A pair of strikes filled the streets outside Southern Towers late last month and on May 1, but despite some extended support for renters out of the job due to COVID-19, those who helped stage the earlier protests said the fight to stop rent from being charged to those without a job will continue to go on.

“Bell Partners has extended its previously-announced measures to help residents financially impacted by COVID-19 into May,” a spokesman for Bell Partners, which operates Southern Towers, said. “The due date for May rent has been pushed back to May 20 and late fees have been waived.”

Organizers of the earlier protests said the second rally was larger than the first and carried over into a protest concerning another building with the same property owner.

“The last action that residents took was on Friday, May 1,” said Sarah Jacobson, lead organizer with UNITE HERE Local 23, a regional union that represents some residents in the building. “[It was] a car rally that included probably twice as many residents as at their first car rally held on April 20.  That action also involved tenants at another building, Dominion in Alexandria, that is also operated by Bell Partners and owned by Snell Properties (the same owner and operator structure as at Southern Towers).”

Jacobson recognized that Bell Partners has extended the late fees each month, but said deferred payment is still expected over a six-month period. The Alexandria City Council warned in an earlier meeting that many residents that are currently out of jobs could face difficulties over the next months finding new jobs as the economy slowly reopens. These residents would be saddled with not only paying ongoing rent but paying rent for months when they were unable to work.

“A recent Vox news article estimated that 70% of jobless Americans did not receive unemployment benefits in March,” Jacobson said. “I estimate that this number is both higher among Southern Towers residents and also remains true in April, as so many workers are gig workers for whom the [Virginia Employment Commission] has not begun to approve benefits.  This makes the prospect of paying 25% of rent in April, and then 25% (for May rent) + 15% (for April rent) in May under Bell’s proposal completely untenable for families without any income at all since the second week of March.”

The City Council approved some rent assistance for those living in committed affordable units, which does little to help most residents at Southern Towers, but the city is also looking at implementing a larger program to help low-income residents with rent city-wide.

Jacobson said Southern Towers residents are continuing to organize for rent relief and are currently reaching out to residents of other Bell Properties to build a larger coalition.

Staff photo by Jay Westcott

Hundreds of Alexandria residents took to the streets of Arlandria early on Friday evening to protest against paying rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lisa Hernandez lost her job two months ago, and can’t pay her $1,000 monthly rent for a small apartment that she lives in with her husband and young son.

“I have no savings,” Hernandez told ALXnow. “I don’t know what we are going to do. We can’t pay the rent. I have been trying to get food from everywhere, because we can’t afford to eat right now.”

Alexandria City Councilman John Taylor Chapman drove in a caravan of honking cars with his wife and infant son. The signs on his car read, “Cancel Rent!”

“I think we need rent cancellation in Virginia,” Chapman said. “I think there’s an opportunity for the federal and state governments to come together to give relief for folks and who will or have lost their jobs during the pandemic, and we need to lobby to get federal resources to landowners.”

Anna Diaz and her two roommates wore face masks as they drove in the caravan. Diaz lost her job as an administrative assistant in D.C. last month, and said that things are getting desperate for many in the Latino community.

“A lot of these folks work two or three jobs, and they still struggle,” Diaz said. “That’s why we’re here today, really, demanding for landlords to not profit off of people during this pandemic.”

As previously reported, the City Council voted to direct $671,570 in federal funding to provide rent assistance for low-income families in Alexandria. Council also passed a measure asking state and federal officials for a rent and mortgage freeze. The federal funds are available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and includes $1.1 million in block grants and $585,127 in Home Investment Partnership Program funds. The city is also continuing to work on a rental assistance program.

City funding can currently provide $500 in monthly financial assistance per home, and the funding is expected to help about 450 households. The city’s Office of Community Services also offers up to $6,000 per year to help low-income seniors pay their rent and utilities.

ALIVE! also helps low-income residents with help paying rent and utilities.

Tenants & Workers United will lead a rent protest in Arlandria today starting at 5 p.m., and the organization is asking low-income residents to make themselves heard by joining along in their cars or banging pots and pans from the windows of their residences.

The caravan is scheduled to assemble at 4:30 p.m. and will go through Arlandria with the message that rents in Virginia should be canceled during the pandemic. The protest is planned to last until 6 p.m.

“Make a sign with a message to the property managers to cancel rent,” Tenants & Workers United recently posted on Facebook. “Make noise with your pots & pans! Take pictures or videos and use #CANCELRENTVA on social media.”

On the West End, residents at the Southern Towers apartment complex are also threatening to strike, as the city is working with the landlord on a compromise.

A similar protest is also planned for Columbia Pike in Arlington. The protests coincide with International Workers’ Day, a day when labor movements traditionally protest to advocate for progressive reforms.

City Councilman Canek Aguirre previously told ALXnow that the city’s Latino community is deeply concerned about the pandemic, and hopes landlords take it easy on their tenants.

“There’s a lot of anxiety, and a lot of fear when it comes to having to pay rent that goes even beyond the fear of getting sick,” Aguirre said. “It’s difficult because the Latino community is facing multiple risks. We’re talking about a community that is likely working on the front lines, they’re having to take public transportation and they lack access to health care.”

https://www.facebook.com/TenantsandWorkers/posts/911391032646439?__xts__[0]=68.ARDMH6bVAdYq1RvK34A5anAzcNpFFn9jEuDsGe3A6UQHfQ1BQupYsFr58D_cJQ7C5vH6wPkxeEZ7J3zf1a1nHEZCPQVgqiHaPTDC4QA8ye-32QnwdmU5WLtTYj-82Xw_K9LfiXKzBFT2OHnu29bbjP-UIhSXxmr2rPqbozcZ3SRaMfGEwdqVWHJT_vbNb2cW-Tcb-Koyo6at4OgyXoIsQ5QFHVzIextGsa2qib721GuDA4X6UEy0iM4NN1sY0yORShrJ6Iu3LzK7z27iuiVrrL6lvcpHR7tPO_zqm4Rtb35NYcJ928-SnzNtEIVuR93c5xmnAD7qkdkpKZNrX2xZHW4&__tn__=-R

Two weeks ago, the City Council voted to direct $671,570 in federal funding to provide rent assistance for low-income families in Alexandria. Council also passed a measure asking state and federal officials for a rent and mortgage freeze. The federal funds are available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and includes $1.1 million in block grants and $585,127 in Home Investment Partnership Program funds.

As previously reported, the city is continuing to work on a rental assistance program.

City funding can currently provide $500 in monthly financial assistance per home, according to city officials, and the funding is expected to help about 450 households. The city’s Office of Community Services also offers up to $6,000 per year to help low-income seniors pay their rent and utilities.

ALIVE! also helps low-income residents with help paying rent and utilities.

Photo via Tenants & Workers United/Facebook

Tenants & Workers United Rent Protest Today at 4:30 p.m. — “Join our Caravan or take Action from home this Friday at 4:30PM. The caravan will be from 5pm and will go though Arlandria-Chirilagua to send the message to FREEZE RENTS in VIRGINIA. Don’t have a car?? You can take action from your window/balcony by: Wearing Red or swinging any red cloth; Make a sign with a message to the property managers to cancel rent; Make noise with your pots & pans! Take pictures or videos and use #CANCELRENTVA on social media.” [Facebook]

Inova Nurse Recruitment Team Gives Thanks With Photo Collage — “Our Inova Careers Nursing Recruitment team wanted to show support to our frontline workers who are making an incredible sacrifice to keep us all safe!” [Facebook]

Homegrown Restaurant Group Raises More Than $10K For Staff — “We are thrilled and so appreciative of the outpour of love and support we have already received from the community. If you have the financial means to donate, every dollar helps! If you do not, another way you can help is to share this fundraiser on social media!” [GoFundMe]

Here’s Visit Alexandria’s List of Mother’s Day Deals — “While the holidays look much different this year, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate Mother’s Day from home. Purchase the perfect Mother’s Day gift from one of Alexandria’s independent boutiques. Treat the lady in your life to a special meal ordered from one of Alexandria’s restaurants. Keep reading to learn about special offers from local businesses.” [Visit Alexandria]

New Job: Digital Communications Manager — “Support the Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Membership in developing and implementing the digital side of an integrated strategic communications plan to advance NARFE’s [National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association] mission, and broaden awareness of its programs and services.” [Indeed]

Mason & Greens Grocer Opens Online-Only in Old Town — “Like many small businesses still operating while most of the country is staying home, the Marinos elected to keep customers out of the store and offer online ordering only. They moved up their website launch so that customers could order online at www.masonandgreens.com, then pick up their orders at the store.” [Alex Times]

Wholistic Hound Puppy Training Video Tutorial at 5 p.m. — “Wholistic Hound Academy’s Puppy Experts will be on Facebook Live to answer your questions, provide sound advice on everything from socializing your puppy to house training and nipping and biting. We can help to you successfully navigate life with your pandemic puppy.” [Wholistic Hound]

Trinity UMC Collecting Food Sunday — “Reminder if you go to the grocery store this week that Trinity United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Cameron Mills & Allison St., will be collecting non-perishable goods in our parking lot each Sunday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 and will continue doing so until the church building reopens.  The food is delivered to Rising Hope United Methodist Church to support their food pantry for the homeless and low-income families.” [Trinity UMC]

Yates Dry Cleaning Offering Wash and Fold Service — “Between full-time jobs, homeschooling and keeping the house somewhat clean, we know you have a lot on your plate right now. If your laundry is piling up, let us take care of it with our Wash & Fold Service! Sign up for our Free Pickup & Delivery Service and you won’t even need to leave your home! We’ll pickup your bag of laundry and return it clean and folded.” [Facebook]

Del Ray Farmers’ Market Open Saturday by Per-Order Only — “Vendors will NOT be offering items for sale at the market – only pickup of preorders is permitted. The list below is changing as we speak and we will do our best to keep it current, so please check back often.  Please also follow our Facebook page for updates.  Thank you for your continued support of our vendors.” [Del Ray Farmers’ Market]

Kids Dress Up Like Super Heroes for School Chat — “It’s Super Hero Day and Ms. Hellmuth just had a great 1:1 writing conference with Spider-Man!” [Facebook]

Junction Bakery & Bistro Delivering to Area Hospitals — “On Saturday, May 2nd, we will be taking part, proudly, in this vital effort — delivering 150 hot meals to the hard-working & dedicated staffs at Prince George’s Hospital + Howard University Hospital. Please help support this dearly needed project.” [Facebook]

Most Alexandria Ice Cream Shops Open for Takeout — “Try to hit up every one of the frozen treat spots on the map. Pace yourself! There are 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so aim for an average of two per week, which will leave you some time to revisit your favorites at summer’s end.” [Alexandria Living]

The City Council is figuring out who in Alexandria needs the most assistance through the coronavirus pandemic — and how to get them aid.

City Manager Mark Jinks is expecting roughly $20 million in federal assistance, all of which must be allocated to new programs not in previous budgets and must be spent this year. In a Tuesday night meeting, Council discussed grants and funding needs with various department heads, starting with some of the most basic necessities.

Food

Kate Garvey, director of the Department of Community and Human Services, said her department has seen an increase in “walk-in” requests for service. While she said the DCHS has been fortunate to partner with ALIVE! for food distribution, there is still prominent food insecurity not being addressed.

“We’re receiving more SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] applications in a week than we would in a month previously,” Garvey said. “We had 600 calls in March. We received 2,000 calls the first two weeks of April looking for service.”

The greatest way of benefitting local families in need of food assistance, Garvey said, is food gift cards.

“The demand for grocery gift cards has expanded exponentially,” Garvey said. “Those allow families to have their own choices in what they’re purchasing, not be exposed to large groups, and do their own planning.”

While Garvey said requests for Medicaid coverage have also gone up, it’s not at the same rate as SNAP requests. Garvey said her department is continuing to put out documents and other forms of information to let people know about how to apply for Medicaid.

Housing

One week after approving funding for rent relief for residents in the city’s affordable housing, the city council is preparing to look at funding for a citywide rent assistance program.

Helen McIlvaine, director of the city’s Office of Housing, said the goal of a rent relief program is not just to keep people housed during the pandemic, when evictions have been temporarily banned, but to help many of those residents avoid piling up payments deferred during these months. The prospect of piling up rent payments led to protests at Southern Towers earlier this month. Read More

Updated 4:40 p.m. — Adhering to proper social distancing protocol, tenants and other supporters rallied outside of Southern Towers in cars making slow circles through the parking lot with signs and chants of “No pay! No Rent!” and “No job! No Rent!”

“How are people going to be able to make a rent deferral plan work?” asked Sarah Jacobson, organizing director for UNITE HERE Local 23 DC, a food service workers union operating out of D.C. “Even if people went back to 100% employment tomorrow, that would be challenging. Uber drivers won’t be getting the kind of pay they had before.”

The strike, and other types of protest, had been talked about for weeks — from the hallways of Southern Towers to the City Council chambers. At 10 a.m. today (Monday), a handful of protestors took to the sidewalks outside the building while dozens of others drove in circles around the property with blinkers on and signs displayed. The protest lasted until around noon.

Southern Towers is a large residential complex in the West End, where many of the residents are local service industry workers laid off during the shutdown. Several of the cars in the protest were taxi cabs and many of the signs were written in both English and Amharic. Without pay, some of the residents say they are unable to pay their rent. While city staff said Bell Partners, the property manager of Southern Towers, has offered a deferred payment plan to residents currently unable to make rent payments, some on the City Council and others in the community have been critical of this approach and said residents are unlikely to be able to pay back a deferred rent.

Some in the city had been critical outside elements helping to organize the strike, but during a City Council meeting City Councilman Canek Aguirre said many of the residents of the building were members of that union, which stepped in because Virginia does not allow unions. Jacobson said her organization’s role was providing infrastructure support for tenants, who were leading the protests.

“Tenants chose today because that’s the deadline that Bell Partners had made for people to pay their rent or make a rent deferral plan,” Jacobson said. “It’s not because people are willfully trying to not pay the landlord, people don’t have money and it’s illustrating a problem where wages and rents do not match in this region.”

Helen McIlvaine, director of the Office of Housing, noted that this was consistent with what Mayor Justin Wilson had asked property owners to do in a letter last month. Jacobson argued that Bell Partners is a nationwide investment company

“Bell Partners is a private equity company — this is an example of a company that is able to respond to these tenant demands,” Jacobson said. “It is going to take a complex solution to respond to this crisis in a way where the entire burden doesn’t fall on low wage workers without savings or essential workers most exposed.”

Jacobson said tenants are meeting again tomorrow (Tuesday) and planning a similar action on May 1.

In a letter to residents, Bell Partners said late fees for rent would be waived if paid by today.

“Payment plan options will be available for April and May, with proof of hardship (i.e. documentation of unemployment benefit or written statement from your employer),” Bell Partners said.

For those who can’t pay rent or afford a payment plan, Bell Partners told them to reach out to Alexandria’s Office of Housing’s Landlord and Tenant Division at 703-746-3078.

Staff photos by Jay Westcott

The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved Councilman Canek Aguirre’s call for a rent freeze at its meeting this week.

The resolution calls on state and federal officials to put a potential moratorium on rents and mortgages and to suspend the reporting of negative credit information by credit bureaus to protect people’s credit scores.

Aguirre’s resolution is partly fueled by a potential rent strike at Southern Towers, a large apartment complex that houses many service industry workers who have been laid off during the pandemic. City staff, however, said that reports of Southern Towers being inflexible on rents may have been exacerbated by miscommunication.

“Now, working off info we’ve been given, apparently there’s an organization in D.C. that is encouraging folks to strike against rent,” Deputy City Manager Debra Collins said. “We’re actively telling people, ‘No, go to your property manager. They’re willing to work with you.'”

Organizations like Unite Here Local 23 and African Communities Together have helped circulate a petition through the building, WAMU reported, and Collins said the city wanted to make sure deliberate misinformation wasn’t being spread.

City staff said that Southern Towers has been trying to work with residents and that, if they can’t pay their rent, they can work out a several month payment plan. Helen McIlvaine, director of the Office of Housing, noted that this was consistent with what Mayor Justin Wilson had asked property owners to do in a letter last month.

McIlvaine said that some of the confusion and concerns had been caused by an automatically generated email reminding residents to pay their rent. Read More

Councilman Canek Aguirre is docketed at tonight’s City Council meeting to introduce a resolution calling for state and federal officials to put a potential moratorium on rents and mortgages and to suspend the reporting of negative credit information by credit bureaus to protect people’s credit scores.

Aguirre said in a press release that the aim of the resolution is protect renters, homeowners, small businesses, and landlords struggling to make ends meet.

“People are scared,” Aguirre said. “They’ve lost their jobs or had their hours drastically cut. They can’t afford to pay their rent or mortgages and are afraid of building up debt. Many small businesses are struggling to stay open. Small landlords aren’t sure what to do and commercial landlords are scrambling to figure things out as a result of this unprecedented crisis. We need bold action from all levels of government to get us through this pandemic. We can’t have residents fearful of being put out on the street. We need residents to be able to focus on staying healthy and beating this virus.”

Canek has previously discussed the possibility of crafting a resolution as he was trying to negotiate the confrontation between tenants and administrators at Southern Towers.

The resolution notes that the Virginia Supreme Court has declared a judicial emergency and ordered a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions as a result of COVID-19, but said renters are still obligated to pay landlords, and mortgage-holders are still obligated to pay lenders.

“Retaining the obligation to pay during this challenging economic time would mean that those who are forced to defer payments will accumulate significant personal debt with months of back-payments and fees, as well as damaged credit,” the resolution says. “It is critically important that Alexandria residents who currently have housing are not made homeless or destitute because of this public health crisis.”

Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, meaning powers not explicitly granted to the local governments are retained by the state. This means Alexandria cannot impose a rent freeze itself, but is instead reliant on state authority to do so. There has been some movement recently, however, towards some of the Dillon Rule restrictions being relaxed, including a bill signed by Gov. Ralph Northam this weekend that allows localities to take down Confederate statues.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the resolution at tonight’s (Tuesday) City Council meeting at 7 p.m., streamed on the city website and on Zoom.

File photo

Fire Officials Deny Seminary Road Political Pressure — “The AFD representatives… pushed back on allegations that the city had strong-armed the fire department into supporting a certain stance. ‘No one is going to force me… to put people in harm’s way – the first responders or the people that we’re charged to protect,’ Smedley said. ‘That’s my number one goal, and that goal can be accomplished with however many lanes are on the roadway, as long as certain measures are in place. If that is being jeopardized, I will dig in hard.'” [Alexandria Times]

Resident: New Seminary Road is an Improvement — “As someone who lives on a small cul-de-sac off of Seminary Road, I am a daily user of Seminary Road. I use the road several times every day as either a driver, walker, cyclist, or simply as a resident. The new Seminary Road is beneficial to me and to my neighborhood. We are able to live with greater safety no matter how we use the road. We are people who live here — not just drive through to some other location.” [Gazette Packet]

Rent in Alexandria Lower Than Neighbors — “The District and Arlington County are virtually tied for average apartment rent, at $2,233 and $2,236 respectively. Rents in D.C. and Arlington County are both up 4.3% in the last year. The average rent in Alexandria is currently $1,746, up 2.8% from a year ago.” [WTOP]

Details About New Restaurant at Bradlee — “Rotisserie chicken, ceviche, lomo saltado and much more are on the menu at El Saltado, a new Peruvian restaurant that recently opened at Bradlee Shopping Center in Alexandria. The star of the menu is likely the charcoal-broiled chicken served with a house salad plus a choice of French fries, fried yuca, rice or Peruvian-style potato salad.” [Alexandria Living]