Low-income tenant leaders, residents and allies protested at Museum Square in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning on behalf of tenants of the Chinatown apartment complex. The residents have been fighting for their right to remain in the area since being told in 2014 that the building's Section 8 contract was due to expire and the owner, Bush Cos., wanted to demolish the houses to make room for luxury condos.
According to a press release provided to The Root, while Bush Cos. plans to tear down the 302-unit Museum Square building in order to build 850 high-rise luxury condos, current tenants are instead offering to buy the building—which houses approximately half of Chinatown's remaining Chinese immigrant population, as well as some African Americans—under D.C.'s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.
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“The struggle of Museum Square tenants has been key for raising the issues faced by Section 8 tenants around the nation. NAHT is committed to fighting for their rights, as part of a broader struggle to make sure everyone who needs housing has housing," Ed Lucas, president of the National Alliance of HUD Tenants, said in the release.