Senior and Disabled Tenants Defend Their Mission Home

(This was written several weeks ago, but I found it floating around in my drafts. )

It was several months too soon for the sidewalks to be wet from a morning rainstorm. Despite unseasonal wetness, there was a crowd in front of a building just off of 26th Street and Treat Street in the Mission District.
In the window of one of the buildings was a hand-made sign saying, “Stop our Ellis Act Eviction,” while a couple of people pinned a much larger sign to the outside of the building. The sign was made of brown felt cloth, and in pink and orange lettering said, “Comite de Vivienda San Pedro, Sirviendo a la Communidad Hispana de San Francisco. (St. Peter’s Housing Committee, Serving the Spanish-Speaking Community of San Francisco).
Two elderly women appear on the front doorstep to the buildings at 1268-1298 Avenue to face the crowd of supporters. One woman, Luz Moran, 76, in a brown leopard print jacket over cream-colored shirt and brown pants, and simple shoes, stands in front of Maria Moran, 92. Maria Moran, wearing a white polyester dress with red polka dots, and a green button-down sweater vest supports herself against the rail of the front steps. Both Luz Moran and Maria Moran have lived in this building for over 35 years.
Another woman helps Consuello Orellana into a folding chair next to Luz and Maria and hands her blue oxygen tubes to hook into her nose. Orellana has lived in this building for over 38 years.
Lupe Arreola, 29, of the St. Peter’s Housing Committe, spoke and translated for the crowd in front of their homes. “Thank you for supporting these women who are strong, and fighting their eviction.”
By December of this year, the women standing on the steps, are supposed to be gone from the building that has been their homes for the past several decades .
According to a press release put out by the Mission Anti-Displacemnet Coalition, the owner of 1286-1298 Treat Street, Gregory McDowell, bought the building three years ago. When he applied to subdivide the building into three lots, the tenants fought and won.
This victory as short-lived, as their Ellis Act Eviction came in December of 2006. According the the San Francisco Tenant Union’s website (www.sftu.org) the Ellis Act is “a state law which says that landlords have the unconditional right to evict tenants to ‘go out of business’…While there are restrictions on ever re-renting units, there are no such restrictions on converting them to ownership units.”
Is McDowell going out of business?
It seems to be quite the opposite.
Momentarily pulling the oxygen tubes from her nose, so that she could speak into the megaphone, Orrellana said, “We have suffered a lot of violence in this community, but the worse violence is for [McDowell] to come in and say,’I want your building because I can make some money off of it.’”
Frank Romero, 32 grew up in this building. Pointing to the freshly painted sage green and cream front of the building he said, “The landlord has cosmetically cleaned up the building on the outside but has neglected the inside.”
Luz Moran grabbed the megaphone. “What is going to happen if one of us dies? Who is going to be responsible for us?” said Moran, holding back tears with a tight, angry face.
The San Francisco Rent Board’s Annual Eviction Report showed 246 of 1,476 reported evictions to be due to the Ellis Act in 2006. Under the Ellis Act, people who are seniors (age 62 or over) or disabled have 1 year prior notice to their eviction. The residents of 1286-1298 Treat Avenue plan to stay and fight their eviction.
People gathered today in support of their fight to stay, carried signs saying, “Stop Evictions,” “Silence = Consent.” and “Landlords: would you throw your own parents or grandparents out in the streets?”
Why won’t they comply with these legal evictions?
Romero stated, “Our building is composed of low-income tenants, seniors and disabled people, most of whom have lived there over 30 years. We have lived through poverty in our neighborhood and we have bonded with our neighbors and have made this building on Treat Avenue our home and community.”

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