The following statement is from Sylvia Flores, a Texas Organizing Project (TOP) member in San Antonio and tenant of Seven Oaks Apartments, in response to San Antonio City Council including a proposal to create a code enforcement apartment inspection team in the city’s budget being passed today:
“The hard work and on-the-ground organizing of San Antonio tenants is the reason why an increase in apartment code enforcement is even being discussed today in the first place.
“As a current resident of Seven Oaks Apartments, a complex that has had multiple code violations in the last few months alone, this call for more code enforcement officers to work on apartment property maintenance inspections is long overdue and a definite step in the right direction.
“As community groups like TOP continue to shine a light on the substandard housing conditions thousands of San Antonio tenants are currently living in, our mayor and city council need to build on today’s progress by passing long term policy solutions. This is the only way to ensure that more San Antonians have a clean, safe, and affordable place to call home, and that abusive landlords are being held accountable. Our local elected leaders can’t just call it a day on this critical issue.
“Housing is a human right, and each and every resident of our city — regardless of their age, race, gender, or economic status — deserves a sanitary and secure place to live. We need those who represent us at City Hall to work toward adopting policies that get us closer to making this a reality for all San Antonians.”
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Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.
This press release was sent out September 15, 2022.