Residents and activists protest a planned demolition of low-income housing in West Philly
Reports have suggested the property at 40th and Market Streets is valued at anywhere from $75 million to $100 million.
Even on a warm and breezy Saturday, some people in the University City Townhomes have to keep their windows closed, on account of the raw sewage bubbling up by the curb.
But Darlene Foreman, a longtime resident of the West Philly affordable housing complex, had a bullhorn so everyone would hear her.
“University City townhouse residents, we need you to come out and support,” Foreman said through the bullhorn as she walked through the courtyard.
Around the corner, in an open space at the corner of 40th and Market Streets, a crowd of residents and activists gathered to protest the planned demolition of the townhouses and the subsequent displacement of mostly Black and Hispanic families. Last year, the property owner announced plans to end its federal affordable housing contract and sell the 2.7-acre site to developers lining up to capitalize on an ever-expanding University City. Residents of the 69 households there have until July 8 to leave but said there’s been little progress in helping them find new housing.
On Saturday, some residents said they would not be leaving
“We need to turn up the pressure,” said Melvin Harrison, a 27-year resident of the complex. “And if that’s what we have to do, you know, stay put, then we’ll do it. “
Harrison and other residents said the property owner, IBID Associates LP, has been ignoring quality-of-life issues there, including inadequate snow shoveling and overfilled dumpsters, and the small stream of sewage has only gotten worse since the announcement to sell.
“I can’t win. I have the dumpster behind my house and the sewage next to it,” said resident Consuela Astillero.
Astillero and other residents said few of the promises made to them have been kept since IBID made the announcement. None have gotten the Section 8 housing assistance vouchers they need to move and others said they’ve been directed to inadequate housing in other neighborhoods.
“When we asked about time frames and whether we could visit these new properties, they never gave us an answer,” said Rasheda Alexander, a 12-year resident.
Earlier this month, City Council passed a bill introduced by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier that would suspend the demolition of the University City Townhomes and drive future development in the area toward residential units. IBID filed a lawsuit against Gauthier and the city in response, claiming she’s abused her power by trying to force the company to forego its “constitutional property rights.”
IBID, in the suit, claims it has “worked diligently” to help the residents relocate and also noted that any developer that has an affordable housing plan will be given an advantage in the bidding process.
A spokesperson for Gauthier declined to comment Saturday, citing the pending litigation.
Protesters said the issue harkens back to previous displacements, when the neighborhood known as “Black Bottom” was slowly erased by “University City” expansion. Many called on the University of Pennsylvania to intervene.
“I’m outraged at my university’s role in displacing working-class people from the community for decades,” said Chi-Ming Yang, a Penn English professor who helped organize the protest.
The crowd ballooned into the hundreds in the open space by the townhouses. Residents cooked hot dogs and hamburgers. Children had their faces painted. Custom shirts that featured people pushing up against a bulldozer nearly sold out, the proceeds helping pay for the food and shirts for residents.
Mike Africa Jr., of the MOVE Black liberation group, was there with his dog and questioned the ethics of a developer making so much profit at the expense of lower-income people. The property is estimated to be worth anywhere from $75 million to $100 million.
“How much money do you need?” Africa said.
Around 2:15 p.m., Philly Elmo and the Positive Movement drumline arrived and the hundreds of protesters left the townhomes and took to the streets, led by Krystal Strong, a professor in Penn’s graduate school of education. The group marched around the city block the property encompasses, as motorists beeped in support.
“When the townhomes are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” the protesters chanted.
Afterward, as protesters gathered on Market Street, Strong addressed them, calling the townhouses the “literal last sign of Black people in University City.”
Residents read a list of demands that included stopping the demolition, extending the departure date, and addressing the unsanitary conditions.
“There is currently no manager for the complex, nor is there a maintenance employee and the exterminator has stopped coming,” the group wrote on savetheuctownhomes.com.
The residents are seeking $500,000 per household, arguing that Brett Altman, principal at IBID, could sell the property for $100 million.
“We need much more time and we deserve a clean environment while we are still here,” resident Lynn Green told the crowd. “We are somebody and we do matter.”
Staff writer Michaelle Bond contributed to this article.