Washington Post Nearly half of the Chinese residents in the District’s Chinatown area are fighting to stay in a neighborhood now known more for upscale restaurants, the Verizon Center and pricey condos than as a hub of Chinese culture.
The owners of the Museum Square apartments want to raze the subsidized-housing complex and replace it with a massive rental development.
More than 50 residents and activists rallied in front of the building in the 400 block of K Street NW, hoping to block the development project and preserve in-demand affordable housing in that part of the city.
The building has 302 units, with Chinese immigrant families making up about 60 percent of residents. If longtime occupants are forced out, one of the last vestiges of authentic Chinatown would leave with them.
The building’s Section 8 contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development expires in October, but residents on Tuesday vowed to fight for their homes.
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We recently came to Baltimore and DC to visit our son who is now living in Baltimore and working at National Geographic in DC. The day we came down for a tour, just before 6 p.m. was also the day of the Baltimore riots over Freddie Gray's death. We took Metro to Chinatown for dinner. I could NOT believe my eyes!!! I have not been in that part of the city since Verizon Center opened! My mom lives in NE, and I had been of course down at the mall etc. many many times with our sons on visits as they were growing up, and over the NW, all over NE, too. Well, I was astounded. I used to go down all of the time in the 70s to Gallery Place, to the little shops to buy Chinese shoes, etc. We had TROUBLE finding a Chinese restaurant. So, BOOOO to the gentrifiers and I hope the Chinese folks get some justice.
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