Michael Friedrich
@mfriedrichnyc.bsky.social
writing about the politics of cities and housing for The Baffler, The New Republic, & others https://linktr.ee/mfriedrichnyc
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...
The new rent debt strike relies on a strategy that @debtcollective.bsky.social pioneered with student debtors. A small group refused to pay back loans to institutions that defrauded them, creating a "moral shock" that drove a national movement and won billions in relief.
October 6, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The new rent debt strike relies on a strategy that @debtcollective.bsky.social pioneered with student debtors. A small group refused to pay back loans to institutions that defrauded them, creating a "moral shock" that drove a national movement and won billions in relief.
In May, I covered a new study showing that large corporate landlords are disproportionately evicting black tenants in L.A. Equity Residential was the worst offender. @debtcollective.bsky.social is now organizing debtors harmed by the landlord’s eviction practices. bsky.app/profile/mfri...
A new study shows that large corporate landlords in LA are disproportionately evicting Black tenants in the post-pandemic housing market. The findings are disturbing, but they also raise possibilities for tenant organizing. I wrote about it for @prospect.org. prospect.org/infrastructu...
Corporate Landlords Show Racist Eviction Patterns
A new study reveals that large national landlords in Los Angeles are disproportionately evicting Black tenants.
prospect.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
In May, I covered a new study showing that large corporate landlords are disproportionately evicting black tenants in L.A. Equity Residential was the worst offender. @debtcollective.bsky.social is now organizing debtors harmed by the landlord’s eviction practices. bsky.app/profile/mfri...
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...
What, in your estimation, does your comment have to do with this post, the essay it’s linked to, or the book under review?
August 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
What, in your estimation, does your comment have to do with this post, the essay it’s linked to, or the book under review?
“The arson wave was, in a sense, a free-market slum-clearance program,” Ansfield writes.
It made way for today’s inexorable gentrification process, led by the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors that rose to dominance in the 1970s. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
It made way for today’s inexorable gentrification process, led by the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors that rose to dominance in the 1970s. 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 7:13 PM
“The arson wave was, in a sense, a free-market slum-clearance program,” Ansfield writes.
It made way for today’s inexorable gentrification process, led by the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors that rose to dominance in the 1970s. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...
It made way for today’s inexorable gentrification process, led by the finance, insurance, and real estate sectors that rose to dominance in the 1970s. thebaffler.com/latest/ring-...