Tenants at Marbury Plaza, Ward 8’s largest apartment complex, have been fighting for dignified conditions for years with support from Stomp Out Slumlords organizers. They have gone on rent strike and pushed the DC government to sue their landlord, winning millions of dollars in rent reductions. But now the owner of Marbury Plaza has declared bankruptcy, which will allow him to sidestep DC’s tenant right to purchase law (TOPA) and sell the building to the highest bidder without tenants having a say.
Marbury tenants have fought too long for another bad landlord to buy the property and maintain the status quo. They’ve lived here too long to have a potential new buyer try to displace them. Now they’re calling on the DC government to save Marbury Plaza by taking control of the building, repairing it and converting it to social housing run in the interest of the people, not a new landlord’s profit. This is a fight for tenants across DC and beyond: If we win at Marbury Plaza, we will establish a new model of truly affordable housing outside the grip of the landlord class.
Marbury Plaza Tenants United for Change and Stomp Out Slumlords will rally at the Wilson Building at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW on Monday, November 6 at 10am. Sign up here and spread the word.