Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

Victory for DC Tenants in Catholic Church-Owned Buildings
Yasmina Mrabet
24 Jul 2019
Victory for DC Tenants in Catholic Church-Owned Buildings
Victory for DC Tenants in Catholic Church-Owned Buildings

Tenants fight back and win in the city with the nation’s highest rate of gentrification, by far.

“A community developer has signed a contract committing to work with the tenants and not displace them.”

After months of negotiations between the Basilica Tenants Associations, their Legal Aid attorneys, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and local developers, residents have secured a major victory, and prevented the displacement of working class families at three buildings -- a feat that seemed impossible just a few months ago.

Tenants across three separate buildings worked together to find a developer willing to purchase the buildings and ensure that the housing remains affordable. This seemed a near impossible task due to the price that the Basilica demanded, the lack of support from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) for small building projects, the extensive lending requirements by banks, and the short Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) timeline. Yet, due to hard work, perseverance and relentless organizing, the first building of the project has been sold to a community developer who has signed a contract committing to work with the tenants and not displace them. This major victory against gentrification shows that tenants can fight displacement, even when the law provides few if any options, through sustained and highly visible organizing.

It was unclear whether or not victory was possible back in September of 2018, when tenants and supporters gathered outside of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, rallying to demand that the Church adhere to its moral responsibility to protect affordable housing and prevent displacement. Approximately 600 leaflets were handed out to parishioners at the time. Behind the scenes, Housing Counseling Services and Legal Aid worked closely with residents to exercise their legal TOPA rights.

“Tenants will be able to remain in their apartments, with the option to buy and return to rentals far below market rate following building renovations.”

Justice First and LinkUp organizers worked with residents to organize and secure public support,including the support of leaders within the Catholic community. Also integral to making today's victory possible were Bob Cooke, Kathy Boylan and Father Jacek Orzechowski, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Chris Otten and Union Market Neighbors, petition signatories and members of the public who contacted National Shrine leadership on this issue.

Throughout the course of this struggle, we have argued that the Catholic Church has vast resources at its disposal, and could easily engage in good-faith negotiations with tenants in order to prevent the displacement of residents and families, and atone for the role the Church has played in the rapid gentrification of Washington, D.C. After significant public pressure, strong unity among tenants, and the diligent work of their Legal Aid representatives, an agreement has been reached, including the sale of 636 Girard St. NE to Kaizen Community Strategies LLC.

Heather Benno, Vice President of the 636 Girard St. NE Tenants Association confirmed today that they have secured the ability of all tenants to stay, with the option to buy and return to rentals far below market rate following building renovations. Rent control remains in place, so that tenants with disabilities do not see any increase in rents above normal.

In the coming weeks and months, we will be releasing interviews with tenants and discussing this housing victory in Washington, D.C., a city with the highest 'intensity' of gentrification in the country.

Yasmina Mrabet wrote this article on behalf of Justice Firstand LinkUp.

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at [email protected]

gentrification

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

The Obama Presidential Center Will Displace Black People
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The Obama Presidential Center Will Displace Black People
13 October 2021
The Obama Presidential Center will inevitably displace a working class Black community in Chicago.
Gentrification and the End of Black Communities
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
Gentrification and the End of Black Communities
25 August 2021
Census data show that gentrification is accelerating Black displacement.
Rubble Kings: How the Violence Stopped and Hip Hop Emerged in the South Bronx
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Rubble Kings: How the Violence Stopped and Hip Hop Emerged in the South Bronx
04 November 2020
A fact-based, crowd-funded film on urban devastation and gang warfare in the South Bronx packs a bigger political punch than the cult classic,
Philadelphia Agrees to Provide Community Housing Amid Unhoused Activist Push
Lexi McMenamin
Philadelphia Agrees to Provide Community Housing Amid Unhoused Activist Push
04 November 2020
Organizers vow to continue the fight for housing on the heels of these tremendous victories.
Tearing Down Black America
Brent Cebul
Tearing Down Black America
29 July 2020
More than half the 1.2 million Americans displaced by “urban renewal” were Black.
The Expanded Moms4Housing Bill Could Change the Whole Game
Broke-ass Stuart
The Expanded Moms4Housing Bill Could Change the Whole Game
26 February 2020
Although the moms were evicted, their example inspired ground-breaking housing legislation for Oakland, California. 
Between the Great Migration and Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago?
William Scarborough, Iván Arenas, and Amanda E. Lewis
Between the Great Migration and Growing Exodus: The Future of Black Chicago?
04 February 2020
Recent population trends indicate that the city may be at risk of losing its status as a Black mecca.
What Bronx’s “Decade of Fire” Teaches Us About Housing Racism in America Today
Martino Mazzonis
What Bronx’s “Decade of Fire” Teaches Us About Housing Racism in America Today
10 July 2019
Between 1968 and the end of the ‘70s, the Bronx was the scene of thousands of fires.
Gentrification, School Closings, and Displacement in Chicago
Eve Ottenberg
Gentrification, School Closings, and Displacement in Chicago
27 March 2019
School closings are central to gentrification and Black dispersal from prime urban real estate.
#LandWithoutLandlords in Black Oakland: An Interview with Noni Sessions
Ann Garrison , BAR contributor , #LandWithoutLandlords in Black Oakland: An Interview with Noni Session
#LandWithoutLandlords in Black Oakland: An Interview with Noni Sessions
05 December 2018
A dynamic new community project has been launched to halt the push-out of Black and brown people from Oakland by taking land and housing out of the

More Stories


  • Build Back Better Legislation: New Keynesianism or Neoliberal Public Relations Stunt?
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Build Back Better Legislation: New Keynesianism or Neoliberal Public Relations Stunt?
    13 Oct 2021
    Some provisions of Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislation benefit the masses of Black people, but this legislation is a bare minimum effort to blunt some of the sharpest contradictions of the
  • Many would-be migrants, like the Garifuna, would love nothing more than to stay in their homes. It’s Washington that’s making it difficult.
    Miriam Miranda
    Afro-Indigenous People in Honduras Are Being Forcibly Displaced. Washington Is Complicit.
    13 Oct 2021
    Many would-be migrants, like the Garifuna, would love nothing more than to stay in their homes. It’s Washington that’s making it difficult.
  • STATEMENT: Black Caucus Protest at the African Studies Association, Montreal, October, 1969
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    STATEMENT: Black Caucus Protest at the African Studies Association, Montreal, October, 1969
    13 Oct 2021
    Black challenges to white control of African Studies at the 1969 African Studies Association meeting in Montreal exposed the deeply entrenched racism within, and the imperialist leanings of, th
  • U.S. Imperialism in Africa with Abayomi Azikiwe
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    U.S. Imperialism in Africa with Abayomi Azikiwe
    13 Oct 2021
    Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan-African News Wire joined Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley to discuss AFRICOM and U.S./NATO imperialist actions on the African continent.
  • San Francisco Court’s Racist Denial of the Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    San Francisco Court’s Racist Denial of the Constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial
    13 Oct 2021
    San Francisco Public Defender Manohar Raju spoke to Ann Garrison about why his office is suing San Francisco Superior Court for denying hundreds of Black and Brown people the speedy trial right
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us