chelsea: Join TOWG for a screening of an incredibly important and politically salient film, about the fight to stop the demolition of NYCHA's Fulton & Elliott-Chelsea buildings. Through the experiences of residents organizing to defend their community, the film raises important questions about privatization, tenant power, and what it means to fight for public housing. We are very excited that the filmmaker as well as resident leaders from Fulton & Elliott-Chelsea will be on hand and will take part in a panel discussion following the film. RSVP HERE. Location: DSA Brooklyn office (1191 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn)

 Sunday, October 4. Tour de Bronx is back! The largest free cycling event in New York State that allows you to explore our borough from the comfort of your own bike. You can partake in a 10-, 25-, or 40-mile ride from the iconic Grand Concourse to the world-renowned New York Botanical Garden. In partnership with the Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation, and all of our amazing partners and sponsors, we are excited to bring this event back to the Bronx! Registration opened yesterday, and we are encouraging both novice and expert riders to participate. If you're unable to ride, volunteer opportunities are also available. Click this link to learn more and to get involved!

 Sunday, October 4. 6:00pm EST (doors at 5pm). Free Screening of A HOME WORTH FIGHTING FOR: The Push to Stop the Demolition of Public Housing in Chelsea: The short documentary follows residents of Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses as they fight to stop the proposed demolition of their homes. What happens at Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea could set a precedent for the future of public housing across New York City. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with residents, public housing experts, elected officials, and community advocates. At the SVA Theater 333 West 23rd Street. Click here to register. 

——————

 Monday, October 5. 7:00pm EST (doors at 6:30pm). Literature to Life presents The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao at United Palace, 4140 Broadway, New York, NY, 10033. Literature to Life presents this thrilling adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel which chronicles the life of Oscar, an overweight science-fiction enthusiast who dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien. Growing up in Paterson, he obsesses over fantasy novels, falling in love, and the curse that has plagued his family for generations. Despite the endless taunting from friends, family, and foes, Oscar remains true to himself, as the family curse declares its power and the violence of Oscar's family history collides with his present. General Admission is $20. Click here to purchase tickets. 

 Tuesday, October 6. 10:00am EST. El Barrio College Fair ’26. East Harlem Community Partnership. 71 East 111th Street 2nd Floor (Park & Madison Ave). Students will have an opportunity to learn about financial aid, FAFSA, grants, campus life, career pathways, and resources for first-generation college students. Click here to register.

 Wednesday, October 7. 7:00pm EST. Documentary Info Session.Virtual. Where else is this happening? A housing crisis documentary by 4Angry H1ppy Productions. See attached flyer for registration information.  

 Wednesday, October 7. 5:30 - 7:30pm EST. PACT Resident Information Meeting Baisley Park Houses. Cavalry Baptist Church Sanctuary, 111-10 Guy Brewer Blvd Jamaica, NY 11435. You're invited to join NYCHA at a meeting to discuss PACT. Because this is your home and community, we want to hear from you about your priorities. Sponsored by CM Ty Hankerson. Flyer attached. 

 Thursday, October 8. 2 - 3pm EST. Training for Self-Sufficiency Programs -New Mandatory 50058 Reporting Requirements Effective January 1, 2027: ATTENTION FSS, ROSS, and Jobs Plus programs (Tribes/TDHE's may disregard). Click here to register. 

 Saturday, October 10. 9:00am - 3:00pm. East Harlem Festival of Books. 440 EAST 116TH STREET EAST HARLEM, NY 14227. WRITERS, VENDORS, SPONSORS, contact FÉLIX LEO CAMPOS at: libros230books@gmail.com or 646 633 1790.

OPINION

A response on last Tuesday’s Committee on Public Housing City Council Hearing on Work Orders written by Thomas McKinney, public housing ally and member of Save Section 9, policy committee. 

“After watching the City Council Hearing on the repair and maintenance crisis in NYCHA ( Section9/PACT/RAD) it seems to me that there are several layers of ongoing systemic dysfunction in this process. While I'm not a resident of Public Housing and no longer live in NYC, as a result of working in Community Affairs ( Community operations / Resident Engagement) for 31 years as an employee and the last 16 years in advocacy, I am acutely aware of the same problem scenario that has plagued Public Housing for decades.

“There is and has been a vast discrepancy between NYCHA's data and the actual lived experiences of the Residents.  The focus of this hearing seemed to be on patch work repair justification. I didn't hear anything from the NYCHA staff or the Council Chair regarding the decaying infrastructure that leads to the constantly re-emerging need for the same repairs over and over. While the functional and cosmetic work is essential and necessary they speak to the much larger problem of neglected and absent attention to infrastructure maintenance and management which costs the HA millions of dollars for repeated superficial repairs. A reality that the RAD conversions have failed to significantly address. Cosmetic upgrades may prove to be temporary if the infrastructure on which they are built remains problematic and unaddressed. Another layer in this scenario is effective Resident Advocacy Education and Understanding of the structural needs of the buildings and effective legal and political advocacy... NYCHA has successfully distracted from this understanding and capacity by spreading the often misleading and potentially deceptive data heard in this hearing.

“Resident led Advocacy Groups such as Save Section 9 and similar groups, working in conjunction with the Elected Resident Council dynamic, such as the CCOP/DCOP and some Development RCs, have consistently endeavored to highlight this dysfunctional reality while often being dismissed by NYCHA and various NYC politicians. Adequate  and essential funding for Section 9 Public Housing is fundamental in the preservation of this last Affordable Housing Reality in NYC and Nationwide!!!”

-Thomas McKinney, September 26th, 2026

Have an opinion you want to share on a recent public housing event or announcement? 

Send it with the subject line “OPINION” to savesection9@gmail.com.