Tenants protest mass evictions and possible homelessness after developer buys building

Dozens of Rogers Park tenants are gathering this morning at 1246 W. Pratt in an effort to save their 12-story apartment building from a developer who is evicting them en masse.

The Protest Against Mass Evictions and Displacement will take place today, February 18th, at 1246 W. Pratt, The Astor House, from 10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m.

At today’s picket and press conference, tenants of 1246 W. Pratt, the Astor House, will demand an end to mass evictions, and the right to renew their leases at their current rent — as well as a meeting with the building’s management, in hopes of preventing dozens of low-income residents from losing their housing and potentially becoming homeless.

Since the 1246 Pratt LLC purchased the Astor House building in November, the company has filed at least 27 eviction cases against residents and have forced out at least a third of the building’s tenants. For the few who are getting the option to renew their leases, the property manager has announced plans to increase rent up to 57 percent.

Tenant Daniel Pfeiffer hopes standing up for his rights will inspire residents elsewhere in the city to fight for fair, affordable housing and bring attention to the growing housing crisis in the Chicago area. “Low-income people are being pushed away. Where is there left for us to go? Because it is happening all over.”

As the building’s owners turn their attention to renters who can afford to pay more for rehabbed units, current tenants suffer from bedbugs, mice, roaches and elevators that often break down. Some tenants are even without working plumbing and living without heat. Frequent elevator outages make it impossible for senior and disabled tenants to leave the building, sometimes for days at a time.

“It’s a growing problem throughout the city. From South Shore to Howard Street, from the Lawrence House building in Uptown to the Château Hotel in Lakeview, the issue is money, and the developers want more. So they are trying to get rid of us,” says Laurence Williams, a tenant in the building.

The tenants will be joined by supporters from Northside Action for Justice, Metropolitan Tenants Organization and Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction.