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Join the St. Petersburg Tenants' Union on Saturday, October 30th at 5:00 pm as we hold a vigil for Kelvin Washington and a protest to demand justice for the residents of the Stanton buildings.----------------------------------------------------------
Residents at the Stanton Hotel and Apartments, who are low income, mostly elderly and disabled, were given 15-30 days to vacate their homes.
TJM Properties, the owner of the Stanton Hotel and Apartments is in the process of selling the buildings to New Hotel Collection for their plans to expand the Cordova Inn hotel.
St. Pete has an ordinance that requires developers to notify tenants at least 90 days before a demolition is set to take place. Since the expansion has not even been approved yet, the ordinance does not apply.
There was supposed to be a hearing on October 12th about the expansion, but it was removed from the agenda at the last minute in a cowardly attempt to avoid scrutiny.
On October 13th, SPTU protested with residents demanding that TJM Properties rescind the notices to vacate, not attempt to harass anyone who stays longer than the original date on the notice, not attempt to coerce the residents into leaving before they are ready, give the tenants at least until the end of the year to find new housing, and give each resident at least $6000 to move.
In response, New Hotel Collective sent a statement saying: "The Stanton buildings are no longer safe, so it's important for residents to find a new place to live. The Stanton ownership company is offering a significant amount of help by forgoing October rents, providing cash payments, and connecting residents to community resources.
The significant help they were offered? $500 only after they already move out. The community resources? The number to the local homeless shelter.
TJM has offered no response at all.
On October 25th, one of the residents, Kelvin Washington, was moving his stuff out of his apartment to move to his girlfriend's place. His downstairs neighbors heard a loud thud and went upstairs to find him sweating profusely. Neighbors and community members witnessed his body being carried out on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. He passed away later that day. Evictions are violence. Terence J. McCarthy, or TJM, literally has blood on his hands.
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