"ED" - Homeless Berkeley Man Commits Suicide

I got an email from a friend who's homeless and reports that a man by the name of "ED" decided to end his life by walking in front of a train one morning at 711 Harrison St, near where she sleeps in her car.

She reports that this happens a lot. My fear is that the cities of Oakland and Berkeley are doing nothing to curb the real source of new homeless people: landlord activity in those cities. Just look at the California Hotel matter, which the City of Oakland seems to be a partner in with Oakland Community Housing.

It's an outrage.

Councilmember Nancy Nadel Defends LLAD Tax Collection

Councilmenber Nancy Nadel (District 3, Oakland) is catching hell over this exchange with a property owner in her district. The basic news is that she does not see -- and I guess will not look to find out if -- any improprieties existed in the way the Landscape Lighting and Assessment Distict votes were counted.

Check this out, which was on the Yahoo Message Board and the HarriOak blog:

People may be interested in the following exchange between Nancy and
one of our neighbors about the LLAD tax. For those who aren't
following this issue, the measure would have been defeated by
homeowners who are already struggling with taxes that typically range
from $5000 to $12,000 a year. But the city wanted it to pass so it
added extra weight to the votes cast by the Port of Oakland and by
city-owned properties.

Since this surely is illegal, the city is now
preparing to be sued. (Which we will also pay for. Dishonest
government is extremely expensive.)

On top of the vote rigging, the State Supreme Court recently ruled
that these kinds of elections, in which only parcel-owners vote and
pay but everyone benefits, are not legal. In that case, the Supreme
Court overturned an open-space tax in the South Bay. There will be a
council hearing on this issue on Tuesday, July 22 at 9:30 a.m. Please
note that council deliberately scheduled the hearing at a time when
the people who pay the tax have to be at work. They really don't get
it. Then again, Nancy's property tax is only about $1600 a year thanks
to Prop 13, so maybe it's hard for her to imagine the burden these
extra taxes will place on her middle-class constituents who bought in
the last 7 years.

This exchange was also posted on the HarriOak News, which removed the
property owner's name to preserve his privacy.

Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 12:59 PM
To: Nadel, Nancy
Subject: LLAD tax vote

Dear Ms. Nadel,

Simply put, I am appalled over what I have been hearing in the media
regarding the LLAD tax vote.

I became a resident and homeowner of Oakland one year ago and was
optimistic about life here in Oakland. But since my arrival I can only
say I have been disappointed by the City government in almost every
way. Wasteful spending, nepotism, corruption, and an almost complete
denial of reality regarding the crime problem and our hopelessly
inadequate police force.

And now comes the LLAD vote rigging which, in the opinion of myself
and many of my neighbors, is the ultimate insult (at least to those
who live in what is supposed to be a democracy.) As I understand it,
the LLAD votes were weighted by how much of an increase the voter
would be required to pay. But a simple reading of the facts shows that
the Port of Oakland's votes were weighted by the total amount they
would pay, NOT the increase. If all of our votes had been weighted
this way, the measure would have been defeated. In fact, the measure
would have been defeated by every method of counting except the one
you used. Never mind the question of why an entity like the Port of
Oakland has any say at all about homeowners' property taxes, but
that's another letter.

It seems fairly obvious that the citizens of Oakland are not in favor
of a property tax increase. I respectfully request that will of the
majority of the people of Oakland be acknowledged and that the
improperly counted LLAD vote be declared invalid.

This issue will not go away. And the City government has a long road
to travel to regain the confidence of the people you represent.
Recognizing the seriousness of this issue and implementing, what to
most Oakland residents is, the obvious solution would go a long way
towards regaining some trust.

Sincerely,

J.

From: Nadel, Nancy [mailto:NNadel@...]
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:18 PM
Subject: RE: LLAD tax vote

Dear J.

Not sure what factual media account you might have read about the LLAD
vote. I don't know any investigative reporters anymore, sadly. The
blog, newspaper and yahoo group information is inaccurate as is David
Mix. Incorrect things repeated over and over doesn't make them
correct. The Port had no LLAD assessment in 1994 therefore the votes
based on the full assessment rather than the difference was appropriate.

Nancy

Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:44 PM
To: Nadel, Nancy
Subject: RE: LLAD tax vote

Hi Nancy,

Thanks for your response, Nancy.

From what I've been able to find, the argument for the Port's votes
counting as much as they did is that the LLAD tax that they've been
paying all along was done so on a voluntary basis, an assertion that I
find unbelievable. I would love to see this claim documented. Am I to
believe that the Port has been paying this tax out of the goodness of
their heart, as they would to a charity? Surely they have been paying
this tax as part of an agreement they made with the City, which makes
it a tax nonetheless (maybe it wasn't "assessed", but it has been an
obligation on Port's part.)

Since the Port has been paying the LLAD tax for many years
(voluntarily or otherwise), their vote should count based on the
increase, not the total amount. In any event, the logic used here to
validate the vote counting method is so convoluted that it makes me
ill to think that people in our city government actually devised it.

You know, I'm not opposed to raising taxes when it's necessary and the
money is used wisely. But this LLAD tax vote has to be one of the most
convoluted things I've seen in government. This was so poorly
represented and explained that it's no wonder people are calling this
fraudulent.

One last question for you: can you understand why people are so upset
about this?

J

From: Nadel, Nancy [mailto:NNadel@...]
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 1:54 PM
Subject: RE: LLAD tax vote

Dear J,

I can understand why people are upset about many things in Oakland
government but the LLAD increase is not one of them for me. The city
is constantly increasing parks and landscaped median strips at the
request of residents and we had no escalator in the earlier LLAD. As
property to maintain increases, and inflation increases, the money has
to come from somewhere to do the maintenance on parks that people
want. Mandela Parkway, Bancroft median are huge new areas for which we
had no money to maintain. Even with the LLAD increase, Mandela Parkway
is not in it and I had to peel off money from a seismic rehab project
just to fund continued maintenance of Mandela which is supposed to be
our catalyst for industrial attraction in West Oakland.

Nancy

Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:45 PM
To: 'Nadel, Nancy'
Subject: RE: LLAD tax vote

Hi Nancy,

I'm totally with you when the City needs money to do something and the
money is used wisely. But that's not the issue. The issue is that the
City isn't counting votes properly. If the LLAD tax had won (that is,
a majority of people in Oakland had voted in favor of it) I wouldn't
have a problem – I might express my feelings about whether the money
is used efficiently and, for instance, not used to pay people who
don't show up for work.

But in this case, the voters declined the tax increase, only to find
that after a rather convoluted method of counting, the City government
declared the tax increase had won. And guess what, the City government
was almost unanimously in favor of the increase.

This just isn't democracy: the vast majority of PEOPLE in Oakland
voted against it, yet it passed. Wouldn't you be angry? The issue
isn't the tax, it's the counting of the votes. It makes me feel like
the only reason we had a vote at all was to give people the illusion
that they had some control over this issue.

I think people would be more comfortable with tax increases if there
were very specific requirements for how the money would be used. As it
is, taxes are increased on Project A, and money that was coming from
the general fund to Project A gets diverted to some other project and
replaced by the tax increase. I'm simplifying here, but the point is
made, and it makes people furious.

Anyway, thanks for writing, Nancy!

Athol Ave Near Parkway Theater Has Rash of Burglaries

It seems that Athol avenue is experiencing a new rash of robberies and break-ins. It's caused a new buzz with people online.


This was from the Yahoo Message Board:

Greetings Neighbors:

My neighbor on the 400 block of Athol was also burglarized on Friday, maybe early afternoon. Similar M.O. They got TVs and laptops. They even left my neighbor's big flat panel TV on the street (their truck was probably already too full of other stuff). This was very upsetting, since they are only two houses away, and either I and/or my assistant were working on the house (the neighbors house is just out of sight).

In hindsight, I think I might have seen these guys. I did give them a second look, since they were unfamiliar and driving unusually slowly. I watched but then they disappeared around the corner. So that is very frustrating. I feel very stupid for not taking more action.

Here's what I remember of their description (please note, this is a fuzzy recollection based on a very brief view): it was a mid-size SUV, good shape, gray and white, square-angled "modern" design (like a Honda Element). appeared to be two men. One appeared to be a heavy set Hispanic, with a beard. Did not get a good look at driver. No license plate #.

Also, I believe these new rash of burglaries are more likely on Thursday or Friday, since from what I understand, much of this stuff is fenced at various swap meets, which happen Saturdays. The crooks don't want to be holding the merchandise very long, so they wait until the end of the week.

Take care,

C

Downtown Lake Merritt Neighborhood Group Want Daytime Street Cleaning

What does street cleaning make you think of? Noise? Dirt? Big trucks? All of the above? Want to hear that at night while you sleep? Well, it's for those reasons that the Downtown Lake Merritt Neighborhood Group launched a petition drive to have the City of Oakland go from nighttime to daytime street cleaning and got 181 people to sign it.

The trouble is that the City of Oakland's stil not implemented the change.

Here's the Downtown Lake Merritt Neighborhood Group's notice on the matter:

Good Afternoon,

18 months ago, the Downtown Lake Merritt Neighborhood Group presented a petition with 181 signatures to the Oakland Public Works Agency and our City Councilmember, Nancy Nadel, requesting that street sweeping hours in our neighborhood be changed from 12AM-3AM to daytime hours. The petition read:

"The current street sweeping hours are inconvenient because they occur when the highest percentage of us are home -- the middle of the night. The street sweeping schedule is also dangerous because it compels residents to leave their apartments and move their cars when there is an elevated occurrence of crimes. In addition, it is inappropriate for loud street sweeping trucks to drive through our residential neighborhood in the middle of the night. The noise from these trucks awakens many residents in our neighborhood. We request that street sweeping hours on Lakeside, Madison, Jackson, Alice and Harrison between 14th-19th Streets be changed from 12AM-3AM to daytime hours."

For the past 18 months, the city has used many excuses to delay the change in street sweeping hours:

-The public works agency told us they needed to know if the local merchants supported the change. We collected signatures from almost every local business owner in our neighborhood and presented them to the public works agency.

-Then the agency told us they didn't want to loose revenue from parking meters during the day. We compromised by eliminating Harrison and 19th Streets (lots off metered parking on these streets) from our request.

FINALLY, the city granted our request!



-But then the city has told us for 6 months that the company printing the new signs is taking a long time, and this is out of the city's control. It is unclear whether this is true, or whether the city is trying to come up with new excuse every 6 months until we give up and go away.

Let's join together as a team -- a community -- and collectively put pressure on our city officials to listen to us and stop dragging their feet. We have been patient for 18 months, but at this point it appears as if the city is toying with us and UNREASONABLY delaying what they have already promised to do. Please call and email the city officials below. Even if you do not live in our neighborhood, do not own a car, or have off-street parking, please show solidarity with us and contact these city officials:

Raul Godinez: Director, Public Works Agency
238-4470
rgodinez@...

Nancy Nadel, Councilmember
238-7003
nnadel@...


LAKESIDE DRIVE RESIDENTS READ THIS:
The request to include Lakeside Drive as one of the streets that would change to daytime street sweeping hours was denied because "there are many metered spots there and the city doesn't want to loose revenue," according to a city official. While preserving existing revenue is important during a time when overall revenue is declining due to the economy, public safety is ALSO important. And putting residents in a situation where they have to move their car around 12AM is not safe. In addition to the 2 numbers above, Lakeside Drive residents (or anyone who wants to help) should also call these city officials:

Bill Noland: Director, Finance and Management Agency
238-6325
wnoland@...

Dan Lindheim, City Administrator
238-3301
cityadministrator@...
You can also call Mayor Ron Dellums' office at 238-3141

Good luck and let's be heard!

Many Thanks,
Chris Kattenburg
Downtown Lake Merritt Neighborhood Group

Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Office Said To Be Silent on California Hotel Eviction

In this controversial eviction action by Oakland Community Housing, Inc with respect to the tenants of the California Hotel, some apparently called Congresswoman Barbara Lee's office and got no action at all. This is what they wrote, which I originally placed on the initial blog on this matter, but now I'm repeating here as a post of its own:

Update on California Hotel and Drasnin Manor tenants

July 19, 2008


Hi Darlene & others concerned...

The elderly, disabled and the poor in the California Hotel have been sold out by Oakland City Councilmembers, non profit housing organizations and apparently Congresswoman Barbara Lee who remains completely silent on the issue of their housing plight, so far. (Oakland Focus emphasis)

The California Hotel tenants continue to remain in their housing and refuse to move after being doublecrossed by those that were supposed to watch out for their best interests. They have organized themselves to clean the hotel up and maintain it for themselves. At this point they could use some donations for cleaning supplies and other items to help keep the place clean, which the John Stewart Company looted from the hotel when leaving. In defiance of the brutal way the system is treating them, they are holding up under the circumstances as best as they can. See latest message from Just Cause Oakland down below past the recent news articles... Or, for more do a search on Google, with the search terms> California Hotel, John Murcko

See articles below about the plight of the tenants at Drasnin Manor (another OCHI property) and the California Hotel Update further below from Just Cause Oakland...


California Hotel tenants are not alone with eviction fears

By Lynda Carson July 19, 2008

Oakland - Around 20 families at East Oakland's Drasnin Manor mixed use affordable housing development are 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 original loan of $510,000 was obtained through the American Savings Bank, which later became Washington Mutual Bank (Wa Mu) as of October 1, 1997, and the debt was transferred to Wa Mu during the process.

On May 21, 2008 the tenants received a notice stating that Drasnin Manor went into receivership, that Ma Hoopes Associates (Mary A. Hoopes ) was appointed to be the receiver of Drasnin Manor by the Alameda County Superior Court on May 20, 2008, and that they are required to continue to pay their rents to 2530 Associates, an affiliate of OCHI.

The tenants are expecting to receive another notice sometime during August that may give them more information regarding their tenuous housing situation, and they are very concerned about what the future may hold for Drasnin Manor, and their families.

Drasnin Manor is owned and operated by the same non profit housing organization that was sued in recent weeks for $2.5 million by the tenants of the California Hotel and their attorneys John Murcko and Stephen Perelson, after OCHI tried to frighten them out of their housing and threatened to cut off their gas, electricity and water according to the residents and their attorneys.

The residents of Drasnin Manor reside in a 26 unit residential housing complex which includes two and three bedroom flats, split level townhomes and 3,000 square foot of retail space. The project was completed in 1993 at a cost of $2.4 million, for very low and low-income households, which also includes a courtyard, a community room, laundry room and parking for it's residents, and is presently valued at $5,241,708.

On May 5, 2008 a Lafayette law firm (Belzer, Hulchiy and Murray) representing Washington Mutual Bank (Wa MU), asked the Alameda County Superior Court to appoint Mary A. Hoopes as the Receiver for Drasnin Manor, located at 2530 International BLVD., and the law firm also requested a Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction to keep OCHI from interfering with the duties of the receiver in collecting rents and managing the property.

According to legal documents, OCHI took possession of the property at 2530 International BLVD on July 2, 1991. During the past year OCHI defaulted on their payments at least three times to the bank. The money was owed to Wa Mu to pay off the debt of a $510,000 loan obtained around 1997. Wa Mu representatives claim that OCHI refused to make their monthly payments of $5,330 towards the 30 year fixed note during the past year, which forced them to place the property into receivership.

Documents reveal that Drasnin Manor's monthly gross income is estimated to be around $15,000 per month and during the past two years the City of Oakland also loaned OCHI an additional $1.5 million to operate and maintain their numerous properties.

The tenants at Drasnin Manor are totally SHOCKED that OCHI still managed to default on their monthly payments of $5,330 to the bank after receiving so much assistance from the city of Oakland during the past two years, in addition to all the rents being collected that were not used to pay off the $510,000 debt during the past year. According to legal documents, the principal balance of the note was $451,765 as of May of 2008. In addition, the law firm representing Wa Mu claims that OCHI owes back taxes totaling $96,526.

During June of 2008, Oakland's City Council voted to release an additional $900,000 in relocation funding to help OCHI force, bully or coerce the very-low income renters out of their housing units at Drasnin Manor and numerous other properties throughout the City of Oakland being mismanaged by OCHI, including the California Hotel.

Regardless of the plans of city officials and OCHI to remove or coerce the tenants from OCHI's numerous properties, the tenants at Drasnin Manor are protected under Oakland's Just Cause eviction protection ordinance, and may not be evicted just because a property goes into receivership.

As for the tenants at the California Hotel who refuse to be bullied out of their housing by OCHI, on July 14, 2008 it was reported that Sean Rogan the deputy director of Housing and Economic Development for the City of Oakland said, "It's unfortunate and counterproductive that other organizations are urging the tenants to not sign anything and don't take the tenant relocation assistance," he said. "I can't understand it if the building is uninhabitable."

Presently, Drasnin Manor has around 20 families residing there, and the John Stewart Company who used to manage the property for OCHI pulled out of there on May 29, 2008. The big changes the tenants see going on at Drasnin Manor since it fell into receivership, 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 tenants at Drasnin Manor are very concerned that they will be illegally forced out of their housing, by city officials or others involved who may not want to recognize the fact that they have the right to remain right where they are, under Oakland's just cause eviction protections.

In addition to the above low-income tenants who are at risk of losing their housing, documents reveal that over 500 residents of OCHI properties in Oakland, are at risk of losing their housing due to the mismanagement of the non profit housing organization known as Oakland Community Housing, Inc. (OCHI), a member of the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO).

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.

As for future hearings on the situation at Drasnin Manor, a case management conference is scheduled for 9:AM Wednesday September 17, 2008 in Department 31, of the Alameda County Superior Court.

Lynda Carson may be reached at, tenantsrule@yahoo.com

Calfornia Hotel Resident Eviction Calls For City Attorney Action ASAP

Calfornia Hotel Resident Eviction Calls For Oakland City Attorney Action ASAP

The California Hotel is the center of a battle between poor tenants and Oakland Community Housing, Inc. The California Hotel is a historic landmark building in Oakland currently owned by Cahon Associates, Inc., an affiliate of Oakland Community Housing, Inc. The building, located at 3501 San Pablo Ave. near the Oakland border with Emeryville, currhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifently has:

• 75 single occupancy rooms,
• 58 efficiency apartments,
• 16 studio units,
• a supportive services area, a large lobby and mezzanine, and
• several ground floor commercial spaces.

UPDATE: Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Office pointed to for inaction on this matter.

Here's the problem. Last year, Oakland Community Housing put out this Request For Proposals to find a developer to, as the RFP put it:

take over ownership and to convert the
existing property into a model permanent supportive housing complex as part of the implementation of
Oakland’s Permanent Access to Housing (PATH) Strategy and of EveryOne Home – the Alameda Countywide Plan to End Homelessness. Proposals are welcome from developer teams from throughout the greater Bay
Area.

The City of Oakland along with other partners have made commitments to work with the new owner/development team to gather the resources necessary to make this building a model supportive housing project. The City has already committed $1.3 million in capital funding and $300,000 in services funding. Other potential resources include medical services through LifeLong Medical Care, Alameda County Behavioral
Health Care services, operating subsidies through the Oakland Housing Authority, and Mental Health Services
Act (MHSA) Housing capital and operating resources.

As a result of this, tenants are being evicted, apparently to make room for whatever new developer was selected. But you just can't kick people out of housing without cause. From all the reports, these tenants, many of whom are disabled, were not even aware of the developer search process, let alone anything else. They paid rent and were good tenants. So the only reason for this brazen action by OCHI CEO Donald Gilmore -- and the City of Oakland -- is the change of ownership.

But even then, the change of ownership is for someone to basically run the same kind of facility, so why this action is being taken is questionable and it does not seem legal at all. But the possible impact of a new larger homeless population should be enough to get the City Attorney's Office to act.

The tenants at The California Hotel have put up with a lot of crap, from rats, and poorly maintained units, to this. They've not stood pat, filing a 54-person $2.5 million class action lawsuit against OCHI. Why can't John Russo's office join in the lawsuit?

This story is all over the listservs, but has been ignored by all the mainstream news organizations -- not here. Look at the reports posted on the listservs:

See:

Update on California Hotel and Drasnin Manor tenants

July 19, 2008


Hi Darlene & others concerned...

The elderly, disabled and the poor in the California Hotel have been sold out by Oakland City Councilmembers, non profit housing organizations and apparently Congresswoman Barbara Lee who remains completely silent on the issue of their housing plight, so far.

The California Hotel tenants continue to remain in their housing and refuse to move after being doublecrossed by those that were supposed to watch out for their best interests. They have organized themselves to clean the hotel up and maintain it for themselves. At this point they could use some donations for cleaning supplies and other items to help keep the place clean, which the John Stewart Company looted from the hotel when leaving. In defiance of the brutal way the system is treating them, they are holding up under the circumstances as best as they can. See latest message from Just Cause Oakland down below past the recent news articles... Or, for more do a search on Google, with the search terms> California Hotel, John Murcko

See articles below about the plight of the tenants at Drasnin Manor (another OCHI property) and the California Hotel Update further below from Just Cause Oakland...


California Hotel tenants are not alone with eviction fears

By Lynda Carson July 19, 2008

Oakland - Around 20 families at East Oakland's Drasnin Manor mixed use affordable housing development are 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 original loan of $510,000 was obtained through the American Savings Bank, which later became Washington Mutual Bank (Wa Mu) as of October 1, 1997, and the debt was transferred to Wa Mu during the process.

On May 21, 2008 the tenants received a notice stating that Drasnin Manor went into receivership, that Ma Hoopes Associates (Mary A. Hoopes ) was appointed to be the receiver of Drasnin Manor by the Alameda County Superior Court on May 20, 2008, and that they are required to continue to pay their rents to 2530 Associates, an affiliate of OCHI.

The tenants are expecting to receive another notice sometime during August that may give them more information regarding their tenuous housing situation, and they are very concerned about what the future may hold for Drasnin Manor, and their families.

Drasnin Manor is owned and operated by the same non profit housing organization that was sued in recent weeks for $2.5 million by the tenants of the California Hotel and their attorneys John Murcko and Stephen Perelson, after OCHI tried to frighten them out of their housing and threatened to cut off their gas, electricity and water according to the residents and their attorneys.

The residents of Drasnin Manor reside in a 26 unit residential housing complex which includes two and three bedroom flats, split level townhomes and 3,000 square foot of retail space. The project was completed in 1993 at a cost of $2.4 million, for very low and low-income households, which also includes a courtyard, a community room, laundry room and parking for it's residents, and is presently valued at $5,241,708.

On May 5, 2008 a Lafayette law firm (Belzer, Hulchiy and Murray) representing Washington Mutual Bank (Wa MU), asked the Alameda County Superior Court to appoint Mary A. Hoopes as the Receiver for Drasnin Manor, located at 2530 International BLVD., and the law firm also requested a Temporary Restraining Order and Injunction to keep OCHI from interfering with the duties of the receiver in collecting rents and managing the property.

According to legal documents, OCHI took possession of the property at 2530 International BLVD on July 2, 1991. During the past year OCHI defaulted on their payments at least three times to the bank. The money was owed to Wa Mu to pay off the debt of a $510,000 loan obtained around 1997. Wa Mu representatives claim that OCHI refused to make their monthly payments of $5,330 towards the 30 year fixed note during the past year, which forced them to place the property into receivership.

Documents reveal that Drasnin Manor's monthly gross income is estimated to be around $15,000 per month and during the past two years the City of Oakland also loaned OCHI an additional $1.5 million to operate and maintain their numerous properties.

The tenants at Drasnin Manor are totally SHOCKED that OCHI still managed to default on their monthly payments of $5,330 to the bank after receiving so much assistance from the city of Oakland during the past two years, in addition to all the rents being collected that were not used to pay off the $510,000 debt during the past year. According to legal documents, the principal balance of the note was $451,765 as of May of 2008. In addition, the law firm representing Wa Mu claims that OCHI owes back taxes totaling $96,526.

During June of 2008, Oakland's City Council voted to release an additional $900,000 in relocation funding to help OCHI force, bully or coerce the very-low income renters out of their housing units at Drasnin Manor and numerous other properties throughout the City of Oakland being mismanaged by OCHI, including the California Hotel.

Regardless of the plans of city officials and OCHI to remove or coerce the tenants from OCHI's numerous properties, the tenants at Drasnin Manor are protected under Oakland's Just Cause eviction protection ordinance, and may not be evicted just because a property goes into receivership.

As for the tenants at the California Hotel who refuse to be bullied out of their housing by OCHI, on July 14, 2008 it was reported that Sean Rogan the deputy director of Housing and Economic Development for the City of Oakland said, "It's unfortunate and counterproductive that other organizations are urging the tenants to not sign anything and don't take the tenant relocation assistance," he said. "I can't understand it if the building is uninhabitable."

Presently, Drasnin Manor has around 20 families residing there, and the John Stewart Company who used to manage the property for OCHI pulled out of there on May 29, 2008. The big changes the tenants see going on at Drasnin Manor since it fell into receivership, 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 tenants at Drasnin Manor are very concerned that they will be illegally forced out of their housing, by city officials or others involved who may not want to recognize the fact that they have the right to remain right where they are, under Oakland's just cause eviction protections.

In addition to the above low-income tenants who are at risk of losing their housing, documents reveal that over 500 residents of OCHI properties in Oakland, are at risk of losing their housing due to the mismanagement of the non profit housing organization known as Oakland Community Housing, Inc. (OCHI), a member of the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO).

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.

As for future hearings on the situation at Drasnin Manor, a case management conference is scheduled for 9:AM Wednesday September 17, 2008 in Department 31, of the Alameda County Superior Court.

Lynda Carson may be reached at, tenantsrule@yahoo.com

So we have an organization in OCHI that is unlawfully evicting tenants at the California Hotel, and defaulted on a loan on Drasnin Manor. Why is the City of Oakland allowing this company to work in this way? Where's the enforcement?

"The Dark Knight" Blows Out Speakers At The Grand Lake Theater

I saw the 11:30 Friday showing of The Dark Knight at The Grand Lake Theater here in Oakland's Lake Merritt area, and told a friend how much I liked the second in the newest series of Batman movies.

So he goes to see it that night with his wife and reports "I liked The Dark Knight or what I could hear, because the speakers blew out! I'll see it again.

Wow. Hey Grand Lake Owner Allan Michaan, time to fix those speakers!