NY View the full Asian Americans for Equality, Inc. profile . Tenements owned by absentee landlords house too many people in terrible conditions. Facades of deteriorating structures collapse onto streets below, and interior walls are held together with tape. Dilapidated buildings are prone to devastating fires. Families of five live in one-bedroom apartments beside neighbors who are drug dealers and criminals.
Residents often speak little or no English and can find work only at the lowest-wage jobs.
AAFE has helped reclaim buildings while maintaining a commitment to affordable housing, so much in demand by our burgeoning population of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. The changes are also dramatic. The immigrants are now Hispanic, Indian, Bengali, Korean, and African. At the same time, gentrification is sweeping the Lower East Side, which is adjacent to the now upscale SoHo area. Designer clothing stores and trendy restaurants have opened, and developers are purchasing buildings for renovation and market-rate rental.