See also photos and media for complete photos and a visual telling of the event.
DYLAN GAULTHIER (associate curator, More Art):
Hello! It’s my extreme privilege tonight to give a very special third and final award.
Over the past 20 years, More Art has frequently collaborated with artists confronting the intertwined issues of housing justice, homelessness, and economic inequality.
Tonight we are presenting a new award, our “more vision award,” and we are pleased to use it to spotlight a different kind of creative partner – the Related Companies.
We know them as the team behind Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States, Liberty Square in Miami, CityPlace in Palm Beach, and The Grand LA among other urban renovations.
By fusing dazzling architecture with innovative fundraising strategies, The Related Companies have altered the fabric of cities across the country – all while making bold moves in art and design in public spaces.
Related is working to bring their unique brand of placemaking to Chelsea in the coming years, and we are delighted to announce More Art as a beneficiary and anchor tenant in these plans!
To accept this new award for More Vision in the public realm on behalf of Related Companies, I’d like to ask Andsor Betzelmack, Related’s Vice President for Community Outreach, to come up to the stage and tell us more about Related’s vision for the future of New York City.
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
Thank you so much, so much, so much for this tremendous honor which bespeaks your art organization's understanding of how ALL of us are collaborating on a much better future for everyone — not only a much better future for ARTISTS… not only a much better future for RESIDENTS of the former Fulton and Elliot Chelsea proj... houses…. but also: a much, much better future for ALL those who live in Chelsea, or anywhere in New York City.
Just as Hudson Yards replaced a mere train depot, Chelsea Yards will replace the Fulton and Elliot-Chelsea houses with an income-diverse, income-inclusive, and fully supportive community of stores, business suites, and diverse residence options.
New Yorkers of all incomes will see consumption options expanded, activity options diversified, and the skyline granted a whole new smidgen of majesty, as a new Hudson Yards takes shape in Chelsea.
Thank you so much to MoreArt — and in fact all of New York's preeminent arts institutions — for being agreeable to our plans for Chelsea, which is, after all, New York's original arts district!!!
And now the part that the hecklers might be most interested in — social justness! Related has made contact with TWENTY NINE PERCENT of the 3300 residents of the Fulton and Elliott houses, and of those 29%, FIFTY SEVEN PERCENT filled out our surveys in favor of what we like to call "reconstruction." Those 500 residents are especially excited for the brand-new HVAC and dishwashers that'll be in every new unit.
WE'VE ALSO SPOKEN! with a very diverse group of folks across Chelsea and New York City, and they LOVE our ideas for New York's communal built environment.
And I'd like to introduce our incredible PR team of Ditmars and Diffeldorf, who have translated that good old New York embrace of the future into some beautiful, artistic videos. Gentlemen?
"DITMARS AND DIFFELDORF":
Thank you. We were so honored to partner with Related. We talked to some locals in Chelsea and got their honest reactions to these wonderful plans.
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
Um, wow, ok, let's try a different one.
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
Yikes yikes yikes. okay one more try...
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
All right folks, we're gonna take a little two-minute break. Stretch your legs! Do some yoga! Massage your crystals.
[He ushers D&D backstage, but forgets to turn off the microphone.]
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
What the FUCK are you guys thinking?? You're supposed to show people liking it!!!
"DITMARS AND DIFFELDORF":
You're asking us to lie?????
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
You're a fucking PR team!!!!!
DYLAN GAULTHIER (from the audience):
Um, everyone can hear you, guys....
"ANDSOR BETZELMACK":
AH!! OH!! SHIT!! Um, yeah…. OK….
All right, I'm not from Related, and these aren't PR guys.
I'm actually Andy from the Yes Men, and these are Davram and Jason from the amazing Good Liars.
You've just seen excerpts from a video they're going to release shortly to publicize the horrific plans that the Related company, who built Hudson Yards, has in store for Chelsea.
Related is in actual reality working with NYCHA on a plan to demolish 2065 units of Section NINE affordable housing, that provides lifelong security to the people who need it — and to replace those 2065 units with just 875 units of Section EIGHT housing, which is much less secure.
Related will also be building 2600 lucrative new apartments for rich people — plus stores and offices and all kinds of cool things. Just like Hudson Yards — but in Chelsea!
Related did in fact do a survey — and it was filled out by, yes, TWENTY-NINE PERCENT of the eligible residents. That survey used the words "rezoning and reconstruction" but it left out "demolition." It was very carefully worded, with no mention of the halving of the number of units, and them going from Section 9 to Section 8. Even with all that lying, 57% of the 29% said they wanted it. That's 16% of the total.
So when Related claims a majority of the residents approve of their plans, the technical term for what they are is total and complete LYING SACKS OF SHIT.
Here is a final video from our amazing PR team — the Good Liars — in which they show an alternative future. It features Jacqueline Lara, a resident of the Chelsea houses, who's here tonight.
"ACTUAL" Related Rep comes up from the audience during the final video and insists on speaking; "Andsor" hands over the microphone:
Uh, all right everyone, great, great, great, this all funny, VERRRRRY artistic, very, uh, HMMMMMM….
But folks, um, I'm the actual head of public relations at Related, and I can assure you that none of what you've just heard is true.
I don't think ANY of us — neither RELATED nor, uh, these artists — SHOULD SPEAK for the less privileged impacted communities of color that have overwhelmingly approved our plans.
We've been extremely transparent, and every resident who cares knows what's in store for the future.
It's true there'll be fewer cheap units than now — but they'll be NEW.
And they'll be right next to thousands of new market-rate units with successful New Yorkers who can be ROLE MODELS for how to live in this city.
[Predictable uproar follows.]
