What a beautiful display of love.
Comedian Michael Che announced that his grandmother has passed away as a result of contracting COVID-19. To honor her, Che is paying the rent for 160 of the residents who reside in his grandmother’s building, The Root reports.
The Saturday Night Live writer took to Instagram to announce his effort, saying, “It’s crazy to me that residents of public housing are still expected to pay their rent when so many New Yorkers can’t even work. Obviously, I can’t offer much help by myself, but in the spirit and memory of my late grandmother, I’m paying one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in the NYCHA building she lived in.”
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) owns the building Che’s grandmother lived in. According to its site, their mission is “to increase opportunities for low-and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social community services.”
Che is planning to hold them to that mission, adding that while “[he knows his efforts are] just a drop in the bucket…[he hopes] the city has a better plan for debt forgiveness for all the people in public housing, AT THE VERY LEAST.” He signed off by calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo and hip hop mogul and New York native Sean “Diddy” Combs to help him fix this issue.
Che returned to work this week, streaming his SNL segment live from his home. He said his grandmother loved his jokes and while she didn’t watch SNL, coming back to work made him feel better.
Thank you for all you’re doing Michael! Our sincere prayers and condolences go out to you and your family.
Photo Courtesy of Evan Agostini/Associated Press