We have Another Victory at 81 Bowery Street!
On November 13, 2008, over 50 tenants were forced out of their homes and told to go to a homeless shelter because their landlord did not correct safety violations that had already been cited by the City’s Department of Buildings. After more than nine months living in the temporary shelter, the long-time residents of 81 Bowery returned to their hones in early September.
We were able to win this victory because of sustained advocacy, direct action, and the building of community support that was at the core of our strategy to maintain momentum. It was a long battle, going from court date to court date, month to month since November of 2008. As the lawyers from MFY Legal Services were suing the landlord, CAAAV and the tenants put pressure on the City’s Department of Buildings to ensure that correcting the safety violations was the only thing the landlord was able to focus on, not converting the building into a hotel as was his original intention.
We raised community consciousness around this vacate and others in Chinatown, making the connections that this is not just about one individual landlord, but gentrification in our community, and how landlords are purposefully leaving their buildings in poor conditions in order to kick out their low-income tenants.
The tenants never gave up hope and were a part of the struggle every step of the way. While many tenants have gotten new keys and are rebuilding their lives, the landlord has not given everyone keys to move back. This tactic of dividing the tenants is not working since all of them have pledged to continue to fight until they can all move back!
Check out this article in the Villager:
http://thevillager.com/villa