Oakland under fire for illegal 12th Street land deal

Oakland under fire for illegal 12th Street land deal

By Lynda Carson - July 10, 2015

Oakland - Oakland is under fire for an illegal land deal that violates the State’s Surplus Land Act. Groups organized against the illegal land deal including East Lake United for Justice, Black.seed, and Asians4BlackLives, have demanded that the city put the 12th Street parcel near Lake Merritt back to bid so affordable housing developers can bid on the land, and develop the land parcel for low-income housing. The community groups have been fighting back against the illegal land deal since last April.

The Oakland City Council angered the local (Funk Town) community by entering into an exclusive negotiating contract with land developer Urban Core and their financial partner United Dominion Realty. Their proposal to build a luxury tower of around 300 market rate units is not affordable to most people living in the immigrant community known as the Funk Town area.

The area the development is being proposed in, is located in the East Oakland area at 12th Street and Second Avenue near Lake Merritt. The developers (Urban Core) believe they can rent the units for $3,100 per month for a one bedroom unit, which is way out of line for what people are paying for rent in the same East Oakland area.

Illegal Land Deal Exposed

On July 6, the East Bay Express revealed that last February the City Attorney Barbara Parker advised the Council that the 12th Street land deal involving Urban Core is illegal and violates the State’s Surplus Land Act. As a result, the July 7th, second council vote needed for final approval of the controversial land deal was tabled after the East Bay Express article exposed the corrupt land deal as being illegal.

During open forum at the July 7th, Oakland City Council meeting, Josh Healy of East Lake United for Justice called the Council members criminals for pushing a land deal through that is illegal. “I was not planning to come tonight but I woke up and read the East Bay Express headline that the land deal was illegal, and my wife told me that I had to go because if their doing illegal things that I had to tell the criminals to stop being criminals. If City officials want to crack down on crime, how can they expect us to trust them when some of that crime is coming down from City Hall. We need open democracy in City Hall,” Healy declared.

On the morning of July 10, KPFA interviewed Kiernon Rok of East Lake United for Justice who gave a run down of the illegal land deal with Urban Core. Kieron Rok said; “ The offer by Urban Core to sweeten the deal with extra money were not community benefits being offered, because the community did not ask for them. At one recent City Council meeting 90 speakers appeared, and only 3 speakers spoke up in support of the illegal land deal. The City Council was overwhelmed by the opposition to the land deal with Urban Core, and 3 Council members did not vote for the deal. Urban Core later sweetened the deal afterwards with $8 million to gain approval by most Council members, and only Council member Dan Kalb who sited the legal concerns he felt was occurring, voted against the land deal. The July 6th revelation by the East Bay Express that the land deal was illegal according to City Attorney Barbara Parker, was a bombshell, and we felt vindicated by what we have been saying all along. The land deal was illegal. The City should use the public land for public good, especially for low-income housing.”

More Low-Income Housing Without Minimum Income Requirements Are Needed In Oakland

Nonprofit housing developers in Oakland and the Bay Area continue to have minimum income requirements at their so-called affordable housing projects that discriminate against the poor, and create homelessness as a result. Minimum income requirements that discriminate against the poor need to be abolished.

As an example, during 2014 at the Avalon Senior Housing project located at 3850 San Pablo in Oakland, the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) demands that people seeking housing at this project must have a minimum income of at least twice the rent. During 2014, studio apartments were going for $600.00 a month at this project, one bedroom apartments were going for as high as $712.00 per month, and two bedroom apartments were going for $845.00. Many low-income persons could not afford to reside there due to the minimum income requirements.

During 2014, the average monthly social security check for a single retired worker was $1,294.00, which means that the average retired person on social security cannot afford to reside in a one bedroom or two bedroom apartment at the Avalon Senior Housing project, and can barely afford to reside in a studio apartment at this location. Many retired workers earn much less than $1,294.00 per month as social security income, and the poor people face discrimination at many so-called affordable housing projects in Oakland, and throughout the Bay Area.

The average Social Security monthly benefit in California during 2014 was $1,294 per month. The average SSI (disability) benefit payment was $877.40 per month. The average TANF (CalWorks) family in California is an adult with two children that receives $510 a month in benefits. General Assistance in California during 2014 pays $336 per month to a single person. Food Stamps (CalFresh/SNAP) for one person is $189 per month, and persons receiving SSI/SSP are not allowed in the program.

During 2013 the average monthly food stamp benefit for one individual in California was $151.44. Additional records reveal that during 2011, in California’s 13th Congressional District, Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s district, 11,899 households received food stamps, including 16% of households with one or more people 60 years or older, and 76.8% of households with children under 18. Around 46.6% of the households income was below the poverty level, with the median income around $27,441.

Other Properties With Minimum Income Requirements Discriminating Against The Poor During 2014

At the Erna P. Harris Court in Berkeley owned by Resources for Community Development (RCD) they are demanding that tenants earn a minimum of $5,700 per year to be able to reside in an SRO unit, and must earn at least $9,495 per year to reside in a one bedroom apartment at this so-called taxpayer affordable housing project.

Residents at the Fargo Senior Center in San Leandro, owned by Christian Church Homes of Northern California (CCH), are required to earn as much as twice the rent at this so-called affordable housing project. Studio apartments go for as much as $491-$818 per month, and one bedroom apartments cost $526-$876 per month, leaving many poor social security recipients out in the cold because they do not meet the minimum income requirements at this taxpayer subsidized housing project.

At the Fremont Oak Gardens owned by SAHA Homes, another so-called affordable housing developer, poor people face discrimination at this location if they fail to meet the minimum income requirement of $10,994 per year at this so-called affordable housing development for seniors 55, and older.

The Harrison Hotel, downtown Oakland that has 81 SRO units in the building, requires that poor people earn as much as twice the rent, and the rent at this location is $375 per month.

Helios Corner owned by SAHA Homes in Berkeley, has 80 senior and special needs units, but demands that poor people must earn $17,304 per year to reside in a studio apartment, $18,456 to live in a one bedroom unit, and a whopping $22,080 to reside in a two bedroom unit in this so-called affordable taxpayer subsidized housing project.

The project called Homes Now In The Community owned by SAHA Homes in Oakland, has ten special needs apartments for rent, but demands that the low-income tenants in the area must earn as much as 30% of the local AMI to reside there.

Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments in Oakland, which is also owned by SAHA Homes, is a 70 unit project for seniors. Poor people face discrimination at this so-called affordable housing taxpayer subsidized project if they do not earn as much as $11,328 per year to live in a studio apartment, or as much as $18,408 per year to live in a one bedroom apartment.

Northgate Terrace for seniors in Oakland, owned by Christian Church Homes of Northern California (CCH) requires that the poor elderly people seeking housing at this taxpayer subsidized housing project must earn as much as $1,450 per month, which is way more than the average person receiving social security earns each month.

The Peter Babcock House in Berkeley owned by SAHA Homes, is a special needs project with five SRO units, and demands that poor people must earn as much as $7,320 per year to reside in this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project.

At the Ellis St. Apartments in San Francisco owned by Asian Inc., another so-called affordable housing developer, is a project with thirty units of studio and one bedroom apartments, and the minimum income requirement is $1,400 per month, which discriminates against the average person receiving social security payments of $1,294 per month.

The Bayanihan House in San Francisco owned by TODCO, has 152 SRO units with shared bathrooms, and charges $545 per month in rent, but they have a minimum income requirement of $866.40 per month which leaves many out in the cold as a result.

Coleridge Park Homes for seniors in San Francisco owned by Bridge Housing, has a minimum income requirement of $17,616 per year for some, and as much as $26,808 per year for others at this taxpayer subsidized housing project.

The Knox SRO building in San Francisco owned by TODCO, has 18 SRO units, and they have a minimum income requirement of $866.40 at this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project.

The William Penn Hotel in San Francisco owned by China Town CDC, has 96 SRO units, and the minimum income requirement is 1.5 times the rent. The rent is $460-$541 per month at this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project, leaving many poor people left out in the cold.

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