Affordable Housing in Oakland! -- Rally November 3, Oakland City Hall

Dear friends,

As you may know, this campaign to maintain 50 units of affordable housing and to keep the homes of elderly immigrants in Chinatown has been going on since May 2003. We’ve staved off the evictions FOR SIX MONTHS (!!) through a strong showing of community support, legal and political tactics. With your help, we have made hundreds of calls to City Council, supported tenants throughout this process, and galvanized youth and student groups. These are 50 units of affordable housing for downtown Oakland, in the heart of Oakland Chinatown.

These tenants and ex-tenants have already endured a lot of stress, anxiety, lost money and time in moving, stressing, worrying, and trying to find support among family, friends and community. Many of the moved-out folks are now struggling to make their monthly rent, in a way that they did not have to before. One couple is in their 70s, running a small booth selling hand-made embroideries and other hangings, to make rent. They are amazing artists.

For those of you who don’t know, Oakland Chinatowns have a real interesting history – Chinatowns have been moved around – this one may be the 4th incarnation or so in the last century just in Oakland. Gentrification and displacement through so-called development schemes seem to be a common, repeating story – one that repeats itself in many communities of color (highways bisecting and in many ways suffocating African-American communities in the 50s being one that jumps to mind), on land that was stolen from Native tribes, and then stolen again from Mexicanos after the Treaty of Guadalupe.

Right now we are pressuring the City to add the $16 million to the suit against the developer, Larry Chan, a Hong Kong megadeveloper

Larry Chan also:
· owns/runs the two Marriotts downtown, and
· somehow brokered a deal so that the supposedly PUBLIC parking lot below the Pacific Renaissance Plaza gives all its profits to Chan’s already-deep private pockets.
· Owns two international hotel chains, some property in Hawaii – where he also had trouble with locals
· Was the last hold-out anti-union hotel in SF in 1992, and the target of some hard-core labor disputes in 1992 – this made the news in Hong Kong!



How he got the loan forgiven:
· He said that he had taken a loss (in 1998) and so he sold the property (989 Webster st) – but he sold it to himself, to another company that he owns!!
· Then he turned around and asked the City to forgive the loan because he said the property wasn’t worth anything.

Now he’s trying to sell the same units (five years later) at $450,000 each to individuals (after he kicks the people out) or to the City!

· Chan is already being sued for overcharging these tenants to the tune of $300 per month, over the last 10 years (he got the numbers from the City).

PLEASE COME OUT and SHOW YOUR SUPPORT for the tenant and community groups who have spent so much time and energy to maintain affordable housing in Oakland, and to enforce seniors’ rights to secure housing! Rally Monday, Nov 3, 4 pm, City Hall – Frank Ogawa Plaza. More information included below. Plus, witness the debut of Chinese American style guerilla opera, right in front of Oakland City Hall!

Please forward this along, make a pitch to your friends, your students, your family, and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

CJWP (Chien Jing He Ping/ ChinJurn Wor Ping)
Moving FOrward for Peace
...By Getting Closer to Justice


-----Original Message-----
Please forward widely! Apologies for cross-postings.



Subject : PHYSICAL Solidarity !! Let's rock Oakland City Hall with PEOPLE POWER !!



SHOW UP !! STAND IN SOLIDARITY !! LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD !!



RALLY in SUPPORT of the PacRen tenants

(balloons & guerrilla theater for the first 500)

Monday, November 3, 2003, 4pm at Oakland City Hall

1 Frank Ogawa Plaza



Stop Chinatown Evictions Committee (SCEC) is calling out to all of our brothers and sisters who are part of the beautiful community of activists, artists, friends and family in the Bay. You've come through for us before and we need your help again. The tenants at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza need us to turn out in a HUGE way to let the Oakland City Council know that the POWER OF THE PEOPLE are backing the tenants. They know we have lawyers and expert analysis which they choose to ignore. The POWER OF THE PEOPLE will not be ignored. Come support the struggle to maintain affordable housing in Chinatown and throughout Oakland. This fight transcends all communities and your support reflects this. We need to flood the plaza, raise our voices and demand JUSTICE !!



The word that we're getting is that councilmembers are going to let $16 million dollars of our taxpayer dollars slip away.



What's the deal here?

The deal is that Larry Chan, a private developer was able to write his own deals left and right with the city with virtually no oversight. First he overcharges the tenants $2 million, then he evicts them and never pays back a $7 million loan to the city (now worth $16 million). The city has admitted to poor record keeping on their part in the deals with Chan. They had to go back to him for copies of documents which they weren't able to locate in their own files. Is this any excuse for not pursuing $16 million of taxpayer money when there is strong legal proof that Chan was deceiving the city?



Are we going to let Chan get away with stealing $16 million of taxpayer money?

Are we going to stay quiet while councilmembers, the city attorney's office and Jerry Brown turn a blind eye to clear evidence that says Chan deceived the city?



HELL NO !



COME JOIN US ON MONDAY, November 3rd, 4pm

Oakland City Hall

1 Frank Ogawa Plaza



For more info about this fight:

http://www.aamovement.net/community/nomoveoakland1.html



To volunteer you can contact CJWP at 415-789-8047



CJWP is part of the Stop Chinatown Evictions Committee (SCEC) which consists of tenant representatives, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, East Bay Community law Center, Just Cause, Oakland Tenants Union and United Seniors of Oakland.