Dignified Neighbors' Association Petition
116 Signatures from Residents at Community First Village
In July of 2024, residents gathered to sign the petition, learn more about tenant rights, and connect with neighbors about the mistreatment they faced at CFV. It calls out CFV on their excessive fees, food insecurity, banning of guests, ableism and disability violations, elder abuse, their high eviction rate, and much more
Retaliation
During the event, CFV admin used the gathering as an opportunity to arrest a resident who helped create the Dignified Neighbors' Association. The arrest followed a two-month warrant. There was ample time to make an arrest in that timeframe, but they chose to do so while the resident was organizing tenants.
Not long after, Dani, the co-founder of Queertopia who is many residents' case worker and supported the creation of DNS, was invited onto property only to be issued a Criminal Trespass Warning. The police made it clear that any re-entry onto the property would result in an arrest. This made a major barrier between Dani and vulnerable clients who lack a support system. The property manager has since described Queertopia as "an illegal organization."