Hurricane Sandy claims another victim: a protest by Latino tenants of 1111 Massachusetts Ave. NW against alleged abuses at the building, owned by Jair Lynch Development Partners.

Tenants of the building accuse the building’s managers, the Kettler Management Company, of waging a deliberate campaign against Spanish-speaking Latino residents, with the goal of forcing them out in favor of new, higher-paying residents.

The protesters’ allegations against Kettler, according to a statement from the Latino Economic Development Center, include “forcing Spanish-speaking families to sign letters in English to support their illegal evictions, suing families for non-payment of rent when the vast majority have proof of payment, and newly mandating that tenants prove they are U.S. residents to renew leases under the building’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit regulations.”

The tenant association is demanding that Kettler be fired and an investigation be undertaken. The protest was planned for this afternoon, but has been postponed due to the hurricane.

Neither Jair Lynch nor Kettler could be reached for comment—-presumably also because of the hurricane.

Screen shot from Google Street View