We worked directly with local businesses that were being priced out due to rent hikes.

Our work began at Jesse’s Deli where we had a price hike sale, raising all of his prices and renaming his products to justify the increase. We posted these renamed products in his windows.

The idea evolved and we worked with other storeowners confronted with forceful price outs, including a whole city block in Washington Heights. There we created a campaign advertising their price hike with “Small Plates for Twice the Price.”

We then built a Bed and Breakfast in a bodega window, charging $329.99 a night to make up for the storeowner’s rent increase. People were able to protest rent hikes at this ‘Bed-In’ while holding a sign to help spread word about the Small Business Jobs Survival Act.

We held untraditional “sales” in storefronts of businesses that were getting priced out. The sales started with posters in the windows with higher prices of the same products with hipster-fied names to justify the new price. Then a bed and breakfast was installed in a deli charging a price that would help the tenant make the new rent.

The campaign took place from June 11th to October 31st in New York City. #JessesPricedOut started June 11th. The Dominican Neighborhood started July 1st. And AirBnBodega took place in September and October.

The scale of the actual sales was 3 locations—first taking over a deli, then a whole city block being priced out in Washington Heights and finally back to Brooklyn at the original deli to regain the momentum of the press following the story. 2 websites were created as well as a posting on AirBnB that led to support for the SBJSA.

The campaign helped push the Small Business Jobs Survival Act forward, moving it from 14 supporters in city hall to the 26 needed to secure a majority! (for the first time in the 30 years since this retail rent control legislation had been introduced.)

The story became an international phenomenon. It received coverage on 38 television news broadcasts, in over 1500 magazines and blogs, and in 30 newspapers, ranging from features in global journals to cover stories in local papers. In the end, it generated over 300 million media impressions.

Once we established a personality and humor behind the issue of rent increases, New Yorkers were reinvigorated by the issue and followed and spread the word; Bringing an issue that was “tired” in the eyes of the press back into the local, national and international discourse.

#JessesPricedOut used local business storefronts to not only build awareness about rent hikes in New York, but also to generate action. The sardonic humor made the campaign spreadable, but the calls to action created a direct response to 1) Sign a petition to pass the Small Business Jobs Survival Act and 2) Urge councilmen to support the act. Press releases for the campaign noted its impact on the SBJSA, thus creating a direct link between all press coverage and the act. The effort pushed the act from 14 supporters in city hall to the 26 needed to secure a majority.

The Data: 185,000 small businesses account for a majority of middle-income jobs in New York. Every month, between 1000 and 1200 of those businesses lose their lease due to exorbitant rent hikes by greedy landlords and financiers.

The target: New Yorkers, the Press, and City Council members, a group that is desensitized to the issue of gentrification and rent hikes in New York. They’ve seen it all.

Approach: Make this issue resonate with New Yorkers and have them care about the business owners that are being affected by rent hikes.

Call to action: Lead people to the Small Business Jobs Survival Act site to sign the petition and urge New York City Council to push the act forward.

New Yorkers are becoming increasingly desensitized to the issue of gentrification and rent increases for small businesses.

The typical process is as follows: Small business occupies storefront for many years -- landlord wants them out to make room for corporate tenant or high end establishment -- landlord increases rent by 200-300% to price them out -- tenant is forced to leave.

Jesse from Jesse’s Deli, who was also getting priced out of his store, asked if we could help other small business like his before their rents went up, too.

Our objective was clear: let’s help raise awareness for the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, which could help prevent small businesses from getting priced out. But we needed to get people interested in this issue again and show how it directly affects small businesses.