August 2003
Oakland towing contract faulted / Auditor's report says city loses $500,000 yearly in current deal
Oakland's city towing contract has been awarded without competitive bidding for more than 20 years and shortchanges the public by about $500,000 a year, the city auditor said in a report released Monday.
The auditor, Roland Smith, said the city should stop awarding contract extensions to A&B Auto without competitive bidding and revise the deal so the city gets more towing fees. Under the city's purchasing ordinance, towing contracts must be put to competitive bids, the audit says.
He said Oakland's towing deal compares poorly with that of San Jose, estimating that Oakland loses nearly $500,000 a year in revenue because it does not get fees from the sale and storage of vehicles. Smith also said the contractor underpaid the city $31,500 in administrative fees from 1999 through 2002.
A&B received $3.9 million from towing, storage and lien sales in 1998, Smith said. The city gets $441,500 a year under the current deal, Smith said in his report, which is the first installment in an audit requested by the City Council in 1999 to check A&B's compliance with the contract.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-towing-contract-faulted-Auditor-s-2559834.php
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
63 Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf - claims that the City's Planning and Bldg Dept has been 'beefed up' (to accommodate developers - not for code enforcement)
May 2015
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Tells Developers that Boomtown Must Be Equitable
According to Schaaf, her administration has also beefed up the city’s Planning and Building Department to accommodate the growing interest of major developers in Oakland’s real estate market.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/05/20/oakland-mayor-libby-schaaf-tells-developers-boomtown-must-be-equitable
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Tells Developers that Boomtown Must Be Equitable
According to Schaaf, her administration has also beefed up the city’s Planning and Building Department to accommodate the growing interest of major developers in Oakland’s real estate market.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/05/20/oakland-mayor-libby-schaaf-tells-developers-boomtown-must-be-equitable
62 Downtown Oakland Plan - Mostly excludes artists
September 2015
Big Ideas for Oakland’s Downtown Mostly Exclude Artists (Op/Ed)
Retaining the character, flavor and cultural identity of Oakland should be a Big Idea. But in an urban planning process which appears to be completely run by developers and consultants, apparently with the blessing of the pro-development administration of Mayor Libby Schaff, broadly diverse voices of the artistic and creative community may have been all but shut out of that process.
plan downtown flyerAs CRP previously noted, the development community has already taken aim at the arts, by filing a lawsuit this past July which claimed that the city’s percent for art program violated federal civil rights guidelines. This was followed by the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Artist Housing and Work Spaces, which held its first meeting August 6. In her invitation, the mayor noted that “local artist communities have contributed to making Oakland a dynamic and vibrant city that is now attracting new interest and investment. We need to ensure that they are able to remain in Oakland as the City continues to grow and change.” She went on to identify affordable housing and work spaces for artists as “part of my larger policy agenda.”
However, a follow-up email obtained by CRP reveals that the task force invitees consisted of only a handful of actual artists and members of arts-based organizations. The overwhelming majority of those invited were developers, architects, attorneys, and city staff; some members of the arts community were added to the email chain only after they bum-rushed the original meeting without an invite. (Despite Schaff’s stated intent, the creative community has reason to be skeptical of her true motives: she is reportedly opposed to re-forming Oakland’s Cultural Arts Commission, which would bring some community oversight to the city’s overly-bureaucratic arts development process, and she reneged on a promise to arts advocates to allow for “tweaking” of the percent for art proposal to make it more community-friendly.)
Then, on September 3, a Miami-based development consultant group presented the “community kick-off event” for the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan (DOSP) – a new master urban planning initiative similar to the West Oakland and Chinatown-specific plans.
CRP Executive Director Desi Mundo attended the meeting and posted some of his observations on social media. He noticed that very few, if any, members of the artist community were present, and said he received no answer when he inquired about community engagement specific to the Malonga Center’s tenants. The people who did attend again represented a heavy concentration of developers and city staff, along with some business owners and CBD staffers. There were several references to the creative community, but most of them amounted to lip service.
Throughout the report’s 72 full-color pages, it loftily floats several “Big Ideas” and 30 smaller recommendations, only one of which is directly connected to the arts: “downtown should also integrate art into public spaces. This is an opportunity to make strategic use of Oakland’s public art fee,” the report states, even though the lawsuit could delay implementation of that fee for several years or eliminate it altogether.
http://crpbayarea.org/2015/09/11/big-ideas-for-oaklands-downtown-mostly-exclude-artists-oped/
Big Ideas for Oakland’s Downtown Mostly Exclude Artists (Op/Ed)
Retaining the character, flavor and cultural identity of Oakland should be a Big Idea. But in an urban planning process which appears to be completely run by developers and consultants, apparently with the blessing of the pro-development administration of Mayor Libby Schaff, broadly diverse voices of the artistic and creative community may have been all but shut out of that process.
plan downtown flyerAs CRP previously noted, the development community has already taken aim at the arts, by filing a lawsuit this past July which claimed that the city’s percent for art program violated federal civil rights guidelines. This was followed by the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Artist Housing and Work Spaces, which held its first meeting August 6. In her invitation, the mayor noted that “local artist communities have contributed to making Oakland a dynamic and vibrant city that is now attracting new interest and investment. We need to ensure that they are able to remain in Oakland as the City continues to grow and change.” She went on to identify affordable housing and work spaces for artists as “part of my larger policy agenda.”
However, a follow-up email obtained by CRP reveals that the task force invitees consisted of only a handful of actual artists and members of arts-based organizations. The overwhelming majority of those invited were developers, architects, attorneys, and city staff; some members of the arts community were added to the email chain only after they bum-rushed the original meeting without an invite. (Despite Schaff’s stated intent, the creative community has reason to be skeptical of her true motives: she is reportedly opposed to re-forming Oakland’s Cultural Arts Commission, which would bring some community oversight to the city’s overly-bureaucratic arts development process, and she reneged on a promise to arts advocates to allow for “tweaking” of the percent for art proposal to make it more community-friendly.)
Then, on September 3, a Miami-based development consultant group presented the “community kick-off event” for the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan (DOSP) – a new master urban planning initiative similar to the West Oakland and Chinatown-specific plans.
CRP Executive Director Desi Mundo attended the meeting and posted some of his observations on social media. He noticed that very few, if any, members of the artist community were present, and said he received no answer when he inquired about community engagement specific to the Malonga Center’s tenants. The people who did attend again represented a heavy concentration of developers and city staff, along with some business owners and CBD staffers. There were several references to the creative community, but most of them amounted to lip service.
Throughout the report’s 72 full-color pages, it loftily floats several “Big Ideas” and 30 smaller recommendations, only one of which is directly connected to the arts: “downtown should also integrate art into public spaces. This is an opportunity to make strategic use of Oakland’s public art fee,” the report states, even though the lawsuit could delay implementation of that fee for several years or eliminate it altogether.
http://crpbayarea.org/2015/09/11/big-ideas-for-oaklands-downtown-mostly-exclude-artists-oped/
61 Oakland Music Venue threatened with closure due to complaints from absentee landlords (Oakland Metro Opera house)
May 2016
Oakland Metro Operahouse Is Raising Soundproofing Funds to Silence A Noisy Neighbor
As Bay Area housing developers look for ways to capitalize on the region’s sky-high rents, music venues are feeling the squeeze. Now, one of Oakland’s few dedicated spots for heavy metal and cabaret says a neighboring property owner — who has no building plans in the works — is doing all he can to make sure it doesn’t survive.
The Oakland Metro Operahouse, which moved from a spot on Third St. to the former Kimball’s space at 522 Second St. last year, is hustling to raise $20,000 by March 24 to build three sound-dampening walls inside the concert hall. That’s because W. Brad Paley, who owns the empty Parker Electric building next door, is fighting the Operahouse’s permit from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, says the venue’s Executive Director, Mia Dean.
“Our neighbor is neither [a] resident, nor does he run a business in Oakland,” Metro owners said in an announcement March 10. “He's the privileged absentee landlord of a derelict building who doesn't want us to operate, just in case he's able to put a tech company in someday.”
Founded 15 years ago, the Operahouse hosts a number of offbeat events, including regular heavy metal shows, cabaret, hip-hop, indie wrestling and, yes, opera. When it moved, the Operahouse inherited the Kimball’s permit, which allows for some noise outside the venue. But because of Paley’s efforts, the pending ABC license would require the Operahouse to essentially be silent from the outside, Dean says.
The Operahouse is in an industrial part of Oakland, where city codes allow for a reasonable amount of noise. ABC spokesman John Carr says he doesn’t know whether the ABC could impose more stringent noise restrictions on a venue than a city would.
Carr confirmed that the ABC has received four complaints about the Operahouse’s permit, including concerns about noise, disorderly persons, blocked driveways and the potential for an increase in crime. Aubrey Rose, who works in the city’s zoning department, said he also received a complaint last year from 221 Washington St., a building Paley owns.
Dean says the Operahouse staff has tried to resolve things with Paley, but he isn’t budging. Paley didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Operahouse’s fundraiser is off to a good start, bringing in almost a quarter of what they need in the first days. Dean hopes they’ll be able to meet the requirements of the new license by late April, when the ABC is expected to hold a hearing.
“Right now we’d have a license if it weren’t for him,” she says. “We can’t exist without it.”
http://archives.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2016/03/15/oakland-metro-operahouse-is-raising-soundproofing-funds-to-silence-a-noisey-neighbor
Oakland Metro Operahouse Is Raising Soundproofing Funds to Silence A Noisy Neighbor
As Bay Area housing developers look for ways to capitalize on the region’s sky-high rents, music venues are feeling the squeeze. Now, one of Oakland’s few dedicated spots for heavy metal and cabaret says a neighboring property owner — who has no building plans in the works — is doing all he can to make sure it doesn’t survive.
The Oakland Metro Operahouse, which moved from a spot on Third St. to the former Kimball’s space at 522 Second St. last year, is hustling to raise $20,000 by March 24 to build three sound-dampening walls inside the concert hall. That’s because W. Brad Paley, who owns the empty Parker Electric building next door, is fighting the Operahouse’s permit from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, says the venue’s Executive Director, Mia Dean.
“Our neighbor is neither [a] resident, nor does he run a business in Oakland,” Metro owners said in an announcement March 10. “He's the privileged absentee landlord of a derelict building who doesn't want us to operate, just in case he's able to put a tech company in someday.”
Founded 15 years ago, the Operahouse hosts a number of offbeat events, including regular heavy metal shows, cabaret, hip-hop, indie wrestling and, yes, opera. When it moved, the Operahouse inherited the Kimball’s permit, which allows for some noise outside the venue. But because of Paley’s efforts, the pending ABC license would require the Operahouse to essentially be silent from the outside, Dean says.
The Operahouse is in an industrial part of Oakland, where city codes allow for a reasonable amount of noise. ABC spokesman John Carr says he doesn’t know whether the ABC could impose more stringent noise restrictions on a venue than a city would.
Carr confirmed that the ABC has received four complaints about the Operahouse’s permit, including concerns about noise, disorderly persons, blocked driveways and the potential for an increase in crime. Aubrey Rose, who works in the city’s zoning department, said he also received a complaint last year from 221 Washington St., a building Paley owns.
Dean says the Operahouse staff has tried to resolve things with Paley, but he isn’t budging. Paley didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Operahouse’s fundraiser is off to a good start, bringing in almost a quarter of what they need in the first days. Dean hopes they’ll be able to meet the requirements of the new license by late April, when the ABC is expected to hold a hearing.
“Right now we’d have a license if it weren’t for him,” she says. “We can’t exist without it.”
http://archives.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2016/03/15/oakland-metro-operahouse-is-raising-soundproofing-funds-to-silence-a-noisey-neighbor
60 City of Oakland - Finally gets a Dept of Transportation (after 162 years of not having one)
July 2016
Oakland Gets New DOT for a New Kind of Transportation Planning
Until this summer, like many other midsize cities, Oakland has had no Department of Transportation. Decisions about streets have fallen under the jurisdiction of public works or planning instead. Now, nearly a year after Mayor Libby Schaaf announced its creation as part of the city’s 2015-2017 budget, Oakland’s first DOT is taking shape. Earlier this month, the city announced that the transition would be led by Jeff Tumlin, a transportation consultant and director of strategy with planning firm Nelson/Nygaard. The department’s creation couldn’t come at a better time. The city is considering putting a $600 million infrastructure bond on the November ballot, which could yield $350 million for transportation if approved.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/oakland-first-dot-transportation-planning
Measure BB passed in the 2014 Election.
With 70.76% of Alameda County voters approving the measure, it passed the 2/3 threshold required of revenue-generating items.
In January of 2014, the governing body of the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) approved the 2014 Alameda County Transportation Expenditure Plan (TEP), which includes a set of transportation projects and programs that would receive funding if voters approve Measure BB, a transportation sales tax measure that will appear on the November 4, 2014 ballot.
Alameda CTC currently collects a 0.5% sales tax that is due to expire in 2022. Measure BB would extend the existing tax until 2045 and increase the tax to a total of 1%. Under the TEP, Alameda CTC would use the additional tax revenue to support transportation projects and programs throughout Alameda County. This revenue, some of which will go to Oakland, would fund two broad categories of work over 30 years: 1) Capital projects with specific dollar amounts, including everything from expanding BART to improving pedestrian corridors; and 2) Operations and maintenance investments, such as reinstating canceled bus service and maintaining streets. Former Oakland Army Base infrastructure upgrades, including roadway and truck route improvements, also could receive support.
https://localwiki.org/oakland/Alameda_County_Measure_BB
May 2015
Oakland needs a Department of Transportation
It turns out Oakland has never, in its 162-year history, had a department dedicated to transportation. This omission is long overdue for correction, which needs to occur soon, and could happen with little cost to Oaklanders.
https://oaklandnorth.net/2015/05/11/you-tell-us-oakland-needs-a-department-of-transportation/
Oakland Gets New DOT for a New Kind of Transportation Planning
Until this summer, like many other midsize cities, Oakland has had no Department of Transportation. Decisions about streets have fallen under the jurisdiction of public works or planning instead. Now, nearly a year after Mayor Libby Schaaf announced its creation as part of the city’s 2015-2017 budget, Oakland’s first DOT is taking shape. Earlier this month, the city announced that the transition would be led by Jeff Tumlin, a transportation consultant and director of strategy with planning firm Nelson/Nygaard. The department’s creation couldn’t come at a better time. The city is considering putting a $600 million infrastructure bond on the November ballot, which could yield $350 million for transportation if approved.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/oakland-first-dot-transportation-planning
Measure BB passed in the 2014 Election.
With 70.76% of Alameda County voters approving the measure, it passed the 2/3 threshold required of revenue-generating items.
In January of 2014, the governing body of the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) approved the 2014 Alameda County Transportation Expenditure Plan (TEP), which includes a set of transportation projects and programs that would receive funding if voters approve Measure BB, a transportation sales tax measure that will appear on the November 4, 2014 ballot.
Alameda CTC currently collects a 0.5% sales tax that is due to expire in 2022. Measure BB would extend the existing tax until 2045 and increase the tax to a total of 1%. Under the TEP, Alameda CTC would use the additional tax revenue to support transportation projects and programs throughout Alameda County. This revenue, some of which will go to Oakland, would fund two broad categories of work over 30 years: 1) Capital projects with specific dollar amounts, including everything from expanding BART to improving pedestrian corridors; and 2) Operations and maintenance investments, such as reinstating canceled bus service and maintaining streets. Former Oakland Army Base infrastructure upgrades, including roadway and truck route improvements, also could receive support.
https://localwiki.org/oakland/Alameda_County_Measure_BB
May 2015
Oakland needs a Department of Transportation
It turns out Oakland has never, in its 162-year history, had a department dedicated to transportation. This omission is long overdue for correction, which needs to occur soon, and could happen with little cost to Oaklanders.
https://oaklandnorth.net/2015/05/11/you-tell-us-oakland-needs-a-department-of-transportation/
59 City of Oakland Council Members - Garbage Contract results in garbage bills jumping 50% higher (2014)
May 2014
Oakland Garbage Bills slated to jump 50 percent
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2014/05/28/oakland-garbage-bills-slated-to-jump-50-percent/
September 2014
Oakland City Council gives controversial garbage contract to Waste Management
https://oaklandnorth.net/2014/09/30/oakland-city-council-gives-controversial-garbage-contract-to-waste-management/
Oakland Garbage Bills slated to jump 50 percent
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2014/05/28/oakland-garbage-bills-slated-to-jump-50-percent/
September 2014
Oakland City Council gives controversial garbage contract to Waste Management
https://oaklandnorth.net/2014/09/30/oakland-city-council-gives-controversial-garbage-contract-to-waste-management/
58 City of Oakland Police, Fire, and Building Inspectors - Raids the California Hotel (tenants being threatened with forced relocation)
July 2008
City of Oakland Raids California Hotel
In what is being described as a blatant show of force meant to intimidate and harass the residents of the California Hotel out of their housing, Oakland cops, the fire department and city building inspectors payed a surprise unannounced visit to the California Hotel to conduct searches in numerous office rooms, and the rooms of the residents who have refused to move after being threatened with eviction and the shut off of their gas, water, and electricity. The tenants recently responded to threats of forced relocation by refusing to move after receiving a notice stating that the hotel they reside in may shut down after July 15.
In further response to threats of having their gas, water and electricity turned off, the tenants responded by filing a $2.5 million lawsuit against Oakland Community Housing, Inc., John Stewart Company, CaHon Associates, Charles Folwkes, Greg Hyson, and Laura Sanborn. They are being represented by attorneys John Murcko of Oakland and Stephen Perelson of Mill Valley. In recent days, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch granted a Temporary Restraining Order to keep the owners of the California Hotel from turning off the gas, water and electricity.
In a well executed raid, the City of Oakland decided to flex its muscles and show the elderly, disabled and poor residents of the California Hotel that there’s nothing in the world to stop the brute force and power of a corrupt city government from doing anything possible to take back control of the California Hotel from its residents, who have lawfully refused to be illegally forced out of their housing recently, by corrupt city officials.
At around 10:15 AM Monday morning July 21, in a surprise visit to the hotel, five squad cars containing around 8 to 10 cops descended upon the California Hotel. Barely minutes later, James Edwards the Deputy Chief of the Oakland Fire Department, Vincent Crudele of the Fire Code Inspection Services Unit, and Rick Fielding plus several of his assistants from the Oakland Building Services Division, joined the Oakland cops to conduct a search of the old historic hotel located at 3501 San Pablo Avenue.
The surprise unannounced inspection involving multiple Oakland city departments frightened the residents of the California Hotel, and no one from the Building Services Division offered any explanation to the residents as to why the inspection occurred today. The residents were repeatedly advised that they needed to contact the City Attorneys Office, if they had any questions about the on-going search taking place floor to floor, in their housing units and the rest of the hotel.
Deputy Fire Chief Edwards was kind enough to advise the residents that his department was there as a followup to an earlier inspection, and told the residents that a report detailing today’s inspection findings would be released at a later date.
According to eye witness accounts, the interior and exterior of the premises was searched from top to bottom, including the drawers inside numerous office rooms in the building, and the cops went searching floor to floor pounding on the doors of the residents, demanding entry into their homes at the old historic hotel.
“Everbody was scared, they just came busting in without any warning, and no-one knew they were coming here today,” said California Hotel resident Otis Blacksheer. “I’ve lived here for two and a half years, and never saw anything like this before! The cops and inspectors went door to door to search peoples apartments, and even searched the drawers in the offices of the building. We do not know what the cops or inspectors were looking for, and I did not want to get too close to the cops in case they thought I was dangerous or something,” said Blacksheer.
“This is a lawless town!,” attorney John Murcko stated in response to the raid occurring at the California Hotel earlier today. “They’ve never done an inspection like this before. They’re harassing the tenants! The city knows that it’s losing in the courts, and this is a blatant display of force and an abuse of power. The tenants have rights, and it’s totally illegal to search the rooms of the tenants with-out a search warrant or some kind of a notice offered in advance. The Police, Fire Department, and building inspectors have violated the 4th amendment which is supposed to guard against unreasonable searches and seizures,” said John Murcko one of the attorneys representing the residents of the California Hotel.
Dawn Phillips and two others from Just Cause Oakland (a local tenant’s advocate group) arrived at the California Hotel earlier today at around 12:30 PM, shortly before the city inspectors left the premises. “The cops were gone by the time we got here,” said Phillips. “There’s a lack of support for the residents of the California Hotel by city officials. Today was a big show of force by the city which seemed very intimidating to all the residents being pressured to move out of the hotel. The tenants are doing their own security and grounds keeping work at the hotel ever since John Stewart abandoned the tenants and the premises.
“The tenants are organized,” said Phillips, “and on a daily basis since John Stewart pulled away from managing the property on July 15, the residents have shown the city and the world that they can fend for themselves, and keep the building cleaner than the John Stewart Company ever could. Every day they sweep and clean the building inside and out, and earlier today Deputy Fire Chief Edwards complimented the residents for the fine work that they have been doing. The residents have the right to remain in their housing at the California Hotel, and we hope that the city will come around to supporting their position as time passes as they continue to show everyone that they are willing and able to manage the building themselves.”
Ricky Graham, described as being in charge of the press and media coverage for Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office in Oakland, and Mr. Graham called earlier today to voice his complaint because I pointed out recently that there has been no visible public support coming from Lee suggesting that she supports the rights of the residents to remain in their housing at the California Hotel. Barbara Lee has not appeared at any of the recent rallies or protests by the residents of the California Hotel who are being unlawfully forced out of their housing, and I believe Mr. Graham was irritated by someone’s July 20 posting at Oakland Focus called: “Barbara Lee’s Office Said To Be Silent on California Hotel Eviction.” Click on the following link for the Oakland Focus posting.
In addition, Mr. Graham tried to convince me that he was a very important man, and that he spent many years working for a number of major publications before coming to Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, and that I should have called up Congresswoman Lee’s office to ask what her position was in regards to the plight of the tenants at the California Hotel. Fine I said, and quickly asked what is the Congresswoman’s position in regards to the plight of the tenants at the California Hotel? We’ll have to get back to you on that later on this afternoon, Mr. Graham said. I never did hear back from Mr. Graham by phone or e-mail later on, in regards to the position of Congresswoman Lee as to the unfortunate plight of the residents at the California Hotel.
According to John Murcko, one of the attorneys representing the residents of the California Hotel, he stated that he wrote and sent a letter to Congresswoman Barbara Lee in regards to the plight of the residents at the California Hotel, and never received a response back. When I asked Mr. Graham about the lack of response in regards to Mr. Murcko’s letter about the plight of the residents at the California Hotel, Mr. Graham also stated that he would get back to me with a reply, but he never did.
In addition to the plight of the tenants at the California Hotel, around 20 families at East Oakland’s Drasnin Manor mixed use affordable housing development (2530 International BLVD), are also in fear of their future and their housing since the property went into receivership last May, after Oakland Community Housing, Inc., (OCHI) defaulted on a $510,000 loan during the past year.
The John Stewart Company (JSC) also pulled out of the Marin Way housing complex on May 29, but may have stayed on for an extra month according to documents. The Marin Way housing complex is located at 2000 International BLVD, Oakland. A 20 unit property also owned by OCHI, with 18 families residing there.
On August 29, 2008 JSC plans to end their management contract at the Nueva Vista housing complex at; 3700 International BLVD. Nueva Vista has 30 family units, and currently has 24 families residing there.
Slim Jenkins housing complex (30 family units at 700 Willow) and the James Lee Court (26 family units at 690 15th St.) which are both also owned by OCHI, will have their management (JSC) end their management contract sometime during August of 2008.
At the San Antonio Terrace housing complex (23 family units) also owned by OCHI, JSC plans to terminate their management contract on September 30, 2008.
All the tenants at the above locations are at risk of losing their housing once John Stewart ends the contracts to manage those properties, and many more tenants are at risk of losing their housing at other property locations owned by OCHI, in Oakland.
Documents reveal that over 500 residents of OCHI properties in Oakland, are all at risk of losing their housing due to the mismanagement of the non profit housing organization known as Oakland Community Housing, Inc., a member of the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO).
On Wednesday July 23, at 5pm the residents of the California Hotel at 3501 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, plan to celebrate their first week of resident control by dropping a large banner in front of the hotel that will say, “We Will Not Be Moved.” Just Cause Oakland is asking the community to come out and show their support of the tenants at the California Hotel.
http://www.beyondchron.org/city-of-oakland-raids-california-hotel/
City of Oakland Raids California Hotel
In what is being described as a blatant show of force meant to intimidate and harass the residents of the California Hotel out of their housing, Oakland cops, the fire department and city building inspectors payed a surprise unannounced visit to the California Hotel to conduct searches in numerous office rooms, and the rooms of the residents who have refused to move after being threatened with eviction and the shut off of their gas, water, and electricity. The tenants recently responded to threats of forced relocation by refusing to move after receiving a notice stating that the hotel they reside in may shut down after July 15.
In further response to threats of having their gas, water and electricity turned off, the tenants responded by filing a $2.5 million lawsuit against Oakland Community Housing, Inc., John Stewart Company, CaHon Associates, Charles Folwkes, Greg Hyson, and Laura Sanborn. They are being represented by attorneys John Murcko of Oakland and Stephen Perelson of Mill Valley. In recent days, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch granted a Temporary Restraining Order to keep the owners of the California Hotel from turning off the gas, water and electricity.
In a well executed raid, the City of Oakland decided to flex its muscles and show the elderly, disabled and poor residents of the California Hotel that there’s nothing in the world to stop the brute force and power of a corrupt city government from doing anything possible to take back control of the California Hotel from its residents, who have lawfully refused to be illegally forced out of their housing recently, by corrupt city officials.
At around 10:15 AM Monday morning July 21, in a surprise visit to the hotel, five squad cars containing around 8 to 10 cops descended upon the California Hotel. Barely minutes later, James Edwards the Deputy Chief of the Oakland Fire Department, Vincent Crudele of the Fire Code Inspection Services Unit, and Rick Fielding plus several of his assistants from the Oakland Building Services Division, joined the Oakland cops to conduct a search of the old historic hotel located at 3501 San Pablo Avenue.
The surprise unannounced inspection involving multiple Oakland city departments frightened the residents of the California Hotel, and no one from the Building Services Division offered any explanation to the residents as to why the inspection occurred today. The residents were repeatedly advised that they needed to contact the City Attorneys Office, if they had any questions about the on-going search taking place floor to floor, in their housing units and the rest of the hotel.
Deputy Fire Chief Edwards was kind enough to advise the residents that his department was there as a followup to an earlier inspection, and told the residents that a report detailing today’s inspection findings would be released at a later date.
According to eye witness accounts, the interior and exterior of the premises was searched from top to bottom, including the drawers inside numerous office rooms in the building, and the cops went searching floor to floor pounding on the doors of the residents, demanding entry into their homes at the old historic hotel.
“Everbody was scared, they just came busting in without any warning, and no-one knew they were coming here today,” said California Hotel resident Otis Blacksheer. “I’ve lived here for two and a half years, and never saw anything like this before! The cops and inspectors went door to door to search peoples apartments, and even searched the drawers in the offices of the building. We do not know what the cops or inspectors were looking for, and I did not want to get too close to the cops in case they thought I was dangerous or something,” said Blacksheer.
“This is a lawless town!,” attorney John Murcko stated in response to the raid occurring at the California Hotel earlier today. “They’ve never done an inspection like this before. They’re harassing the tenants! The city knows that it’s losing in the courts, and this is a blatant display of force and an abuse of power. The tenants have rights, and it’s totally illegal to search the rooms of the tenants with-out a search warrant or some kind of a notice offered in advance. The Police, Fire Department, and building inspectors have violated the 4th amendment which is supposed to guard against unreasonable searches and seizures,” said John Murcko one of the attorneys representing the residents of the California Hotel.
Dawn Phillips and two others from Just Cause Oakland (a local tenant’s advocate group) arrived at the California Hotel earlier today at around 12:30 PM, shortly before the city inspectors left the premises. “The cops were gone by the time we got here,” said Phillips. “There’s a lack of support for the residents of the California Hotel by city officials. Today was a big show of force by the city which seemed very intimidating to all the residents being pressured to move out of the hotel. The tenants are doing their own security and grounds keeping work at the hotel ever since John Stewart abandoned the tenants and the premises.
“The tenants are organized,” said Phillips, “and on a daily basis since John Stewart pulled away from managing the property on July 15, the residents have shown the city and the world that they can fend for themselves, and keep the building cleaner than the John Stewart Company ever could. Every day they sweep and clean the building inside and out, and earlier today Deputy Fire Chief Edwards complimented the residents for the fine work that they have been doing. The residents have the right to remain in their housing at the California Hotel, and we hope that the city will come around to supporting their position as time passes as they continue to show everyone that they are willing and able to manage the building themselves.”
Ricky Graham, described as being in charge of the press and media coverage for Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office in Oakland, and Mr. Graham called earlier today to voice his complaint because I pointed out recently that there has been no visible public support coming from Lee suggesting that she supports the rights of the residents to remain in their housing at the California Hotel. Barbara Lee has not appeared at any of the recent rallies or protests by the residents of the California Hotel who are being unlawfully forced out of their housing, and I believe Mr. Graham was irritated by someone’s July 20 posting at Oakland Focus called: “Barbara Lee’s Office Said To Be Silent on California Hotel Eviction.” Click on the following link for the Oakland Focus posting.
In addition, Mr. Graham tried to convince me that he was a very important man, and that he spent many years working for a number of major publications before coming to Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s office, and that I should have called up Congresswoman Lee’s office to ask what her position was in regards to the plight of the tenants at the California Hotel. Fine I said, and quickly asked what is the Congresswoman’s position in regards to the plight of the tenants at the California Hotel? We’ll have to get back to you on that later on this afternoon, Mr. Graham said. I never did hear back from Mr. Graham by phone or e-mail later on, in regards to the position of Congresswoman Lee as to the unfortunate plight of the residents at the California Hotel.
According to John Murcko, one of the attorneys representing the residents of the California Hotel, he stated that he wrote and sent a letter to Congresswoman Barbara Lee in regards to the plight of the residents at the California Hotel, and never received a response back. When I asked Mr. Graham about the lack of response in regards to Mr. Murcko’s letter about the plight of the residents at the California Hotel, Mr. Graham also stated that he would get back to me with a reply, but he never did.
In addition to the plight of the tenants at the California Hotel, around 20 families at East Oakland’s Drasnin Manor mixed use affordable housing development (2530 International BLVD), are also in fear of their future and their housing since the property went into receivership last May, after Oakland Community Housing, Inc., (OCHI) defaulted on a $510,000 loan during the past year.
The John Stewart Company (JSC) also pulled out of the Marin Way housing complex on May 29, but may have stayed on for an extra month according to documents. The Marin Way housing complex is located at 2000 International BLVD, Oakland. A 20 unit property also owned by OCHI, with 18 families residing there.
On August 29, 2008 JSC plans to end their management contract at the Nueva Vista housing complex at; 3700 International BLVD. Nueva Vista has 30 family units, and currently has 24 families residing there.
Slim Jenkins housing complex (30 family units at 700 Willow) and the James Lee Court (26 family units at 690 15th St.) which are both also owned by OCHI, will have their management (JSC) end their management contract sometime during August of 2008.
At the San Antonio Terrace housing complex (23 family units) also owned by OCHI, JSC plans to terminate their management contract on September 30, 2008.
All the tenants at the above locations are at risk of losing their housing once John Stewart ends the contracts to manage those properties, and many more tenants are at risk of losing their housing at other property locations owned by OCHI, in Oakland.
Documents reveal that over 500 residents of OCHI properties in Oakland, are all at risk of losing their housing due to the mismanagement of the non profit housing organization known as Oakland Community Housing, Inc., a member of the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO).
On Wednesday July 23, at 5pm the residents of the California Hotel at 3501 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, plan to celebrate their first week of resident control by dropping a large banner in front of the hotel that will say, “We Will Not Be Moved.” Just Cause Oakland is asking the community to come out and show their support of the tenants at the California Hotel.
http://www.beyondchron.org/city-of-oakland-raids-california-hotel/
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