For the residents, the news came in January. The Battistone Foundation, a family nonprofit organization that owns more than 190 low-income housing units for seniors in downtown Santa Barbara, announced its plan to sell the properties.
The news left many of the people who call the Battistone apartments home worried and afraid. What would happen once the foundation sold their building?
Some tenants began to organize: they started the Edgerly Tenants Association (the name comes from the large pink Edgerly Hotel Apartments, the most conspicuous building owned by the foundation). They ran meetings where they spoke with each other about their concerns, learned more about their rights, and worked to raise awareness of their circumstances, including speaking to the Independent…