Victory: No demolition at Midtown

by Midtown Tenants Association

Three years into our campaign for self-management and ownership and we have achieved our first goal: Demolition of Midtown is off the table!

We have had both verbal and written agreement from both Mercy Housing and the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) that they are no longer planning to demolish any of Midtown’s six buildings. This is because last year, head of the MOH Kate Hartley was forced to agree that there would be no demolition without majority tenant support.

With the help of our supporters, we collected signatures from each household at Midtown that reflected a majority of residents opposed to demolition. On Oct. 3, our new current district supervisor, Valle Browne, said, “Demolition is off the table at Midtown.”

This is a major victory that now makes all our other demands possible:

• Rehabilitation of the Midtown property
• Restoration of rent control for residents who want to continue to rent
• Fulfillment of the promise of ownership for residents who want to own
• Reestablishment of tenant self-management at Midtown.

As gentrification in our City continues to hollow out our historic neighborhoods, Midtown is becoming an example of tenants who fought to stay and continue the legacy of the Fillmore-Western Addition. Our recent victory would not have been possible without your support.

Right now, we are focused on rehabilitation. Midtown is not ADA accessible! Our current priority is pushing the Mayor’s Office and Mercy to build much needed and long promised ramps to make Midtown wheelchair accessible. Lack of accessibility for disabled and senior tenants is a form of displacement!

Join us as we move forward on the next phase of our struggle: applying immediate pressure for rehabilitation and accessibility work, and planning paths to tenant ownership.

Join us for a Holiday Celebration on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m. honoring both our tenants and our supporters. We will have food, drinks and dessert. Feel free to bring a dish and a friend to New Liberation Church on Turk and Divisadero.

Midtown Tenants Association can be reached at [email protected]. Visit their website at www.savemidtown.org.