From Advocacy to Action: How Tenants Can Take Back Their Buildings and Build a Regenerative Economy

"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got."— Albert Einstein

🏢 Red Young’s Testimony Was Heard Around the World—Now It’s Time to Build

"Landlords grow rich in their sleep without working, risking, or economizing. If you do not own land, you will be owned by someone who does."
— John Stuart Mill

On February 27, 2025, Red Young, a tenant organizer from Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, stood before the New York State Senate and delivered a testimony that resonated far beyond those walls.

“For my entire life, 438 West 45th Street has been my home,” he said, his voice carrying the weight of generations of renters fighting for stability in a system designed to keep them struggling.

“We refuse to be voiceless. We refuse to be driven from our homes. We demand Housing Freedom.”

His words became a call to action—a voice for the 70% of NYC residents who are renters.

At stake is the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA)—a law that would give tenants the first right to buy their buildings before corporate investors shut them out.

But even if TOPA passes, the fight isn’t over.

❌ Landlords will manipulate prices to block tenant buyouts.
❌ State funding can be delayed, denied, or buried in red tape.
❌ Even when tenants “win,” the financial system still dictates who gets to own.

Red’s testimony was a powerful spark—but no movement is built by one voice alone.

So We’re Not Waiting—We’re Building.

This is about more than one law. It’s about creating a regenerative housing economy where communities own, govern, and sustain themselves.

This is Housing Freedom 3.0—powered by regenerative economics.

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1. From Renters to Owners: How Tenant DAOs Put Buildings in the Hands of the People Who Live There

The Tenant DAO (TH-DAO) is a self-governing ownership model where tenants pool resources, buy their buildings, and run them without landlords, banks, or corporate developers controlling the process.

How It Works (And How We Keep It Tenant-First)

🏡 Existing Tenants Get First Buy-In – If you live there, you own first. No outside speculators.
🛡️ Community Safeguards – Designed to keep buildings affordable and tenant-led.
⚖️ Ethical Investment Partners Only – No hedge funds, no private equity—only values-aligned investors.
📜 Smart Contracts Prevent Flipping – Owners must live in the building or sell their shares back to the DAO.

💡 This model ensures that buildings remain permanently community-owned.

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2. Mission Coins & NFTs: Ownership Without Exploitation

Instead of relying on mortgages and banks, we create Mission Coins and NFT-based fractional ownership that lets tenants gradually buy into ownership over time.

How It Works (Without Turning Into a Tech Ponzi Scheme)

💰 Mission Coins – A community-backed financial pool that buys buildings before prices spike.
🏠 NFT-Based Ownership – Tenants buy equity over time—no need for a mortgage or massive down payment.
🔐 Smart Contracts Lock in Fair Play – No selling to outside investors. Equity stays within the community.
🎭 Artist-Owned NFTs – 10% of every sale funds community projects and keeps artists housed.

🔥 This is NOT a speculative crypto scheme. It’s real-world, asset-backed, and tenant-controlled.

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3. Intergenerational Housing: Building for People, Not Just Profits

Housing isn’t just about ownership—it’s about community.

Right now, seniors are being pushed into nursing homes they can’t afford, while younger people struggle with rent they can barely pay.

A Better Model: Support Instead of Isolation

🤝 Older tenants stay in their homes longer—with community support.
🏡 Younger residents earn perks (lower rent, extra equity) for providing care:

• Walking dogs, running errands, picking up groceries.

• Helping seniors with home maintenance, social support, and tech help.

• Teaching older tenants how to use phones, WiFi, and smart devices.

💡 Families can invest in Mission Coins to secure housing for aging parents—without the financial stress of nursing homes.

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4. The Housing-Coop Supply Chain: The Costco of Community-Owned Living

The traditional landlord model extracts wealth from neighborhoods, but this model reinvests in local businesses.

How It Works

🍽️ Local restaurants become part of the network – Residents get discounted meal plans, and restaurants get guaranteed customers.
🛒 Grocery Delivery Co-Ops – Buildings source from local farmers & markets, cutting out corporate chains.
🚗 Driver-Owned Delivery Services – No Uber, no DoorDash—only co-op delivery drivers with fair pay and ethical pricing.

💡 Instead of tipping, tenants operate on a membership model—like Costco, but for fair housing, compensation & services.

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5. Artist-Owned Housing & Galleries: Keeping Culture Alive

New York’s artists create its culture—but they’re the first to get displaced.

🎭 Solution: Artist-run buildings & designated floors for musicians, actors, and visual artists.
🎨 Artist-owned galleries connected to the housing network – Providing sustainable income and public access to affordable art.
🏗️ Live-Work Spaces & Recording Studios – Designed for artists to create without financial stress.

💡 NFT art sales, event partnerships, and venue revenue help fund artist-owned housing.

No more creatives being pushed out by rising rents.

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6. Ethical Investment: The Right Money, The Right People

We’re not waiting for state funding. We’re working with values-aligned investors who put community over profit.

How We Structure Ethical Investment at APEX DAO
(a web 3 fund of funds)

✅ Impact Investment Firms Apply for Approval – Firms must meet strict ethical criteria before participating.
✅ Mission-Aligned Funds Provide Capital or Collateral – This reduces risk for tenant buyers while providing stable returns to investors.
✅ Fixed 10-12% Return for Early-Stage Capital – Investors help buy buildings and get repaid first, securing long-term stability.
✅ Long-Term Investors Hold Mission Coins – Ethical investors can retain smaller stakes without overpowering tenant ownership.

💡 This ensures that financial partners add value—without ever taking control.

"Housing is absolutely essential to human flourishing. Without stable shelter, it all falls apart."
— Matthew Desmond, Evicted

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🏢 Red Young’s Testimony Was Heard Around the World—Now It’s Time to Build.

🔥 Red Young ignited this movement. His testimony was a call to action. Now, we step forward to build the future.

We’re not just buying buildings.
We’re not just protecting tenants.

We’re building a regenerative economy—where communities own, govern, and sustain themselves.

We don’t need landlords.
We don’t need hedge funds.
We don’t need permission.

Want to Build This in Your Community? Let’s Get Started.

At APEX DAO we are already building the Web3 banking infrastructure to help build and fund Regenerative Economic Zones in Greenville, SC, Asheville, SC and beyond. We can help tenants launch DAOs to kickstart funding for projects through Mission Coins and NFT collections.

📲 You can find Red Young on TikTok at @redisdowntoearth.

📢 Get in touch with me, Michael Muyot, and let’s make this real.

🔥 What tenant-owned housing model should we build first? Which aspect of Housing Freedom 3.0 should I break down next? Drop a comment below.

#HousingFreedom #RegenerativeEconomics #TOPA #Web3Housing #MissionCoins #TenantOwnership #RedYoung