A small group of Amsdell Apartment residents and supporters stood outside the building Saturday to deliver testimonies and list their newly formed union’s demands – a list that includes getting rid of the mold and checking lead contamination in units.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Bebhinn Francis, a tenant organizer with United Tenants of Albany. “We’re launching this union. Not just to demand immediate repairs, but to say this is our building, our community, and our future.”
In a tenant testimony, read aloud by Bridgit Sties, a member of the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, a resident gave details about their living conditions in the building, which dates to 1852 but is currently undergoing its largest renovation since 1912…