Save the Block! Relief for Full Kee and Gao Ya

Rift Valley Capital (RVC) and Eddie Moy have officially given long time small businesses Full Kee and Gao Ya vacate notices for July 1st. We demand RVC and Eddie Moy extend the deadline to vacate to Sept 30th and commit to negotiating a community benefits agreement. We are calling on Councilmember Brooke Pinto to urge RVC and Eddie Moy to extend their leases until Sept 30th and commit to community benefits.

Background: After a year of anti-displacement advocacy around Eddie Moy and RVC’s incoming 9-story luxury hotel at 507-517 H St NW, the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network (SCSN) met with RVC in February and was told that the hotel was in the very early stages of development– in large part due to financing challenges.

On Monday, May 12, SCSN was told that RVC is NOT willing to extend the vacate date, or sign a community benefits agreement that guarantees community protections and minimizes harmful impact in Chinatown. It is our understanding that the eviction of Full Kee and Gao Ya is meant to support RVC in more easily securing construction financing– evicting tenants so they may profit off the backs of longtime Chinatown establishments.

Not only are these businesses being given less than 3 months to shut down after generations of operation, they are being forced out right before the summertime–their busiest season of the year.

SCSN is committed to advancing the anti-displacement needs of the remaining working class residents and legacy businesses of Chinatown. This Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) month, join us in taking action to defend Chinatown's small businesses and ensure that any new developments coming into Chinatown are accountable to the community.

Join us in taking action to defend Chinatown's small businesses and ensure that any new developments coming into Chinatown are accountable to the community.