The showdown at the Town & Garden Apartments has all the marks of a classic landlord-tenant dispute–with one major twist: it’s the landlords who say they’re the victims. For the past several months the tenants have waged an aggressive campaign, employing lawyers and tenant organizers, to force their landlords to give them a greater say in rehabbing and operating the 628-unit, near-north-side federally subsidized complex. “We’re standing up for our rights,” says Charles Pepper, president of the Town & Garden Tenant Association. “No one gives you anything–you got to demand it.”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
“We want to be treated like partners in this project,” says Pepper. To which Hyatt replies, “We will work closely with the tenants, just as we always have. But they are not our operational partners.”
Town & Garden, a compound of ten brick buildings surrounding several courtyards, was heralded as a model in working-class housing when it first opened in 1929. But over the years it fell into disrepair as it was passed from one owner to the next. It was rehabbed in the 60s, then deteriorated again. By the late 1980s half the units were vacant and the complex was a mess, in need of painting, tuck-pointing, new wiring, and other repairs.
Originally there were 14 entrances to the complex, which made it vulnerable to break-ins. “When we bought the building every door to every entrance was vacant–there were no locks,” says Epstein. “They had all been stripped. The place was open to the streets. There were constant break-ins, drug sales, and other crime. Even after we installed new gates and locks, they were broken by vandals within two weeks. We had to install stronger locks.”
Not all the residents were impressed. “It’s almost insulting that we have to go through this to get into our house,” says Mayberry. “It’s like we have committed a crime or we are being punished. That computer keeps track of when we come and when we go. They are creating a mentality of confinement.”
In August Pepper and his fellow board members contacted the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, which dispatched Denice Irwin to help organize the residents. “We felt we needed some assistance in learning how to deal with the owners,” says Pepper. “Denice didn’t come to us. We went to her.”
