Hyattsville, MD,August 22–Last year Friendship Arms residents were sweltering in the summer heat with no A/C. They petitioned, called the mayor and held an exuberant, noisy rally inside and outside of the building. The goal was achieved — air conditioning in the building’s hot stuffy hallways. Friendship Arms is a subsidized building for seniors and persons with disabilities overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Two residents of the building started reading CHALLENGE as a result of the Progressive Labor  Party’s   (PLP) participation in this struggle.

Fast forward to summer 2022. No A/C in the hallways again! A PLP member  works with Hyattsville Aging in Place (HAP), a volunteer, nonprofit organization helping seniors to stay in their homes and apartments. The PL’er called four residents weekly to make sure that they were safe. Once alerted to the dire air quality in the hallways, the PL’er organized calls to the City’s code compliance hotline and reached out to members of HAP outside of the building to make sure the officers of HAP were aware of the situation.

HAP stepped up and encouraged the new mayor and council members to get involved. A signed petition that was sent to the owners of the building, LIHC, forced action. LIHC is currently being sued by family members who lost loved ones in the Bronx fire in January (see CHALLENGE, 1/22/) A lively tenants’ meeting attended by the mayor and a council member showed how vocal and concerned the residents were. The PL’er regularly inspected the hallways and emailed updates to all. This built trust among the residents and put pressure on the mayor and council. Out of this struggle, another person started reading CHALLENGE and helped write this article.

Only with bold action and spreading communist ideas can we get rid of this capitalist system and put the working class in charge. Workers are the best ones to run society. Join Progressive Labor Party.