Michael Friedrich
@mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social
writing about the politics of cities and housing for The Baffler, The New Republic, & others https://linktr.ee/mfriedrichnyc
Pinned
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential.
prospect.org
A group of former tenants has organized the first rent debt strike in U.S. history. They are refusing to pay back unjust debts to Equity Residential, a corporate landlord accused of widespread misconduct. I wrote about their campaign for @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
For @thenation.com and @typeinvestigations.org, I looked into American Landmark, a major landlord filing evictions far more than the national average.
I found they are owned by an Israeli company with ties to the IDF, including during the Gaza genocide. (1/10)
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
I found they are owned by an Israeli company with ties to the IDF, including during the Gaza genocide. (1/10)
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
www.thenation.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:57 PM
For @thenation.com and @typeinvestigations.org, I looked into American Landmark, a major landlord filing evictions far more than the national average.
I found they are owned by an Israeli company with ties to the IDF, including during the Gaza genocide. (1/10)
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
I found they are owned by an Israeli company with ties to the IDF, including during the Gaza genocide. (1/10)
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Today's must-read by @thomasbirm.bsky.social: a major corporate landlord is fueling homelessness across the U.S. *and* the mass displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Israeli company owns tens of thousands of apartments in the South, filing evictions at nine times the national average.
The Israeli company owns tens of thousands of apartments in the South, filing evictions at nine times the national average.
The Eviction Kings
One of Israel’s biggest companies is taking over huge swaths of US real estate—and tenants are paying the price.
www.thenation.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Today's must-read by @thomasbirm.bsky.social: a major corporate landlord is fueling homelessness across the U.S. *and* the mass displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Israeli company owns tens of thousands of apartments in the South, filing evictions at nine times the national average.
The Israeli company owns tens of thousands of apartments in the South, filing evictions at nine times the national average.
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Many Jewish institutional leaders have spent the past few months promising that New York Jews will be in danger if Zohran wins.
We’re about to see exactly how wrong they were.
Will they admit it?
empty-brain.ghost.io/will-jewish-...
We’re about to see exactly how wrong they were.
Will they admit it?
empty-brain.ghost.io/will-jewish-...
Will Jewish leaders atone for their sins next year?
Falsifiable fearmongering and the Zohran Mamdani election.
Maybe because they’re clergy so bad behavior takes on an fancier form, or because their worst conduct has played out in the shadow of the Hi...
empty-brain.ghost.io
November 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Many Jewish institutional leaders have spent the past few months promising that New York Jews will be in danger if Zohran wins.
We’re about to see exactly how wrong they were.
Will they admit it?
empty-brain.ghost.io/will-jewish-...
We’re about to see exactly how wrong they were.
Will they admit it?
empty-brain.ghost.io/will-jewish-...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Under Trump, the draconian future of homelessness policy is coming into focus: mass internment. Utah is building a 16-acre site to detain up to 1,300 homeless people inside locked "accountability centers." This is profoundly alarming.
Vital reporting from @ellenbarry.bsky.social and Jason DeParle:
Vital reporting from @ellenbarry.bsky.social and Jason DeParle:
In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape
www.nytimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Under Trump, the draconian future of homelessness policy is coming into focus: mass internment. Utah is building a 16-acre site to detain up to 1,300 homeless people inside locked "accountability centers." This is profoundly alarming.
Vital reporting from @ellenbarry.bsky.social and Jason DeParle:
Vital reporting from @ellenbarry.bsky.social and Jason DeParle:
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Published my first Op-Ed w/ Professor Ed Goetz on how the national narrative about Minneapolis misses how zoning and market rate housing are necessary but not sufficient to help lower-income renters 🧵 www.startribune.com/twin-cities-...
Opinion | We’re seeing haves and have-nots with Minneapolis rents
While the housing cost burden is easing overall, it’s not the case for lower-income renters, the authors write.
www.startribune.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Published my first Op-Ed w/ Professor Ed Goetz on how the national narrative about Minneapolis misses how zoning and market rate housing are necessary but not sufficient to help lower-income renters 🧵 www.startribune.com/twin-cities-...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Nobody wants it as a story but I have multiple NYPD sources who voted for Mamdani, are eager for his win in November, and who say their colleagues quietly feel the same.
They like that he wants NYPD to focus on crime, not quality of life enforcement.
They like that he wants NYPD to focus on crime, not quality of life enforcement.
October 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Nobody wants it as a story but I have multiple NYPD sources who voted for Mamdani, are eager for his win in November, and who say their colleagues quietly feel the same.
They like that he wants NYPD to focus on crime, not quality of life enforcement.
They like that he wants NYPD to focus on crime, not quality of life enforcement.
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
A group of tenants with rent debt are refusing to pay Equity Residential, one of the largest corporate landlords. The campaign’s goals are to win debt cancellation and spur regulatory action to hold corporate landlords accountable. Michael Friedrich reports:
prospect.org/infrastructu...
prospect.org/infrastructu...
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential.
prospect.org
October 6, 2025 at 2:09 PM
A group of tenants with rent debt are refusing to pay Equity Residential, one of the largest corporate landlords. The campaign’s goals are to win debt cancellation and spur regulatory action to hold corporate landlords accountable. Michael Friedrich reports:
prospect.org/infrastructu...
prospect.org/infrastructu...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential prospect.org/infrastructu...
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential prospect.org/infrastructu...
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential.
prospect.org
October 7, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential prospect.org/infrastructu...
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential prospect.org/infrastructu...
Real this lovely essay on Krasznahorkai by @luriethereal.bsky.social
October 10, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Real this lovely essay on Krasznahorkai by @luriethereal.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Well it’s not long sentence, but I did get to write this essay for @newrepublic.com! I strongly encourage you to join us.
newrepublic.com/article/2015...
newrepublic.com/article/2015...
October 10, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Well it’s not long sentence, but I did get to write this essay for @newrepublic.com! I strongly encourage you to join us.
newrepublic.com/article/2015...
newrepublic.com/article/2015...
Imagine real estate-backed securities, but on the blockchain and totally unregulated. What could go wrong?
October 10, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Imagine real estate-backed securities, but on the blockchain and totally unregulated. What could go wrong?
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Many Americans racked up rent debt during the pandemic, often due to corporate landlords’ predatory practices. Now, strikers argue that their debts to Equity Residential are uncollectible under consumer protection laws. Read my report at @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential.
prospect.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Many Americans racked up rent debt during the pandemic, often due to corporate landlords’ predatory practices. Now, strikers argue that their debts to Equity Residential are uncollectible under consumer protection laws. Read my report at @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
A group of former tenants has organized the first rent debt strike in U.S. history. They are refusing to pay back unjust debts to Equity Residential, a corporate landlord accused of widespread misconduct. I wrote about their campaign for @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential.
prospect.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
A group of former tenants has organized the first rent debt strike in U.S. history. They are refusing to pay back unjust debts to Equity Residential, a corporate landlord accused of widespread misconduct. I wrote about their campaign for @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
Atlanta has been been rapidly gentrifying for years & seen tremendous growth in property values since 2011. Yet the public schools starve. And now Mayor wants to extend its tax increment districts, which include some of city’s hottest areas, for 25 years, diverting more $ from schools. #AtlantaWay
(3/6) Atlanta Public Schools presented a stark financial outlook marked by rising costs, declining enrollment, and revenue shortfalls. Leaders are looking to consolidate facilities, moderate pay growth, and review program efficiency to restore financial health. youtube.com/watch?v=LvB1...
October 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Atlanta has been been rapidly gentrifying for years & seen tremendous growth in property values since 2011. Yet the public schools starve. And now Mayor wants to extend its tax increment districts, which include some of city’s hottest areas, for 25 years, diverting more $ from schools. #AtlantaWay
A group of former tenants has organized the first rent debt strike in U.S. history. They are refusing to pay back unjust debts to Equity Residential, a corporate landlord accused of widespread misconduct. I wrote about their campaign for @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Rent Debtors Strike Against Abusive Corporate Landlord
The Debt Collective is leading the charge against the real estate behemoth Equity Residential.
prospect.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
A group of former tenants has organized the first rent debt strike in U.S. history. They are refusing to pay back unjust debts to Equity Residential, a corporate landlord accused of widespread misconduct. I wrote about their campaign for @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
there is no question in my mind that rfk jr is the most dangerous person in this administration and that his eugenicist ideology threatens the lives of millions of people www.advocate.com/politics/dem...
RFK Jr.’s damage to the CDC is ‘past the point of no return,’ Dr. Demetre Daskalakis warns
“The CDC you knew is over,” the infectious diseases doctor told The Advocate. “Unless someone takes radical action, there is nothing there that can be salvaged.”
www.advocate.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:53 PM
there is no question in my mind that rfk jr is the most dangerous person in this administration and that his eugenicist ideology threatens the lives of millions of people www.advocate.com/politics/dem...
The Trump administration has deployed armed troops and masked paramilitaries to brutally kidnap people from U.S. streets.
That is why, as a Democratic member of Congress, I am proposing a bill that provides these agents with a free subscription to the Headspace meditation app.
That is why, as a Democratic member of Congress, I am proposing a bill that provides these agents with a free subscription to the Headspace meditation app.
August 27, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The Trump administration has deployed armed troops and masked paramilitaries to brutally kidnap people from U.S. streets.
That is why, as a Democratic member of Congress, I am proposing a bill that provides these agents with a free subscription to the Headspace meditation app.
That is why, as a Democratic member of Congress, I am proposing a bill that provides these agents with a free subscription to the Headspace meditation app.
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
In the 1970s, landlords burned their buildings for profit, displacing thousands of tenants in poor neighborhoods. For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about @benchansfield.bsky.social's excellent “Born in Flames” and the consequences of the arson wave. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
Ring of Fire | Michael Friedrich
A new book explores the incentives that sparked an arson wave in the Bronx during the 1970s.
thebaffler.com
August 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
In the 1970s, landlords burned their buildings for profit, displacing thousands of tenants in poor neighborhoods. For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about @benchansfield.bsky.social's excellent “Born in Flames” and the consequences of the arson wave. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
“Born in Flames” investigates the wave of arson that swept across the Bronx in the 1970s—and the landlords who were often behind it. @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social reviews the history of white-collar criminals run amok.
Ring of Fire | Michael Friedrich
A new book explores the incentives that sparked an arson wave in the Bronx during the 1970s.
thebaffler.com
August 22, 2025 at 5:19 PM
“Born in Flames” investigates the wave of arson that swept across the Bronx in the 1970s—and the landlords who were often behind it. @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social reviews the history of white-collar criminals run amok.
I wrote about “Born in Flames,” a new history of 1970s arson-for-profit, financialization of housing, and the consequences for tenants, for @thebaffler.com.
August 23, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I wrote about “Born in Flames,” a new history of 1970s arson-for-profit, financialization of housing, and the consequences for tenants, for @thebaffler.com.
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
So grateful for this very sharp review of Born in Flames in
@thebaffler.com
Thank you @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social ! !
@thebaffler.com
Thank you @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social ! !
In the 1970s, landlords burned their buildings for profit, displacing thousands of tenants in poor neighborhoods. For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about @benchansfield.bsky.social's excellent “Born in Flames” and the consequences of the arson wave. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
Ring of Fire | Michael Friedrich
A new book explores the incentives that sparked an arson wave in the Bronx during the 1970s.
thebaffler.com
August 21, 2025 at 5:47 PM
So grateful for this very sharp review of Born in Flames in
@thebaffler.com
Thank you @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social ! !
@thebaffler.com
Thank you @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social ! !
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
“There are, of course, some experiences that you just cannot realize without the paternalism of private enterprise.”
@mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social puts out park conservancies to pasture in NYRA no. 46/47.
nyra.nyc/articles/cen...
@mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social puts out park conservancies to pasture in NYRA no. 46/47.
nyra.nyc/articles/cen...
August 21, 2025 at 3:45 PM
“There are, of course, some experiences that you just cannot realize without the paternalism of private enterprise.”
@mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social puts out park conservancies to pasture in NYRA no. 46/47.
nyra.nyc/articles/cen...
@mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social puts out park conservancies to pasture in NYRA no. 46/47.
nyra.nyc/articles/cen...
In the 1970s, landlords burned their buildings for profit, displacing thousands of tenants in poor neighborhoods. For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about @benchansfield.bsky.social's excellent “Born in Flames” and the consequences of the arson wave. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
Ring of Fire | Michael Friedrich
A new book explores the incentives that sparked an arson wave in the Bronx during the 1970s.
thebaffler.com
August 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
In the 1970s, landlords burned their buildings for profit, displacing thousands of tenants in poor neighborhoods. For @thebaffler.com, I wrote about @benchansfield.bsky.social's excellent “Born in Flames” and the consequences of the arson wave. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
Reposted by Michael Friedrich
In the 1970s, a wave of arson swept across the Bronx. As @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social writes in a review of “Born in Flames,” it helped pave the way for today’s highly financialized, boom-and-bust real estate cycles.
thebaffler.com
August 21, 2025 at 12:20 PM
In the 1970s, a wave of arson swept across the Bronx. As @mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social writes in a review of “Born in Flames,” it helped pave the way for today’s highly financialized, boom-and-bust real estate cycles.
Most people don’t realize that private conservancies, not the Parks Dept, do the bulk of fundraising and management for NYC's marquee parks.
This arrangement keeps them nice but makes for dumb uses of public space, networks of donor influence, and an unequal park system.
This arrangement keeps them nice but makes for dumb uses of public space, networks of donor influence, and an unequal park system.
August 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Most people don’t realize that private conservancies, not the Parks Dept, do the bulk of fundraising and management for NYC's marquee parks.
This arrangement keeps them nice but makes for dumb uses of public space, networks of donor influence, and an unequal park system.
This arrangement keeps them nice but makes for dumb uses of public space, networks of donor influence, and an unequal park system.