UPTOWN — Protesters will gather in Uptown Monday night to voice their opposition to the lack of affordable housing at a city-subsidized development, and the treatment of homeless people living beneath viaducts in Uptown.
At 5:30 p.m., organizers from Northside Action For Justice, Uptown Tent City and the Gay Liberation Network will meet at the Tent City encampment, at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, before marching to Ald. James Cappleman's Ward Office, 4544 N. Broadway.
"A several years' war between a gentrifying alderman and proponents of a mixed income, interracial community is coming to a head in Uptown with a march on his office tonight," a press release for the protest said.
"As more low income housing is destroyed, whether by the CHA or private developers, the rents of all working class people increase, as more people chase fewer units of affordable housing," said Andy Thayer, one of the protest organizers.
The protesters said they want the city to "preserve all existing, affordable housing" including the North Side Housing and Support Services, 941 W. Lawrence. Ave. which is slated to close in December. They also want the TIF-subsidized development of the former Maryville Academy to have more affordable housing, and are calling on the city to stop requiring homeless people to leave the viaducts for regular cleanings.
Affordable housing and issues surround homelessness are top priorities, Cappleman said in response to the protest.
"I have been urging City officials for years to use a Housing First model to address homelessness and was glad to see this begin to be implemented with the Chronic Homelessness Pilot Program in Uptown. I will continue to push the Mayor and the Department of Family and Support Services to use the Housing First model," he said via email Monday.
"At this critical time, it is incredibly important that we, as a city, increase the amount of affordable housing for those on the verge of becoming homeless," he said.
Cappleman has been vocal in his support for increasing the Low Income Housing Trust Fund, which supports those most vulnerable of becoming homeless, and will continue to encourage other alderman to do the same, he said.
"I think Uptown is a model for the rest of the City in providing subsidized affordable housing for the most vulnerable," Cappleman said.
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