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Norwood Tenants Purchase Building

Wednesday, October 12, 2011
After six years of organizing for improved conditions, the tenants of The Norwood purchased their 84 unit building in Logan Circle and created an affordable cooperative.

After six years of organizing for improved housing conditions, the tenants of The Norwood purchased their 84 unit building in Logan Circle and created an affordable cooperative.  They invite you to celebrate their success on Saturday, October 29th.  The ceremony will begin at 12:30pm in front of of 1417 N Street, NW, and then will move across the street to
National City Christian Church: 5 Thomas Circle NW, 20005 for the following:

1:30 pm  Blessing and Welcome
2:00 pm  Mayan Mosaic Presentation
3:00 pm  Documentary Film and Photo Presentations
4:00 pm  Children’s Play about the Norwood
5:00 pm  Live Music Performances

Click here for full announcement and celebration details from the Norwood Tenant Association.

Active member of The Norwood Tenant Association, Silvia Salazar:

"Two Latino mothers at the Norwood apartment building in NW DC were afraid to speak out about maintenance problems in their apartments.  The property management company spread rumors about possible immigration raids if tenants complained.  Maidu was afraid to say anything about how her three year old boy suffered from full body allergies caused by the roaches.  Angelica did not dare mention the bedbugs that bit her infant son in his crib at night. The situation was bleak to say the least.

It has taken over six years for those of us at the Norwood apartment building to organize and improve living conditions.  We educated ourselves about our rights, organized a tenant association, and reached out to community organizations. Since many tenants were of Mayan ancestry, we used Mayan art and culture to create awareness about living conditions.

Those same mothers that were afraid to speak out are now board members that regularly speak at DC City Council Hearings about housing issues.

Our tenant group called the Norwood Tenants Association, recently received $9.7 million in funding from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development to purchase our building as an affordable housing cooperative.

Although we have faced difficult times, we have come to the realization that anything is possible when communities organize and work hard towards their goal."

Click here for invitation to The Norwood's Celebration.