Chinatown Tenants Win Campaign Against Negligent Landlord
Contact: Helena Wong (917) 270-0322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2007
Chinese, Latino, and White tenants worked together to fight negligent landlord and had their demands met
April 11, 2007, Chinatown, New York, NY – Yesterday, residents of 55 and 61 Delancey Street met and celebrated their successes in holding their landlord accountable to their demands for safe housing, repairs, and an end to baseless evictions. With more than 500 HPD (Department of Housing Preservation and Development) violations, the tenants were living with some of the worst housing conditions in the city. Many had been served unwarranted eviction notices. Over the past few months, tenants have been participating in a rent strike and holding accountability meetings. They have also organized and participated in actions at the buildings with the support of the Chinatown Tenants Union.
The tenants celebrated the following:
* A rent abatement of over $3000 for every tenant who participated in the rent strike;
* Renewal of leases that were previously denied them;
* Dropped eviction cases;
* Regular heat and hot water and repairs;
* The City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) suing the landlord for the 500-plus violations on record for the two buildings;
* Preservation of rent-stabilized units; and
* Timely responses from the landlord when repairs are requested.
“I never thought we could do it. Many of us have been living with bad conditions for many years. The landlord had ignored our requests for repairs, and we lived without basic services like heat and hot water for so long. But then we began to meet and talk, and everyone had the same experience—we wanted to do something,” said Zhi Qin Zheng, resident of 61 Delancey and member of the Chinatown Tenants Union.
The landlords – Michael Daniel, Nir Sela, and 55 Delancey Street Realty LLC – bought the buildings in 2001 and have evicted almost half of the original tenants of the buildings.
Said CAAAV and CTU organizer Bin Liang, “This was a win for all Chinatown residents. No one thought that the landlord would listen to our demands. But the power that we have when we are united is undeniable. The tenants came together, and that was our biggest strength of all.”
The Chinatown Tenants Union and tenants of 55 and 61 Delancey Street will continue to organize and demand repairs until all the violations are addressed.
The Chinatown Tenants Union was formed in 2004 as a response to the rapidly increasing gentrification of the neighborhood. Made of more than 100 members and more than 1,200 supporters, the CTU works to fight gentrification and displacement of low-income and long-time residents of Chinatown. CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities was founded in 1986 and organizes across diverse, low-wage, and poor Asian communities in New York City.
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Chinatown Tenants Union
191 East 3rd Street #1A New York NY 10009 Tel (212) 473-6485 Email cjp@caaav.org