Rahel Biru

COLLECTIVE MEMBER & FORMER STAFF, MAYDAY SPACE

In this interview, Rahel Biru talks about her work in mutual aid efforts as a staff member at MayDaySpace. She remembers how the neighborhood’s vibrancy, atmosphere and affordability have changed over time because of gentrification, and how she became involved in housing activism and community work in Bushwick. Rahel reflects on how neighborhood residents, particularly in NYCHA housing, who were already struggling with inequality and a broken food system have been further impoverished by the pandemic. She describes how these challenges are caused by a fragmented healthcare industry, lack of consistent access to care and food security, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. She describes how mutual aid efforts, while impacted by the anxiety and politics during COVID times, also demonstrates the strength of community networks and groups in filling the void caused by disorganized government support at federal and city levels. She discusses how new tactical strategies need to be enacted at municipal and local levels to help address community needs. This interview is part of the Nos Cuidamos oral history project, which is a collaboration between Cities for People, Not For Profit and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project (AEMP).