California Hotel tenants fight against non profit to remain in housing

California Hotel tenants fight against non profit to remain in housing

By Lynda Carson July 17, 2008

Oakland -- The term poverty pimps comes to mind when considering how the low-income tenants of Oakland have been exploited by some non profit housing organizations, that have been building their empires upon the backs of the poor.

The tenants of the California Hotel recently responded to threats of forced relocation by refusing to move after receiving a threatening 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 at the hotel, 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. The tenants are being represented by attorneys John Murcko of Oakland, and Stephen Perelson of Mill Valley, and 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.

Oakland Community Housing, Inc. (OCHI), a non profit member of the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO) found itself in deep trouble recently when around 72 tenants of the California Hotel refused to move, held a number of protests, and are fighting back against their unlawful evictions occurring at the California Hotel, in Oakland. The tenants and their supporters from the tenant group Just Cause Oakland held a July 14 protest in front of the California Hotel, with somewhere between 50 to 75 protesters requesting that the community remains vigilant and helps them in keeping the tenants in their housing at the California Hotel.

The tenants refusal to move after the slumlord property owner OCHI tried to bamboozle the tenants out of their housing with a frightening June 20 notice stating that the California Hotel may close down after July 15, surprised Oakland city officials who expected to see the tenants stampeded out of their housing in short order. Tenants believe that the City of Oakland is complicit in OCHI's unlawful actions to force them out of their housing, because the city fails to recognize the tenants rights to remain in their housing and has colluded with OCHI to frighten the tenants out of the California Hotel.

There was nothing on the June 20 notice telling the tenants to move as a way to identify where it came from, nor did it state who was sending the unsigned notice to the low-income tenants at the hotel. The unsigned June 20th notice was sent after the tenants received a June 18th notice from the John Stewart Company (JSC) stating that they will no longer manage the California Hotel, effective July 15. In the June 20 notice sent out by the owners of the California Hotel to the tenants, the owners tried to frighten the tenants by claiming that if the owners do not replace the on-sight manager, the building will be out of compliance with state and local law.

California state law requires residential buildings with 16 units or more to have a resident manager, but with wide spread non compliance occurring throughout Oakland and the state of California by non profit and for profit landlords alike in regards to the resident manager laws, it would be very unusual or unheard of for the City of Oakland to suddenly try force defiant landlords into compliance. The system has already been totally corrupted.

According to the Alameda County Assessors Office, OCHI payed $1,910,000 for the historic California Hotel in 1989, which is currently valued at $5,150,758. The owners of the California Hotel (OCHI) have already been sued twice since August of 2005, for maintaining the California Hotel in slumlike conditions, including infestations of rats, bedbugs, cockroaches, and other maintenance problems, despite receiving a loan from the Oakland Redevelopment Agency for $1,100,000, another loan for $2,660,000 from the City of Oakland, plus another loan through the California SHURP program for $1 million. In addition, OCHI has received another $1.5 million in loans from the City of Oakland during the past 2 years to maintain and keep open their buildings for low-income renters in Oakland.

According to a statement on OCHI's website, "The mission of Oakland Community Housing, Inc. is to make a positive impact on people's lives by producing and managing quality affordable housing, including rental and homeownership units." Theres 150 rooms in the California Hotel, with around half the building being empty during Oakland's present housing crisis, and the owners still managed to place it $6.4 million into debt since taking control of it back in 1989.

According to Arthur Bunton a tenant at the California Hotel for over 4 years, "Shortly before the last week of June, the manager gave us the notice telling us to move out by July 15. I'm looking for a place to move into, but can't find a place in such a short period of time. This neighborhood is convenient for me. I was born and raised in Oakland, am disabled in a wheelchair, and get free food locally. I like it here. If I move, I want to move on my own terms in my own way. We're all stressed out. We have many disabled people residing here, including myself and we have nowhere to go. Theres cockroaches in my room, but I am used to them. I've got a room with a bathroom, I'm 54 years old, and have been using a wheelchair for over 4 years. It seems like half the place is vacant, and the owners should be renting out the rooms, especially when considering how many people need a place to live nowadays. In court, I want to see the judge order the owners to keep the California Hotel open for poor people. Theres nowhere left for us to go," said Bunton.

Indeed, several low-income hotels have been closed down or demolished throughout recent years in Oakland to make way for Jerry Browns 10 K Plan, to house the wealthy. The 10 K Plan received the support of the East Bay Housing Organizations' (non profit housing organizations including OCHI) for the Uptown Project, which required the demolition of the 34 unit Westerner Hotel that served Oakland's low-income renters up until late 2003 early 2004, to make way for condominiums for the wealthy. In many cases, the loss of social services provided through the SRO hotels being shut down or demolished throughout the years, have caused homelessness for the elderly and disabled who continue to be displaced from their housing for one reason or another in Oakland, and the loss of the California Hotel for current residents would be devastating.

Leroy Williams was born in 1948, and has resided at the California Hotel since 1993. "I'm not going anywhere," says Leroy Williams. "I received the "Blue Notice" stating that I have to be out of here by July 15, and theres nowhere for me to go. I have a studio apartment, I like it here and keep it clean. I've been here around 15 years, and live on the second floor. I pay my rent on time with money orders, my neighbor is handicapped and people needing support get it by residing in this hotel. It would be criminal for them to shut it down and chase us out of here. Where do they expect us to move?" asked Williams.

Herman Golden came to Oakland from St. Louis in 1974, and said, "I'm 60 years old, and feel like a 60 year old man thats being forced out of his housing. How did you expect me to feel? I live on the 3rd floor, and this is my home. I want to stay. I have no place to go and would be homeless if I were forced out of my housing. Everybody here wants to stay. Theres no place left for us to move to," Golden said.

The man working the front desk of the California Hotel refused to answer any questions, and directed the curious to contact Jack Gardner at the John Stewart Company (JSC), in San Francisco. No one was available when I called the JSC to ask why the elderly and disabled were being forced out of their housing at the California Hotel, without receiving proper eviction notices beforehand, as is required under state and local laws when evictions occur.

George Stringer a longtime tenant of the California Hotel, was born in Monroe, Louisiana, was raised in Oakland, CA., and has resided at the California Hotel for over 3 years, after being the manager of the Exodus House in Oakland. On July 15, at around 7:30 pm, George Stringer stated that The John Stewart Company packed up and moved away, after closing down the front desk around 5-6 pm on the 15th.

"The John Stewart Company packed up to go, and left behind a security guard to keep an eye on the place, and the rest of us that are holding out are doing just fine, so far," said Stringer. "These people tried to force us out of our housing as though we do not have any rights as tenants in Oakland or California, and we're staying as long as we can. The rents are too high for us to try and move anywhere else at this point, and we are better off staying put and exerting our rights as tenants. We are very grateful to Just Cause Oakland and our attorneys for sticking by us in our time of need. I want everyone to keep a close eye on what is happening to us at the California Hotel, so that the community can help us to stay here in case OCHI or the city tries to pull another fast one on us."

The June 20 notice telling the tenants that the hotel may be shut down shortly after July 15, claims that OCHI and CaHon Associates cannot afford to hire another management company.

According to the Alameda County Assessors Office, OCHI is listed as owning around 19 properties in Oakland that are worth many millions of dollars, and it is questionable as to whether the claims of poverty by OCHI ring true with the community. A check of OCHI's last 990 tax return filed with the IRS around August of 2007, shows that after subtracting their liabilities from their assets, OCHI still had a fund balance left over of $1.4 million, and had control of $167,937 in tenants security deposits.

The records from the last 990 tax return filed with the IRS, also recorded that Dwight Dickerson was payed $92,337 annually by OCHI, Charles Fowlkes was payed $82,089 annually, Eleanor Piez was payed $79,104 annually, Amanda Kobler was payed $69,136 annually, and Mike Morell received $79,136 during that same fiscal year. The records show that there were at least 5 other employees of OCHI who were also payed over $50,000 per year. Meanwhile the tenants at the California Hotel, were struggling against rats, bedbugs and cockroaches plus a lack of maintenance at the California Hotel since around 2005 and before.

The tenants attorney John Murcko said, "Many of these tenants at the California Hotel are old and disabled, have been here for 10 years or more with no place to go, and theres no reason they should be displaced from their housing. Repairs have been made through the years, the infestations are not nearly as bad as they used to be, and if they fill up the hotel with tenants again theres more than enough money coming in to do enough repairs to keep the hotel open for the tenants. Even as is, the owners are still making money on the venture," said Murcko.

Murcko also charged the owners with being in breach of a 1992 agreement stipulating that the owners must keep the hotel open for 30 years to low-income renters, in return for tax breaks of $7 million or more that they received.

During the past 2 years the City of Oakland gave OCHI $1.5 million to assist in keeping all of their buildings open and maintained, adding funding to all the rents already being collected from the tenants, including the huge tax breaks given to the non profit organization, but still OCHI persists in it's claims of poverty and wants to displace their tenants.

According to a number of documents, OCHI wants to convert many of it's low-income housing properties including the California Hotel, into transitional housing as a means to tap into even more funding revenue sources, but to do so OCHI would have to dump the existing tenants from their housing beforehand, which is in violation of all the existing agreements they have with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee who gave OCHI a tax credit in excess of $7 million, in return for agreeing to operate their properties for 30 years to house low-income tenants.

The crisis for Oakland's low-income tenants exists in at least 11 properties owned by OCHI according to a June 5, report from the Redevelopment Agency and the City of Oakland, which reveals that 537 current tenants in OCHI properties are presently at risk of losing their housing.

Unfortunately for the tenants at the California Hotel, there was not anyone from the East Bay Housing Organizations (non profit landlords) or the Mayors office, or any City Council members appearing at their recent rallys to speak up on their behalf, as a way to keep them in their present housing. The tenants feel totally abandoned and exploited by the very same non profit housing organization and people who claim that they are here to serve the housing needs of the poor, but want them out of their housing as a way to increase the revenue flows at OCHI's properties.

As of late, Drasnin Manor at 2530 International BLVD, Oakland CA., a 26 unit property also owned by OCHI with around 20 families residing there, it went into receivorship during last May, and the John Stewart Company pulled out of there on May 29, 2008. The big changes the tenants see going on at Drasnin Manor since it fell into receivorship, is that there no longer is a grounds keeper to sweep and clean the place up any longer, and that maintenance only appears 1 day out of the week now, instead of being there 5 days a week as was in the past to maintain the property. In addition, a manager only shows up in the office there 1 day out of the week, compared to being in the office 5 days a week during the past. The tenants have not been offered a reduction in their rents for a reduction in services, and the tenants are very concerned about their future. In addition, the tenants say that the kids have resorted to rock throwing lately at Drasnin Manor, now that no one seems to be around to tone things down a bit, and the kids know that no one is there to manage the property any longer.

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 JSC ends the contracts to manage those properties, and many more tenants are at risk in other property locations owned by OCHI in Oakland.

During June of 2008, Oakland's City Council voted to release $900,000 in relocation funding to help the owners force the renters out of their housing units in OCHI properties, which the tenants at the California Hotel have so far declined to accept.

In addition to the attorneys defending the tenants at the California Hotel, the tenant's group Just Cause Oakland remains committed to supporting the California Hotel tenants against those who are trying to displace them from their housing.

In closing, the California Hotel tenants filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against Oakland Community Housing, Inc., John Stewart Company, CaHon Associates, Charles Folwkes, Greg Hyson and Laura Sanborn, in defense of their rights, and the community will be watching closely to see how this housing disaster turns out.

Presently, the next big court date to affect the California Hotel tenants is on July 30 in Department 501, in Hayward. The hearing will be in regards to a "Preliminary Injunction," that was filed to block the evictions from taking place.

The California Hotel may be reached at; 510/655-7254

Oakland Community Housing, (OCHI) may be reached at; 510/763-7676

Jack Gardner may be reached at the John Stewart Company at; 415/345-4400

Greg Hyson may be reached at the Telesis West Corporation; 415/661-1940

Attorney John Murcko may be reached at; 510/465-2241, and attorney Stephen Perelson may be reached at; 415/383-1070

Just Cause Oakland may be reached at; 510/763-5877

Lynda Carson may be reached at, tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com