Solidarity for Cheryl Looney's Late Fees

Hello, my name is Cheryl Looney! I am a resident of West Paseo Apartments in Kansas City. I am also a leader with the Eastside Tenant Union and KC Tenants.

I am a 73-year-old retired teacher, a tutor, and a foster grandparent at Gordon Parks Elementary School.

I was served with an unfortunate surprise letter on Tuesday, November 30th from my property management company, Cohen-Esrey Communities, LLC. They recently sold my apartment to new landlords and have not told a single neighbor about it! We are organizing to get some answers from our new landlords.

Cohen-Esrey falsely accused me of owing $2685 in late fees and that ain't right! They say the late fees are written into my lease. The problem? I, like many other neighbors in this building, was never given a lease for over a year!

Yes, I have been late on rent a few times this last year. I have lived through a medical crisis, I have limited income, and inflation has really impacted my budget. I have always been clear in communicating about my situation with management but they continue to take advantage of my situation. That ain't right! Nobody should be homeless, regardless of their situation. Everybody deserves safe and truly affordable housing.

I am not the only tenant in this building experiencing this kind of harassment. They think they can push us around to fill their pockets and we are done with that. I am organizing with my neighbors to hold them accountable and to stop lying to us about what we owe.

After one phone call with Cohen-Esrey, they talked the price down by $2100. This shows that their late fees are bogus. However, In order to stay in my home and organize with my neighbors in our union, I need $600 in late fees or I could face eviction at the end of December.

I need you to donate to my GoFundMe to keep me housed in my home so I can continue our fight with the Eastside Tenant Union into 2023. Do you have my back? ✊

In solidarity,

Cheryl Looney and the Eastside Tenant Union