Tell USC Board Member Jerome Fink to Stop Predatory Evictions in Chinatown

Tell USC Board Member Jerome Fink to Stop Predatory Evictions in Chinatown

Started
August 24, 2020
Signatures: 1,371Next Goal: 1,500
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Why this petition matters

Started by SCAPE USC

Jerome Fink, a USC board member who co-founded VF Developments, recently purchased the 920 Everett building in Chinatown in order to sell units at a higher price. To this end, VF Developments has issued unfair 60-day eviction notices to the current residents, many of whom are elders, working class folks, and Southeast Asian refugees. 

The residents of 920 Everett are an already-vulnerable group whose precarious situation has been exacerbated by COVID-19. Many have fled war and trauma in Southeast Asia to find a home in Chinatown, but are facing displacement yet again.

These 60-day evictions are allowed through a loophole in AP 1482 (Tenant Protection Act of 2019), allowing evictions if an owner declares “major renovations” in the building. This loophole is often used to kick out current tenants and allows the owners to put housing onto the market at a much higher rate.

As a result, the callousness of VF developments will drive out vulnerable community members who have lived in Los Angeles for years.

We cannot allow Jerome Fink to displace members of our community for the sake of making money. USC and its affiliates already have a history of being complicit in the gentrification of its own neighborhood and the greater LA area. This cannot continue. 

As members of the USC community, we are calling for Jerome Fink to use his leverage to stop the unfair evictions of the 920 Everett residents. We are also asking for the USC Board of Trustees to address Jerome Fink’s involvement and demand that he takes action against these predatory evictions. If you wish to stand in solidarity with the tenants of 920 Everett, please sign and share this petition!

You can learn more about the residents of 920 Everett and the evictions they are facing here:

Dispatches: 920 Everett St During COVID-19 - Los Angeles
Column: 'It’s just too much': Asian Americans confront xenophobia, economic devastation and the coronavirus

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Signatures: 1,371Next Goal: 1,500
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