Just a few hundred yards away from the roar of the nearby Red Line, approximately 75 people, including tenants, community organizers, and general supporters rallied outside of Dorchester’s 91 -101 Waldek Street in order to fight impending threats of evictions and rising costs of rent. The event was organized by City Life/Vida Urbana, a bilingual and community based tenant-rights organization, in order to protest years of intolerable living conditions, unannounced rent spikes, and patterns of disrespect at the hands of landlord, Uwa Lawrence.
“Uwa Lawrence you’re no good/Get him out of our neighborhood!” chanted the crowd as tenants shared their testimonies. Residents, including some who have been living in the building for over four decades, referenced Lawrence’s apathetic responses, broken promises, and sheer disregard for the most basic of human needs – such as water, heat, and electricity. One tenant read a statement of demands which stated “We deserve to live in a safe environment” and “We want fair [tenant] rights so we can have peace of mind.” Elderly tenants and those battling health issues saw their suffering compounded due to Lawrence’s unwillingness to address building-wide health code violations like rodent infestations and mold accumulation. Due to these added stressers, people already living paycheck to paycheck were forced to take additional time off from work, which thus affected their ability to pay rent that could increase at any moment.
All of this comes amidst the ever-increasing threat of gentrification in Dorchester, one of the most embattled scenes for housing advocates. In order to generate private profits for individuals outside of the local community, working class families, many of whom are Black and Brown are being actively displaced from their homes. On the heels of Lawrence’s declaration of bankruptcy, tenants and City Life/ Vida Urbana organizers are calling for a non-profit to buy the building that will make the necessary renovations while keeping rent affordable, as well as warning any private investor who wishes to buy the building with plans of evicting residents and flipping it for profit that they are not welcome in the community. Towards the end of the rally, City Life advocates ensured that the crowd was aware of their specific rights that would disallow anyone from illegally evicting them or someone they know from their home.
For Boston residents facing tenant rights violations or other issues around
housing, City Life/ Vida Urbana holds meetings at two locations across Boston:
Tuesdays at 6:15 – 284 Amory St., Jamaica Plain, MA
Wednesdays at 6:30 – 28 Paris Street, East Boston, MA
