"We formed the Atlantic Mills Tenants Union to protect ourselves and our neighbors from displacement," say protesters outside East Side law office

“Atlantic Mills has been spared from the development of our surrounding mill buildings, until now. It stands as one of the last affordable commercial mill spaces in a city built on them."

Mar 03, 2025

“Atlantic Mills has been spared from the development of our surrounding mill buildings, until now,” said Emily Harrington, Organizing Committee Member, Atlantic Mills Tenants Union. “It stands as one of the last affordable commercial mill spaces in a City built on them. We formed the Atlantic Mills Tenants Union to protect ourselves and our neighbors from displacement, understanding that our survival in this space depends on our power as a collective. The Atlantic Mills Tenants Union will not be deterred by the purchasing team’s insistence that we operate according to ‘business as usual.’”

Members and supporters of the Atlantic Mills Tenants Union (AMTU) protested outside the law office of Robert Berle located at 201 Wayland Square, who, along with Eric Edelman, is purchasing Atlantic Mills. According to AMTU, Edelman and Berle have refused to collectively bargain with the union when the sale of the building is finalized. The buyers have likewise refused to stop evictions until an agreement is reached with the union. The Atlantic Mills Tenants Union, representing 95 artists, small businesses, and community organizations, expressed profound disappointment that the buyers have rejected an opportunity to find mutually agreeable lease terms for all Atlantic Mills tenants and demanded recognition of the union, the “legitimate representative of tenants at Atlantic Mills.”

The AMTU released a statement ahead of the protest here.

While the buyers refuse to negotiate with AMTU, the current owners —Howard and Eleanor Byrnes LLC— have been engaging in an eviction spree against longtime tenants, including the celebrated non-profit RIOT RI (formerly Girls Rock), which provides music instruction, “to foster collective empowerment and the development of healthy identities in girls, women, trans, and gender-expansive youth and adults.” They have evicted RIOT RI despite their leaseholder attempting to pay all contested arrears.
Acropolis Management Services LLC, hired by Howard and Eleanor Byrnes LLC, is relying on records of spaces and rents that conflict with longstanding verbal agreements and documented payment history. The union demands that evictions of tenants who assert good standing be rescinded immediately.
Management has also been targeting the Olneyville Neighborhood Association(ONA), an historic organization supporting the neighborhood’s working-class immigrant Latino community, undermining their ability to operate. Since the first meeting with the buyers, ONA has been harassed, locked out of their spaces, and had their heat shut off.
Throughout this period, basic maintenance has been ignored. In a failed attempt to change a functional lock to the left tower’s fourth floor entry, the lock was broken and remained so for three weeks, leaving many tenants and their employees without access to their spaces. It took months to receive utility bills to which invoices were dated to be paid within five days.
AMTU demands that the new buyers negotiate a collectively bargained lease that guarantees security and stability for all member-tenants of the Atlantic Mills, protecting us from displacement on a long-term basis. We hope to arrive upon mutually beneficial lease terms for both the vendor and consumer. At 95 tenants strong and growing, we are prepared to take collective action to ensure that Atlantic Mills remains a haven for us to do the art and community work that makes Providence the special place we call home.