Coliseum Connections Tenant Association to Protest Oakland Mayor's 'Town Hall'

Oakland, CA — Tenants of Coliseum Connections in East Oakland displaced by New Years storms will protest Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s April 5th “town hall” meeting for the tenants.

This past week, the tenants of Coliseum Connections formally organized as Coliseum Connections Tenants Association (CCTA) with a vast majority of tenants signing a letter of demands sent to landlord Michael Johnson of UrbanCore Development LLC, property management company FPI, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Council.

Mayor Sheng Thao’s “town hall” event was designed unilaterally by the Mayor’s Office without tenant input and was announced along with news that the City of Oakland is ending its support of the Coliseum Connections tenants, with Thao stating “We, [sic] need to let those whom [sic] are experts now take the lead."

The “experts” referenced in Thao’s statement refer to relocation consultants at Overland, Pacific, and Cutler (OPC), a firm that specializes in “Right-Of-Way Acquisitions” – typically real estate projects that permanently displace tenants to make room for more profitable ventures.

Tenant interactions with OPC have already been troubled, as CCTA member Dream says, “Lots of people are pointing fingers, nobody is taking responsibility and OPC is not the answer”.

Since being displaced, Coliseum Connections tenants have been shuffled from hotel to hotel as the date to return to their home has been pushed further down the horizon, creating severe stress for the tenants on top of the initial challenges created by their displacement.

Now additional pressure has been added as tenants have been told by OPC that they must quickly make major life decisions concerning their return to the Coliseum Connections building or else vacate the hotels they currently reside in.

The Coliseum Connections Tenants Association has demanded that a more reasonable deadline of at least two months be granted to tenants so they have an appropriate amount of time to make these major decisions.

Wednesday’s protest will be a demonstration of the solidarity built amongst Coliseum Connections Tenants and of their continued strength to fight for their demands.

Coliseum Connections Tenants Association members are available for interviews.