From 1968 to 2013, the Midtown Park Apartments in San Francisco's Western Addition was leased from the City to its tenants. It is the only City-owned property that is not public housing. In 2013, the City terminated the lease with the tenants and awarded it to Mercy Housing. Under the new lease, tenants are now facing enormous rent increases and rules that tell them what they can and can't do in their own homes. Mercy Housing has put forth plans to eventually demolish the buildings. In response, Midtown tenants went on Rent Strike five months ago, with half of the residents refusing to pay increased rent.

On November 14, residents of the Midtown Park Apartments and their supporters gathered for a fundraiser and BBQ. At the Saturday afternoon get together, Myles Dixon, who has lived there for 30 years, said tenants used to pay 30% of their income to live there. "We used to have our own Board of Directors, which I served on. Then the Mayor's Office of Housing dissolved our Board of Director's on Christmas Eve, 2013. That was our Christmas present."

Midtown residents have been working for decades towards the co-operative ownership of their homes and even paid off the mortgage for the Midtown property. Residents are calling out for public support.

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