| Wednesday, January 30, 2002 - 03:10 pm Another classic (and dangerous) example of a landlord trying to shut up tenant activists with a so called "slapsuit". Thiscomes to you from CAAAV (Coalition Against Anti-Asian Violence) via Met Council on Housing. For more information, contact the Chinatown Justice Project at CAAAV: 212 473 6485, HyunandKisuk@aol.com. Support! -dave (Met Council) ***CIRCULATE WIDELY*** RACIST SLUMLORD Sues CAAAV for $20 Million Chinatown Tenants & CAAAV Need Your Support The tenants of 166 Elizabeth Street and the Chinatown Justice Project are determined to build the fight against displacement in Chinatown, and we need your support. 1. Join us at the PICKET LINE EVERY WEDNESDAY, 4 to 5 pm 815 Broadway (near 12th Street), Manhattan 2. and at the DEMONSTRATION THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 3:30 to 5 pm also at 815 Broadway (near 12th Street), Manhattan *** BACKGROUND: On January 22, 2002, Benjamin Shaoul, landlord of 166 Elizabeth Street, served CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities with a lawsuit for $20 million. Shaoul, who has been trying to evict his low-income Chinese and Dominican tenants in Chinatown through harassment and intimidation, alleges that CAAAV has caused him "severe emotional distress" 166 Elizabeth Street is a 22-unit tenement building on the border between Chinatown and SoHo. Until recently, it was occupied by low-income Chinese and Dominican immigrants, and its previous owner failed to maintain the building in habitable conditions and left it in a state of neglect. In March 2000, 23-year old Benjamin Shaoul of Elizabeth Realty bought 166 Elizabeth Street. Since then, Shaoul has started eviction proceedings against seven of the eleven Chinese tenants in the building, has pressured all other tenants with buy-outs, didn't provide gas for more than four months, and has converted vacant units into luxury housing, where new tenants pay illegal rents, as high as $2000 - $3000 a month -- double or triple the former rent. Shaoul also forced his way into his tenants' homes, grabbed their wallets to look for their IDs threatened to call the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), and even accused the tenants of neglecting their children and tried to have a state agency take away their kids. Shaoul has also retaliated against tenants and organizers for their organizing activities, and has repeatedly made racist remarks: "I have nothing against Chinese people; I just don't want so many of them in my building". Through these tactics, Shaoul has been successful in displacing 50% of the tenants in the building. But the remaining tenants are united and resolved that they will not move. Their cases are currently pending in housing court, and are expected to go to trial in the Spring of 2002. This practice of converting once rent-regulated buildings into luxury housing by harassing and evicting low-income tenants is on the rise at an alarming rate in Lower Manhattan, and is part of a pattern of gentrification city-wide. Tenants Fight Back & Landlord Retaliates through Lawsuit: Benjamin Shaoul is only 23 years old, and his activities are financed and backed by his parents. His mother, co-owner of 166 Elizabeth Street, also owns an antique store in Manhattan. To protest Benjamin Shaoul's actions and demand that he stop all evictions against his tenants, the tenants of 166 Elizabeth Street and the Chinatown Justice Project of CAAAV hold weekly pickets outside his parents' store. In his lawsuit against CAAAV, Shaoul seeks an injunction restraining CAAAV from holding the weekly pickets and distributing leaflets about his actions. The lawsuit is not only frivolous and retaliatory, but a clear challenge to the community's right to organize in support of tenants fighting displacement. Time to Escalate the Fight The tenants of 166 Elizabeth Street and the Chinatown Justice Project are determined to build the fight against displacement in Chinatown, and we need your support. 1. Join us at the PICKET LINE EVERY WEDNESDAY, 4 to 5 pm 815 Broadway (near 12th Street), Manhattan 2. and at the DEMONSTRATION THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 3:30 to 5 pm 815 Broadway (near 12th Street), Manhattan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gentrification & Chinatown's Housing Crisis As NYC positions itself as the financial capital of the world, it has caused a mass migration of young professionals into the city, which in turn has increased the demand for luxury housing and other services in the city. Landlords have taken advantage of this increase in demand, and have tried to profit from this by displacing low-income tenants and local businesses, converting their buildings into luxury housing and commercial space, then renting them out to young professionals or upscale businesses for double or triple the rent. This is happening in many communities of color, including Chinatown, which, with its close proximity to SoHo and the Financial District, has become a popular hub for young professionals. As a result, many Chinatown tenants face harassment and eviction from their landlords; garment factories are being relocated to Brooklyn to make way for high tech firms; street vendors and other local businesses also find it increasingly more difficult to survive. Chinatown Justice Project of CAAAV CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities (CAAAV) builds the power of Asian immigrant communities in NYC to combat racist violence. The Chinatown Justice Project (CJP) is a program of CAAAV; it trains young people in Chinatown to organize and protect the community from gentrification and displacement. Generations of immigrants have worked hard to build Chinatown, despite years of institutionalized racist attacks. Thus, CJP believes, it is the responsibility of our generation to build on this legacy and protect the community. For more information, call 212 473 6485
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