California Hotel tenants are not alone with eviction fears

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 exactly where they are, under Oakland's Just Cause eviction protections.

In addition to the above low-income tenants who 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).

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.

For more on the mass evictions occurring at the California Hotel, click on the link below...

California Hotel tenants fight against non profit to remain in housing
by Lynda Carson ( tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com )
Thursday Jul 17th, 2008 8:01 AM

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/17/18516962.php

Lynda Carson may be reached at, tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com