Dear John, My name is Nate Carter, I work with Stand Up Nashville and we’re an affiliate of PowerSwitch Action. Together we’re standing up to corporate landlords and developers who are displacing renters and families across our city. One developer in particular, Cypress Real Estate Advisors (CREA), has pushed out 170 mostly Black and Brown families who lived in the RiverChase Apartment community in East Nashville. When we organized with tenants and other local organizations, CREA refused to commit to creating enough truly affordable homes in the new development.
But we’re not backing down. Earlier this month we went to Washington, DC and linked up with renters and housing justice groups from across the country to disrupt a big conference of corporate landlords like CREA. We interrupted their meetings and made them listen to the stories and demands of tenants who need safe, affordable housing. Watch this quick video about how renters are fighting back against CREA’s harmful practices |
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Last Thursday, CREA gave the city an ultimatum: give them exactly what they want, or else they’ll pull the plug on the entire project (including the affordable units) and build luxury townhomes instead. This isn’t the first instance of CREA bullying communities. In 2015 in Austin, Texas, the real estate investment firm bullied tenants out of their apartment homes and called police on local elected officials who visited the remaining tenants in their apartments to show their support for the community.
We’re still not backing down—we’re going to keep pushing back against the corporate landlords fueling our housing crisis. Tomorrow (10/4), Nashville’s Metro Council is holding a public hearing about the RiverChase project, and we’re going to be there to demand that city officials stand with Nashvillians. If you’re in the area, come rally with us at the public hearing! |
If you’re not in Nashville or can’t attend the rally, please share this video about how renters are standing up to corporate landlords like CREA.
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