PORTLAND — A white tenant at a subsidized housing complex has been given an eviction notice for allegedly instigating a brawl between whites and Cambodian immigrants, authorities said.

William Greenwald, 47, was ordered to stay away from Asian residents at Sagamore Village or else face criminal charges.

Portland Housing Authority officials have moved to evict Greenwald and his sister from their duplex apartment. The notice gives Greenwald and his sister, Sadie Smith, seven days to move out. They have the right to fight the eviction.

Police say Greenwald started a brawl Sunday when he repeatedly yelled racial slurs at a group of young Cambodian immigrants, who are now U.S. citizens. Greenwald, who could not be reached for comment, also challenged the neighbors to fight and threw a hammer that hit one of the men in the leg, said Portland Police Chief Michael Chitwood.

Greenwald later called the men “gooks” during an interview with a police detective and admitted throwing the hammer, according to an affidavit filed in court Thursday.

Two of Greenwald’s nephews, however, said their uncle never made racist comments. They insisted the neighbors — some suspected by police of being gang members — started the fight, for no apparent reason.

“If they felt someone called them names, why didn’t they go to police instead of running over [toward] us with sticks and pipes?” said James Smith, one of Greenwald’s nephews. “They’re using this `racial slur’ to justify violence.”

Chitwood denied that claim. During a press conference at the housing project’s community center, Chitwood said the Cambodian men were not at fault.

“This was about Greenwald and his redneck hatred,” the chief said.