14: Q-Day

Following on from Episode 13, we examine the housing crisis that gripped postwar New York City in the 1940s. This pressing social issue was depicted in both Frank Sinatra's IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN (1947) and the pro-squatter, anti-landlord classic, IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947). We learn that New York City in the late 1940s was a formative setting for tenant activism that leaves a rich legacy for us in the early 2020s, both in the US and here in Australia. Where Sinatra's film at MGM deals with the housing crisis in a middling & passive way, its sister Allied Artists film IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947) is an explicitly pro-squatting, pro-working class & anti-landlord masterpiece. It is absolutely essential viewing. Plus, a topical surprise visit from an old friend of the show. Recommended: Roberta Gold's When Tenants Claimed the City, THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (2019) and the podcast Eating for Free. Tom Tanuki's article about the scourge of Airbnb in Australian cities: https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/we-have-a-plague-of-airbnb-landlords,16751 Join the Renters and Housing Union Victoria (RAHU) - WEBSITE: https://rahu.org.au/ INSTAGRAM: http://instagr.am/rahunionvic TWITTER: http://twitter.com/rahunion FACEBOOK: https://fb.me/rentersandhousingunion Contact us - EMAIL: [email protected] INSTAGRAM: http://instagr.am/suddenlypod TWITTER: http://twitter.com/suddenlypod