DC Tenants to Launch Campaign for Safe, Healthy Housing Tackling Mold, Lead, and Asbestos

Today’s blog is the third and last in a series of stories previewing this Saturday’s 6th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall. The town hall will be held from 1-4 pm at the All Souls Unitarian Church. RSVP on our Facebook event page.

One of the big victories tenants have won at previous Tenant Town Halls is the right to sue their landlords in DC Superior Court over housing code violations. Before, only landlords could take tenants to court, but thanks to tenant organizing, DC renters now have a powerful tool to take action to improve conditions in their apartments.

But what if the problem in your apartment is mold?

If you have mold growing on the walls or ceiling or anyplace else in your apartment and you get a housing inspection from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), the inspectors will tell you they can only cite the landlord for visible “dampness” or leaks in the walls or ceiling, but not for mold. So there is no mechanism for tenants to enforce their right to healthy housing that is free of mold.

One of the demands of this year’s Town Hall is for the DC Department of the Environment and DCRA housing inspectors to implement programs to inspect for mold (including testing for airborne mold spores), and hold landlords responsible for properly eliminating mold and its underlying sources.

 

What’s At Stake for Tenants in this Year’s DC Budget?

Today’s blog, authored by Elizabeth Falcon at the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development’s Housing for All Campaign, is the second in a series of stories previewing this Saturday’s 6th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall. The town hall will be held from 1-4 pm at the All Souls Unitarian Church. RSVP on our Facebook event page.

At the annual Tenant Town Hall on Saturday, hundreds of DC renters will highlight issues that are important to them.

So how will the Council budget vote next Wednesday affect the fight for affordable housing? There are three key programs which can make housing affordable for District residents.

The Housing Production Trust Fund is a crucial program to build and preserve affordable housing. Dozens of tenant associations have used the Trust Fund to purchase their buildings or partner with a developer that will keep their homes affordable. Since 2000, more than 1500 units of affordable housing have been preserved using the Trust Fund.

Unfortunately, the Trust Fund has seen cuts over the last few years, and money has not been available to build new apartments or help tenants purchase. Now, the DC Council can follow Mayor Gray’s recommendation in his $100 million proposal for affordable housing and restore $20 million to the Trust Fund where it belongs.

“The tenants at the Concord Apartments, as is with other residents in the District, are in need and would appreciate Tax Credit Funding and potentially funds from the Housing Production Trust Fund to ensure our homes stay as affordable housing,” says Leon Wells, president of the Concord Apartments Tenant Association, which is interested in buying their building.

 

Washington Post Express – From Renters to Owners

Silvia Salazar didn’t expect tenant organizing to change her life. She just wanted to rid her decaying apartment complex of bedbugs, black mold and rats. The 36-year-old ended up empowering her neighbors to advocate for themselves and, ultimately, become proud owners of their own building.

For years, Salazar’s calls and letters to the management company of her 1930s-era Logan Circle building went unanswered. In October 2005, she decided to take action. She met with a handful of renters in the laundry room to discuss their home’s flaws. Over the next six years, the group formed a tenant association and waged a legal battle to purchase their seven-story, 84-unit building, now the Norwood Cooperative (1417 N St. NW).

“In a building that has had as many maintenance issues as us, where we speak many languages, the fact that we could organize and get around to doing it shows that it’s possible in any building in D.C,” Salazar said.

To read the full article, click here.

 

Associated Press – Rent Hike Forces Some DC Residents Out (Video)

In the nation’s capital, new housing and bigger stores are going up — all meant to fight crime and boost the economy.

But some Washington residents say the redevelopments are making the city too expensive.

“It just makes me almost want to cry  — to think about what they’re trying to do to us, and do to me in particular, and throughout the city,” says DC resident Ruth Tyler.

To watch the entire video, click here.

 

Hundreds of DC Renters Organize for Affordable Housing at 5th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE             
June 22, 2012                 

Contact: Ash Kosiewicz, Communications and Advocacy Director
Farah Fosse, Affordable Housing Preservation Program Director
(202) 425-1303; (202) 590-4369
akosiewicz@ledcmetro.org ; ffosse@ledcmetro.org

WHAT: 5th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall
WHERE: National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW
WHEN: Saturday, June 23rd, 2012; 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
WHO (confirmed): Ward 1 Councilmember  Jim Graham; Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh; Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser; At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange; Renters from across the city (250 attendees expected); Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Director Nicholas Majett; DC Housing Authority Director Adrianne Todman; DC Housing Finance Agency Director Harry Sewell; Department of Housing and Community Development Deputy Director Jessica Franklin; Office of the Tenant Advocate Director Johanna Shreve; Office on Latino Affairs Director Roxana Olivas; Office on African Affairs Director Ngozi Nmezi; Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs; AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly; CARECEN; Mi Casa; Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center; ONE DC; Legal Aid DC; Bread for the City; CNHED Housing for All Campaign; Empower DC; Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless; We Are Family; Many Languages, One Voice; Ethiopian Community Center; Latino Economic Development Center.

WASHINGTON – In the wake of successful efforts to restore $18 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund in the FY13 budget and the release of new data showing a dramatic loss of low-cost rental units since 2000, the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) is organizing the 5th Annual Tenant Town Hall with more than 250 renters and community-based organizations from across the city.

Having identified affordable housing as the #1 issue of concern at DC Mayor Vincent Gray’s One City Summit in February, residents will follow-up with Council members and directors of DC housing agencies by presenting their housing priorities and solutions on a range of critical issues. These include the pressing need to help more tenants buy their apartment buildings using the District’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and public funds from the Trust Fund to prevent their displacement from communities undergoing significant revitalization.

“DC residents have been very clear – affordable housing is their #1 issue,” said Farah Fosse, director of LEDC’s Affordable Housing Preservation Program. “Renters across the city are organized and ready for the Gray Administration and Council members to stop the dramatic loss of affordable housing by making funding for key programs a continuing priority.”

 

You Too Can Fight for Tenant Rights on YouTube

Today’s blog is the first in a series of stories previewing this Saturday’s 5th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall. The town hall will be held from 1-4 pm at the National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW.

“Nobody should live in the terrible conditions we were living in,” says DC resident Randy Green. “And if you’re living in such conditions, you should do something about it.”

Randy’s appeal – shared just before a step-by-step explanation of how renters in the District of Columbia can fix housing code violations in their apartment buildings – is one message within a series of short, playful and informative “Tenant Rights 101” videos set for screening at the 5th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall.

Created through collaboration between LEDC and local community-based filmmakers, the bilingual videos aim to educate renters in the District about their legal rights as tenants through the personal experiences of four DC residents who worked with their neighbors to fight for decent, affordable housing in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Logan Circle.

 

Hundreds of DC Residents to Organize for Affordable Housing at 5th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall

MEDIA ADVISORY            
June 20, 2012                  

Contact: Ash Kosiewicz, Communications and Advocacy Director
Farah Fosse, Affordable Housing Preservation Director
(202) 425-1303; (202) 590-4369
akosiewicz@ledcmetro.org; ffosse@ledcmetro.org

250 renters expected to follow-up with Council members, housing directors on #1 issue from Mayor’s One City Summit and present solutions to keep the District affordable amid trends showing dramatic loss of low-cost rental units in previous decade

WHAT: 5th Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall
WHERE: National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW
WHEN: Saturday, June 23rd, 2012; 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
WHO (confirmed): Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham; Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh; Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser; At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange; Renters from across the city (250 attendees expected); Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Director Nicholas Majett; DC Housing Authority Director Adrianne Todman; DC Housing Finance Agency Director Harry Sewell; Office on Latino Affairs Director Roxana Olivas; Office of the Tenant Advocate Director Johanna Shreve; Department of Housing and Community Development staff; Office on African Affairs; Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs; AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly; CARECEN; Mi Casa; Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center; ONE DC; Legal Aid DC; Bread for the City; CNHED Housing for All Campaign; Empower DC; Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless; We Are Family; Many Languages, One Voice; Ethiopian Community Center; LEDC. ***Invitations to all councilmembers***

WASHINGTON – In the wake of successful efforts to restore $18 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund in the FY13 budget and the release of new data showing the number of low-cost rental units in the city has fallen by half since 2000, the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) is organizing the 5th Annual Tenant Town Hall with renters and community-based organizations from across the city. Residents will present their housing priorities and solutions, including the pressing need to help more renters buy their apartment buildings to prevent their displacement from communities undergoing significant revitalization. Tenants will also champion language access rights for immigrants and their role in the preservation of decent, affordable housing; continued improvements to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs’ (DCRA) proactive housing code inspections program; and the creation of a new policy to ensure that publicly subsidized apartment buildings slated for foreclosure do not lose their subsidy. The event will also feature the screening of four short bilingual films on tenant rights. In its 5th year, the Tenant Town Hall has served as a dynamic forum through which tenants have secured major victories for DC renters, including the right to sue landlords in court for refusing to fix housing code violations and the creation of the proactive inspections program. The town hall takes place just four months after DC residents identified the lack of affordable housing as the #1 issue facing the District at Mayor Vincent Gray’s One City Summit.

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Working families deserve to live in affordable homes and own successful small businesses, but too many are unable to turn these dreams into a reality. The Latino Economic Development Center equips Latinos and other DC-area residents with the skills and financial tools to buy and stay in their homes, take control of the decisions affecting their apartment buildings, and start or expand small businesses. Learn more at http://www.ledcmetro.org.

 

What to Look for in DC Mayor Vincent Gray’s Proposed Budget

Today, in just over an hour, DC Mayor Vincent Gray will release his proposed FY2013  budget for the District of Columbia.

LEDC, with our friends at the Fair Budget Coalition and the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, are taking a good hard look at how well the budget supports programs that champion stable housing and thriving businesses in the District.

Here’s what we’re looking for!

 

Why They Never Gave Up: How the Norwood Tenants Association Fought the Good Fight On Their Own Terms – and Won

This Saturday, October 29th at 12:30 pm, the residents of 1417 N St NW (the Norwood) will celebrate the grand opening of their housing cooperative in Logan Circle. Six years ago, residents united to form a tenant association. Their struggle involved suing the owner for poor housing conditions, defeating a condominium conversion proposal, and ultimately led to the purchase of their building and the creation of DC’s newest affordable cooperative.  Click here for more information on tomorrow’s grand opening and read below their inspiring success story first posted in July.

In 2006, a condominium developer walked into 1417 N Street NW to explain to residents living in the Norwood apartment building in Logan Circle how their rental housing – mired by deteriorating living conditions – could be converted into a pristine, high-rise condominium.

The Norwood Tenants Association, comprised of residents of diverse backgrounds and income levels, was ready to listen. But they had their own plan.

“We knew from talking to tenants and looking at our options that a condo was probably not what we wanted because most of the people in the building wouldn’t be able to participate,” recalls David Fabian, co-president of the tenant association. “We really hunkered down and said, ‘We’ll let them speak, but we’re going to prepare ourselves to present our case for what we want.’”

 

Univision – Factor Económico Determina la Vivienda (Spanish)

New Census figures show that many Latinos in the District have left the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights areas over the last 10 years and relocated to areas along Georgia Avenue, including Petworth and Brightwood.

Statistics show that the overall Hispanic population fell by nearly 25 percent in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant while it grew by nearly 50 percent in the Georgia Avenue neighborhoods.

To watch the full Univision video clip in Spanish that talks about the new figures and the role of rising housing costs in this shift, click here.