Oakland Councilwoman Attacks Housing Project For The Disabled

Oakland Councilwoman Attacks Housing Project For The Disabled
Lynda Carson 05/14/03

Oakland CA-With the handicapped having more than enough setbacks and troubles in life while just trying to keep a roof over their head or receiving decent medical treatment, the citizens of Oakland were outraged to see one of the newest Councilmembers publicly attack a planned housing project meant for the physically disabled.

About 48 determined speakers showed up at the May 6, 2003, televised City Council Meeting to voice their support for the Eastmont Court housing project meant for the physically disabled. After learning that the project was being opposed and placed in jeopardy by Councilwoman Desley Brooks of District 6, who has spearheaded a vicious campaign against the project while using tax dollars and city stationary in her efforts to kill the project, the housing activists showed up at City Hall in defense of the disabled who were under attack.

In contrast, only 3-4 people showed up to support Councilwoman Brooks position or her efforts to stop the project, and they were from a local home-owners association concerned about property values in the east bay if low-income renters continue to remain or move into their districts.

If Councilwoman Brooks succeeds in her efforts to deny the disabled this 19 unit housing project, it will mean a loss of nearly 3 years worth of planning by the non-profit housing developers, a loss in $2.3 million of HUD Funding, and would be a $360,000 loss of much needed city tax dollars being used to buy the property for the project.

In essence, it's greatest loss would be to the disabled community, and the taxpayers of Oakland forced to cover much higher expenses for those who end up in hospitals or board and care homes because of a lack of affordable housing projects designed for the disabled, and their caregivers.

Dee Stranvold, a long time Oakland resident who used to play for the Warriors Womens Basketball Team, says it's criminal for politicians to attack the physically disabled housing projects. Chronically ill and stuck in her bed or a wheel chair most of the time, Stranvold says, if the taxpayers had the slightest idea of how much money was being saved by these housing projects for the disabled, there would be a clamor for more of them in every district of Oakland!

Board and care homes cost a fortune for the disabled to reside in Stranvold said in anger, and it's obvious that those fighting against this project do not know what they are talking about. Stranvold says, that most others like herself who need low-income housing to stay out of board and care homes are barely hanging in there as it is, and to hear of Councilwoman Brooks public attacks against the supporters of housing for the disabled is enough to make her cry.

When will the attack on poor people ever end, asks long time Oakland renter Lori Kossovski? Kossovski who is also disabled generally watches the weekly council meetings on TV, and say's that she was shocked to see handicapped people at Tuesdays council meeting being attacked by Councilwoman Brooks for their efforts put forth in coming out to support the housing project. Councilwoman Brooks went too far on this one said Kossovski, and at this point I am sickened by what I have seen and heard. Two of the speakers before Tuesdays council meeting used crutches to reach the speakers table in their effort to support the project.

Tuedsay nights council agenda item #24, was a measure to adopt a resolution authorizing an affordable housing development loan in an amount not to exceed $460,600 for the Eastmont Court Project located at 6850 Foothill Blvd, being developed in partnership by Resources for Community Development and the East Oakland Community Develpoment Corporation.

Both non-profit housing developers are known to have a good reputation for developing and maintaining housing projects for the disabled and low-income renters of the east bay, and presently are co-owners of 54 rental units.

The Eastmont Court Project has won approval and funding from a HUD (Housing and Urban Development) National Competition that has stretched across the nation. These two highly regarded non-profit housing developers succeeded where many other developers across the nation failed in their attempt to win HUD's approval for their submitted projects.

Before the project was opposed by Councilwoman Brooks, the developers had already gained approval from the City of Oakland for the project, and the city had committed $1,066,000 with the additional $2.3 million in funding secured from HUD for the project. The developers believe that if Councilwoman Brooks manages to delay the project until October of 2003, that they will lose the already secured funding from HUD, and that the $2.3 million will be taken away from them and used elsewhere, thus killing the project.

People have been asking how this could happen, and why has the project been allowed to be side-tracked during this late stage of development by so few voices in the community.

Like many projects, it turned out that after 3 years of planning that an additional funding source and an extra $460,600 was needed to fund the project in it's entirety, and this became an ideal opportunity for Councilwoman Brooks to attack the project.

THE PROJECT AND IT'S DEVELOPERS

Eastmont Court if completed, will become a 15,000 square foot site, HUD 811 project designed for the physically disabled. It will have 3 floors, with19 units of "1 and 2" bedroom rental units, plus an elevator to each floor landing. Being an "HUD 811" funding project, the 10 one bedroom units and 9 two bedroom units allow for others to reside with the disabled who may need live-in caregivers to remain with them on a 24 hour basis, or perhaps for those who may happen to be married with children, etc...

The project being developed in partnership with R.C.D., and E.O.C.D.C., if completed, is a 40 year agreement with HUD for disabled people to reside there, paying no more than 30% of their income as payment for rent. The John Stewart Company will be managing the property once the project becomes completed after costing nearly $4 million in construction and planning costs.

Both R.C.D., and E.O.C.D.C., have been around for a combined 30 years and more as local developers, with Brian Saliman as the Project Manager for R.C.D., and the J.H. Fitzmaurice Contracting Company as the contractor hired to build the 19 bedroom housing project. This is the third project that R.C.D., and E.O.C.D.C., have worked on together.

THE PROJECT UNDER ATTACK

During Tuesdays city council meeting, in defense of her position, Councilwoman Brooks responded to the supporters of the disabled community with a blistering assault of verbal abuse. Brooks started off by thanking the speakers for showing up at the council meeting before ripping into them, and accusing them all of not living in District 6 where the project is to be located. It would have been nice if you brought in someone from District 6, said Brooks in a chilling voice.

On top of this bizarre expression of paranoia and abuse dished out to the speakers who spoke up on behalf of the disabled, Brooks then went on to blame the poor of Oakland for the ills of society, and continued to use them as her excuse for not supporting the project. The area of District 6 is saturated with low-income renters said Brooks, and then she attempted to link poverty with crime statistics, and then tried to stereo-type low-income renters as criminals to be blamed for keeping business's and developer's from coming into District 6 to gentrify it. Brooks went on to blame the low-income renters below the 580 Freeway for the lack of stores and services in District 6.

Councilwoman Brooks failed to make any arguement against the handicapped or physically disabled community by use of any crime statistics or any fictional stories of people running around in wheel chairs running amuck in Oakland on crime sprees.

To muddle the matter even further, Councilwoman Brooks seemed delusional and said that this does not look like a project just for disabled people, and said that she believes that the council needs time to explore their options in changing the terms of the project, possibly to a home-ownership project.

The developers believe that the terms of this HUD 811 funding project for the physically disabled cannot be changed into a home-ownership project and that if Councilwoman Brooks continues to delay the project later than the begining of October 2003, that she will kill the project and the funding will disappear. The developers are determined to fight even harder to get this project completed said Larry Hynson, the Executive Director of E.O.C.D.C..

In a direct message to the readers of Street Spirit; people need to advocate for the rights of the handicapped and low-income renters, said Hynson. This project has been in the planning stages for nearly 3 years, and now with this new councilmember who wants to stop this project during the latest stage in the development process is a slap in the face of all disabled people, Hynson said.

Executive Director Hynson went on to state that if disabled people wanted to reside in District 6, that this is the freedom of being an american, and for anyone to attempt to stop them from doing so is an act of illegal discrimination under state and federal laws, said Hynson.

Indeed, during the past 30 years as part of the legislative trend to protect the rights of the disabled, the Federal Fair Housing Act has come into being as law, and as a follow up the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) (Govt C § § 12900-12996), which became effective January 1, 1994, clearly makes it unlawful to discriminate against handicapped or physically disabled individuals through, among other things, zoning permits or other land use practices. Govt C §12955, Stats 12993, ch 1277, §4.

On behalf of the disabled, the courts have played a major role to promote the rights of the physically disabled as people who are as entitled as anyone else to be free of laws or regulations restricting their ability to reside in the place of their choice. The prejudice being displayed publicly by Councilwoman Brooks against the community of physically disabled people of Oakland is another sad chapter of dirty politics at it's worst.

Using the poor or low-income renters of District 6 as the scape goat against the project in an attempt to camoflauge the prejudice being expressed against the physically disabled does not conceal the fact that Councilwoman Brooks is directly attacking the funding source for a project already approved for the disabled by HUD and the City of Oakland.

BROOKS LACK OF SUPPORT AGAINST THE DISABLED

An April 18, 2003 letter sent out to business's and home-owners in District 6 or elsewhere from the City of Oakland and signed by Desley Brooks, shows her desperation in attempting to seek support from community members in her misguided battle to keep the disabled out of her district.

It's a hit piece using city stationary and tax dollars to target the East Oakland Community Development Corporation (EOCDC), and the Eastmont Court Project for the disabled. In essence, Brooks is trying to convince the readers that E.O.C.D.C., is run by a bunch of liars who really plan to move in more low-income renters into the district under the guise of using a funding mechanism for the physically disabled. Brooks fails to offer any sort of documented proof to back up her allegations against the E.O.C.D.C..

Brooks gets down and dirty in this hit piece financed by Oakland tax revenues, and attempts to link poverty with crime, and then leaps to the conclusion by stateing that; "We will never attract retail and other services needed in District 6 if we continue to allow these high concentrations of low-income renters and affordable housing projects". The letter goes on to say; "Enough is enough already, we don't need another low-income housing development".

Despite the fact that the Councilwoman abused her power of Office by using city revenues to stir up hatred against the disabled and low-income renters of Oakland as a means to slow down the Eastmont Court Project, she failed to get the support she desired from the community.

According to Beverly Blythe of Community Cares and Soul Beat Television, she claims that recently she worked very hard for many hours working closely with Councilwoman Desley Brooks and her city staff to organize a community meeting in District 6 to get support for the plans of the Councilwoman.

I'm madder than hell that no one botherd to show up, Blythe said! I worked so hard for so many hours to organize that meeting, and only two people showed up the exasperated Blythe said, then suddenly recalled that a third person may have finally showed up. Brooks has no support Blythe explained, and claimed that the people who are doing well in the community do not care about whats going on in District 6, and that others are too busy or disinterested to get involved. Councilwoman Brooks and her staff showed up for the meeting, but no one was there to show any support for what she has in mind for the district, said Blythe.

This reporter has also been told by someone in an organizing capacity very close to Brooks that no one want's to see groups of people running around in wheel chairs at or near the Eastmont Mall where the Eastmont Court Project is being located. Out of sight, out of mind, because no one wants to look at a bunch of disabled people in their neighborhood, she said. She said that the project should be built next to the Mayors house, and that no one wants to see these non-profits fill up the flatlands with these sorts of projects. Next thing you know there will be mentally disabled people running around, and then we will have some real problems, she said. In closing; she said, that the 19 unit Eastmont Court Project is too big and needs to be reduced to 6 units instead.

During an interview with Robert Dawson an aide to Councilwoman Brooks, Dawson showed his distaste for the poor by exclaiming that he believes District 6 is over developed with low-income rental units and that it's a high density area of poor people loaded with crime. Dawson, minces no words in describing his feelings that the Eastmont Court Project for the disabled should be located to another district. Dawson goes on to say that he has been with Brooks Office for about two weeks and claims that it's offensive to use smoke and mirrors to keep all of the poor people in certain crime ridden areas such as District 6. When I asked for some statistics that may reveal any connections with crime and disabled people, Dawson suddenly stated that he had an appointment to get to, and that he was late.

Toni Cook showed up at Tuesdays council meeting to take a swipe at the disabled by claiming that she had a hundred signatures from people who are opposed to the project. Larry Hynson of E.O.C.D.C says that if that is true, he was not offered a copy of nor has seen the alleged list of signatures.

Coleen Brown who is known as a shill for some local home-owners associations showed up at Tusedays council meeting to throw her daggers into the project for the disabled.

A woman from the Housing Consortium of the East Bay who has a disabled child, says that she is sad that the controversy exist's and asks that the project be allowed to go through.

Michael Diehl of B.O.S.S., says that he has seen an increase in the number of disabled homeless people and tells the council; Plaese don't kill this project.

Tamara Carter spoke up at Tuesday's council meeting, saying that the crime in the area is not being done by disabled people, and asks the council to support the project.

Rudy Puckett also appeared at Tuesdays council meeting. I'm tired he say's; disabled people are challenged and often are discriminated against, but, can't prove it. He tells the council members how hard it is to place disabled people in housing or jobs, and say's that many of the disabled are minorities.

Dan Sawsilak the Executive Director of Resources for Community Development one of the developers for the project also was a speaker at Tuesdays council meeting. 19 wheelchair users will lose housing if this project does not go through, Sawsilak said, plus we will lose $3 million in funding from HUD. Sawsilak told the council that he talked to neighbors of the project who mostly are in support, and says it's going to be a beautiful building that is in a fantastic location. He asks the council to approve the needed funding for the project.

Leroy Moore and Eddie Ytuarte who are both disabled, asked the council to approve the project so that disabled people will not lose the much needed housing suited to their needs

In closing, R.C.D. Executive Director Dan Sawsilak, who is originaly from the Chicago area, says that he likes hiking and loves the outdoors, states that he is not sure of the true motives of Desley Brooks or why she is really opposed to this project for the disabled. We started this project 3 years ago, and we are determined to see it finished so that the disabled will also be able to obtain the housing they so desperately need, Sawsilak said.

Project Manager Brian Saliman also of R.C.D., says that he was not aware of any opposition to the project until Febuary or March of 2003, sometime right after Desley Brooks came into office as an Oakland Councilwoman. He believes that Brooks then sought community support to oppose the project, and that he himself has not seen any real opposition to the project other than the few people that Brooks managed to get on her side. We know what real opposition is like when the community really opposes a project, and theres just no evidence of this for the Eastmont Court Project, Saliman said.

Saliman, hopes for the best, and believes that the community supports the project he said.

The council is scheduled to revisit this project of controversy on May 20, but, may have been rescheduled for June 3, 2003.