Mayor Gray, 250 Residents Attend 4th Annual Tenant Town Hall in DC

In the wake of recent efforts to save affordable housing programs from the budget chopping block and a Council vote mandating that the Gray administration draft a new Comprehensive Housing Strategy for the District, the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) organized the Fourth Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall on July 16th to chart the future of affordable housing in the District.

As apartment building sales across the District threaten to displace thousands of residents from their homes, tenants presented their housing priorities to public officials and key housing agency heads for their response. At the top of the list: a new campaign to compel the DC government to prioritize the public funding necessary to help residents use the District’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) to buy their buildings.

“Helping low- to moderate-income DC residents purchase their buildings is the most effective way to ensure that long-term residents are not displaced as neighborhoods are revitalized,” said Farah Fosse, director of LEDC’s Affordable Housing Preservation Program. “We hope Saturday’s Town Hall made clear that DC residents are organized and ready to work with the city to keep the District affordable for everyone."