Activists and Residents Light Up Bushwick with Anti-Gentrification Signs 1 Favorite 

Since Christmas Eve, some lights along the streets and in the houses of Bushwick have spelled out a number of messages quite different from the festive wishes one usually finds during the holiday season. “GENTRIFICATION IS THE NEW COLONIALISM,” “NOT 4 SALE,” and “NO EVICTION ZONE,” some read. Found around major streets and intersections, the signs are part of “Mi Casa No Es Su Casa: Illumination Against Gentrification,” a community resistance art project to give voice to those concerned with the gentrification of their neighborhood and threats of displacement. The project, organized in conjunction with social justice group NYC Light Brigade, was spearheaded by longtime Bushwick resident Pati Rodriguez, who said she and her family are “tired of being harassed by developers and real estate agents looking to buy us out of our home in Bushwick to displace us, just like they did with most of my childhood friends.”

The signs, 21 in total, all glow with firm declarations of tenacity against such intimidation techniques. Lights that read, “3 GENERATION HOUSEHOLD” make clear that buildings are not just portions of real estate up for carving, but homes; others say, “NO ME MUDO” (I’m not moving”), reminding passersby of the ever-present possibility of families being forced from their residences.