SRO Tenants Regain Chinatown Homes

(from CAAAV)  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.

Tenants had paid $200 a month at the single room occupancy (SRO) building. The safety violations included no doors, there was no electricity and the common bathrooms were not working properly. Donald Lee, the landlord, had tried to evict the tenants over several years and fought to the end in the courts to avoid allowing the tenants back in. The tenants, who had been placed as far as the Bronx, suffered numerous hardships, including the loss of the jobs, because of long commutes.

CAAAV and the Chinatown Tenants Union (CTU) won 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. The owner intended to convert the building into a hotel.

CAAAV and CTU raised the community’s consciousness around this displacement and others in Chinatown; this was not just about one individual landlord, but gentrification of the community. 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!