CACHE's Brief History

DRAFT In the fall of 2023, the Hudson-Catskill Housing Coalition (HCHC), a black-led housing organization, was evicted from its location at Foreland, a recently purchased and renovated campus of buildings in Catskill that is now a collection of high-priced art studios. HCHC was evicted because the group challenged a 137.5% increase in rent. During the final months of their lease, HCHC called upon neighbors to attend community meetings to engage in serious questions about gentrification and housing displacement. After a few weeks of meetings, community members began to brainstorm and coalesce actions in response to the racist action by Foreland.

Catskill Artists and Creatives for Housing Equity (CACHE) was the name decided for by the group, made up of community members and peer Foreland tenants. The first mobilization of the group, was to use its talents and connections to organize a art-gallery fundraiser to aid with HCHC's moving expenses. The fundraiser raised $16,010---a smashing success! We realized in our first organizin goal, that we had capacity make serious change for our friends and neighbors, even if it was too late to keep HCHC in our neighborhood.

CACHE worked under the immediate guidance and eye of HCHC in the early months of organizing, but it was later decided that CACHE would