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Elderly Chinese Residents Fight Eviction from Oakland Apartments Mercury News
May 21, 2003 Some
elderly Chinese residents are fighting their eviction from an Oakland
Chinatown apartment complex where they have lived for years near the
services and programs they rely on everyday. Family
members and supporters say about half of the tenants of the Pacific
Renaissance Plaza on 9th and Webster Streets have indicated they will stay
in their apartments despite receiving notices that they must leave in less
than three months. ``We're
not planning to move, since neither one of us can walk,'' said Robert
Wong, 94, who along with his wife, Yuet, are wheelchair-bound. ``We're too
old to face this kind of change,'' Art
Hom's 90-something mother, a 7-year resident of the complex, is another
one of those fighting the eviction. ``Out
of the blue, she gets a brutal letter from the landlord that she and her
rubbish will have to get out of the building by July 31,'' said Hom. When
the Pacific Renaissance Plaza opened, the city worked out an agreement
with the developer, C & L Financial, to set aside 50 of the 200
condominiums low and moderate income families for 10 years. The city then
would have the option to buy the 50 units. ``The
assumption we had was that it was clear that term was up in 10 years, ''
said Roy Schweyer, the Oakland director of Housing and Community
Development. ``It was in the contract with the developer and perhaps it
got lost in all the clauses.'' Hom
said his mother, Yen Hom, ``didn't realize it was only a 10-year
agreement.'' Francis
Chang whose parents are fighting the eviction said that nowhere in the
rental contract does it state that the lease is only good for 10 years. ``Perhaps
there is an agreement between the city and the developers, but it is not
in my parents' contract,'' he said. His parents were the first to move
into the complex under the affordable housing terms. Schweyer
said the city was working to look for affordable senior housing in the
Chinatown area, but was not sanguine about the possibility since there's
less than a 1 percent vacancy rate in Chinatown. About
half of the tenants have already left, and the other half have not
responded to the eviction letter and have signed a petition requesting the
owner, Larry Chan, to let them stay. The rents have been 80 per cent of
market value, averaging $1200 a month. Chan
could not be reached for comment. The
project, which covers an entire block and was partially funded by a $7.5
million loan from the city, also includes a 500-space parking lot, library
and cultural center. According
to Adam Gold of Just Cause Oakland, a community group supporting the
tenants, the developer sent a letter to city officials alerting them that
the 10 year agreement was about to expire. After several months, Robert
Bobb, the city manager wrote back saying the city was aware of the
situation but had no money to buy back the apartments and that Chan should
go ahead and sell the property. The
building is in the heart of Oakland Chinatown which is why the residents
want to stay. Most of them are elderly, some are in their 90s, speak
little English and some are in poor health. Within the complex, they have
social and medical services, a library, and easy access to shops and
restaurants. ``My mother doesn't plan to move at this time, '' Hom said. ``Some tenants have cooperated and gotten out of the way and left Chinatown. It's pretty much a death notice for many of them.'' Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
