04/4/07

NEW YORK — In its first foray into the American real estate market, a British corporate giant that is spending more than $200 million for dozens of buildings in Harlem encountered a storm of protest Tuesday — from immigrant tenants in the neighborhood.

"They have a plan to gentrify East Harlem. And that means rent increases," said Juan Haro, head of the Movement for Justice in El Barrio.

Protesting tenants pasted a giant letter onto the front door of a building where they send their checks, urging the new landlord not to increase rents.

Thursday, April 5th 2007, 10:36 AM

It is not exactly cheap anymore, but East Harlem - or El Barrio - is still one of the few areas in the city where working class New Yorkers can afford to live.

But some powerful interests are doing their best to follow an all-too-common pattern: They want to turn this traditionally immigrant neighborhood into another absurdly expensive, gentrified area.

It's not going to be easy.

June 9, 2005

'We are tired of being ignored," said Paula Serrano, a 26-year-old Mexican mother of three, who lives in El Barrio.

She was voicing the feelings of the residents in hers and two other buildings also located in El Barrio, and owned by the same landlord, Steve Kessner, of R.E. Management.

Serrano, a house cleaner, said they were not going to endure the landlord's negligence and disrespect anymore.

March 22, 2010

Tenants living in the foreclosed properties of Dawnay Day filed suit against the current property manager Monday.

EAST HARLEM — Tenants living in a collection of foreclosed East Harlem properties formerly owned by a real estate firm that went bankrupt last year filed suit on Monday to remove the current property manager over allegations it is neglecting the buildings.