Chinatown Fights Hotel Proposal and Displacement of Dozens
of Residents
BOSTON (Feburary 8, 2017) – About 100 Chinatown residents
and their supporters rallied today in support of dozens of residents living at
22-30 Oxford Street facing a 20% rent increase and at risk of
displacement. The Chinese Progressive
Association reports that they have helped over 60 families facing rent
increases and eviction over the past two years in Chinatown alone. Chinatown has experienced skyrocketing real
estate values following the addition of nearly 3,000 luxury units in the past
15 years.
Karen Ng
and Mei Qin Wu, tenants at 22-30 Oxford Street, spoke at the rally. “Many of our families have kids attending the
nearby schools. For families with young
kinds, you know how hard it is to find a place.
This is our home and our community.
We are here fighting for our right to remain.” The tenants are demanding a five year lease
with the proposed rent increase phased in over the five years. The tenants also report that there is a long
list of repairs that need to be made to the building that they are demanding to
be fixed immediately.
The
property was bought by 18-20 Oxford Street, LLC in the past year. Sing Ming Chan has represented himself to the
tenants as the landlord and also recently purchased 15-25 Harrison Avenue, a
former single room occupancy (SRO) building that housed more than 50 residents,
all low-income Chinese immigrants. Five
years to this day, the tenants were evacuated from the building and were
homeless, because the fire department found that the building was structurally
unsafe to live in. Mr. Chan is proposing
to build a 26-story hotel at the location.
Pao Lin, a former resident at 15-25 Harrison Avenue, said, “Chinatown is
here today and prosperous, because of the people who came before us and built
up the community. Because now so many
people want to live in Chinatown, we have a housing crisis. Chinatown is a home for immigrants and we
need to fight for our right to remain!”
Protesters
then marched to Reggie Wong Park where the Massachusetts Department of
Transportation is planning to sell the land to the highest bidder. Activists are calling for preservation and
expansion of the park and affordable housing to be built on the site. For many, the park is an important
recreational space for many of the local athletic associations and community members
who play volleyball after work. “Land is
a valuable and scarce resource in Chinatown.
Public land should be used for public good and not sold for maximum
profit. Chinatown is not for sale!” said
Lydia Lowe, Co-Director of the Chinese Progressive Association. Ms. Lowe also called on residents to support
anti-displacement measures put forward by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh including
the Jim Brooks Community Stabilization Act, which would make no fault evictions
illegal and provide information and resources to tenants being evicted.
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