Tom Watson of Port Property Management is in the Process of Purchasing This Lodging House. to the Dismay of its Tenants.

Alyssa Floyd and Eli Prescott Residents of Bayside Village Apartments.

On Tuesday, October 1 at 6:00 pm tenants of Bayside Village Apartments will protest the Bayside Neighborhood Association meeting at 24 Stone Street to demand that the Association advocate for tenants against the redevelopment of of Bayside Village Apartments and take immediate action against gentrification in Bayside.

In early August, the Portland Planning Board passed a land use decision to convert the lodging house at 132 Marginal Way into market rate apartments, effectively removing 400 single-room leases for the already depleted affordable housing stock in the city.

“The redevelopment of Bayside Village is the cornerstone of the neighborhood-wide gentrification that Port Property and other developers have planned.  If the Bayside Neighborhood Association is to actually represent the interests of all residents and not just a glorified front group for gentrification and NIMBYs, then it must take an active interest in opposing this development, as it would irrevocably  change the make-up of the neighborhood and pose a serious threat to the diversity that makes up its identity,” said Peter McDonald, a Bayside Village tenant.

According to the city of Portland website, the Bayside Neighborhood Association “brings members of the Bayside community together,  the Bayside Neighborhood Association brings conversations about Bayside to Bayside and to the greater community in a way that organizes, informs and empowers residents, social service and other organizations, local businesses  and city representatives to form meaningful and long-term partnerships.  Bayside Neighborhood Association preserves and promotes safety, multi-cultural diversity, housing and carefully planned social, economic and physical development in this unique urban community.”

Tenants want the Association to investigate the methods Port Property used to acquire the building at 132 Marginal Way.  They also want the Association to join them in pressuring the developer, Tom Watson, to meet and negotiate with tenants.  According to tenants, Watson has refused to meet with them.

“Tom Watson’s methods of acquiring this building were to invite everyone in the neighborhood to weigh in and be consulted about the sale, but not us.  We are in this neighborhood too.  And the neighborhood needs to acknowledge our existence,” said Alyssa Floyd, a Bayside tenant.

Please visit post herein dated September 16, 2019 for more background information on the tenants at Bayside Village Apartments.