EBALDC employee steals from recycle bins at Effie's House

EBALDC employee steals from recycle bins at Effie's House

By Lynda Carson September 18, 2008

Oakland -- In recent months East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) rolled out a big fancy PR campaign called EBALDC is Going Green. The extravagant campaign is loaded with several 11 by 17 inch brightly colored glossy posters extolling the virtues of EBALDC's efforts to convince it's tenants to go green, including one poster that urges EBALDC's tenants to recycle, plant trees, plant a garden, turn off the lights and to join EBALDC's green team, the bright flowery poster proclaims.

Meanwhile, at 11:35 am on Wednesday September 17, EBALDC's hired grounds keeper for Effie's House in Oakland was seen loading up a large truckload of cans, plastics, glass bottles and other materials he has been stealing from the recycle bins at the property, and selling on the open market.

When asked why he was stealing from the recycle bins, all that EBALDC employee F. Shan could say was, "I get around $1.50 a pound for the cans, I'm in a rush and have to go," as he sped off down the street with the truckload of stolen loot from Effie's House recycle bins.

EBALDC employee F. Shan has been stealing materials from the recycle bins at EBALDC properties for over the past year or two, but only admits to stealing during the past three months. Shan believes that EBALDC tenants are there to serve him in his quest to scam the system, and pull in some extra cash by stealing from the recycle bins.

With EBALDC trying to convince it's tenants to recycle and go green while it's employees are scamming on the system, the tenants at Effie's House feel that this is just another example of the blatant mismanagement occurring at EBALDC's properties.

Effie's House used to have a beautiful garden loaded with plenty of flowers in the front yard of the property (829 E. 19th St.), until EBALDC employees stopped watering them and all the flowers withered and finally died.

There used to be beautiful trees three stories tall in front of Effie's House, until during early summer of June 2008, when EBALDC employee Clifford Gatewood had the five Hollywood Juniper trees chopped down from in front of the building. Nothing was planted in it's place, and the barren front yard and loss of trees are a testament to the greed and madness of EBALDC's phony PR green campaign.

EBALDC employee F. Shan makes around $15.50 an hour as groundskeeper at Effie's House, and his work hours are from 8 am till 12 noon five days per week, but Mr. Shan generally leaves at around 11:30am because he feels that he needs the extra half hour for his lunch period. Meanwhile, the tenants at Effie's House are getting stiffed for the extra half hour Shan takes off early each day while still getting payed, and the tenants have had to cover the unearned expenses out of the rents they are charged monthly, for over the past year.

EBALDC believes that the poor low-income tenants at Effie's House are rich enough to go along with this scam, and ignores their complaints regarding the situation.

With the materials he steals from the recycle bins at EBALDC properties, and the extra half an hour a day he gets payed for while away from his job at Effie's House five days a week, M. Shan and EBALDC has been taking the tenants at Effie's House for a ride to the cleaners.

Meanwhile, EBALDC staff ignores the situation of theft taking place with their employees from the recycle bins at their properties, and declines to return any calls made to inquire about the problems occurring within their ranks.

EBALDC PROPERTY MANAGERS

According to EBALDC documents, property managers get payed for 37.5 hours per week, and the tenants in EBALDC properties are charged accordingly per property location, to cover the cost and expenses for the property manager's salary, plus the excessive administration fees being charged by EBALDC at each residential property location.

Despite collecting a salary for the equivalent of 37.5 hours per week, during the past 4 to 6 months the tenants at Effie's House have repeatedly complained that they cannot find a manager on-site in the managers office at Effie's House, on a regular schedule. According to tenants, on average the manager at Effie's House is in the office for less than 2 days per week, for around 2 hours each time period, and the tenants complain that theres no way the manager can fulfill all of his duties in such a short time span per week, despite collecting a full salary at the expense of the renters. The current residential manager/property manager for Effie's House is Clifford Gatewood.

Click below for full details of job description......

http://ebaldc.com/contents/jobsTEMP.htm


Effie's House Expenses Covered By The Tenants

With the Management Office hours at Effie's House cut back to less than 3 hours per week on average while the resident manager/property manager receives a salary for 37.5 hours per week, the question remains.

What are the tenants at Effie's House getting for their money?

The tenants get a groundskeeper who believes that the tenants exist solely to collect materials that he may steal from the recycle bins at Effie's House, to sell on the open market.

In addition to paying for the expenses for the mortgage, loans and grants attached to Effie's House, according to the latest 990 tax filing (EIN 943257432 ) signed and dated as recent as 5/12/08, the tenant's at also get to cover the following expenses at Effie's House through their rents, on a monthly basis.

1) $36,226 in salaries & wages.

2) $734 in pension plan contributions.

3) $3,181 in payroll taxes.

4) $4,626 in accounting fees.

5) $7,534 in fees towards management and general.

6) $550 in legal fees.

7) A $3,485 telephone bill for 2007.

8) $3,398 in miscellaneous expenses.

9) $10,322 towards management fees, in addition to the earlier fee of $7,534 for management.

10) $33,819 in repairs and maintenance.

11) $545 in fees for tenant events.

12) $4,942 in real estate taxes.

13) $658 in miscellaneous taxes.

14) $11,258 for property insurance.

15) The tenants were also charged $350 for asset management fees.

16) $20,821 for utilities. A month ago EBALDC claimed it was going going green, but continues to waste energy at Effie's House while the front lights and 4 flights of exterior stair lights are BLAZING 24 hours a day, costing the tenants plenty for no reason at all during day time hours.

In addition, according to the latest 990 tax filing IHDC/EBALDC holds $9,257 in security deposits, plus $1,365 in key deposits of the tenant's money.


Ivy Hill Development Corporation Officers (IHDC)
(Ivy Hill Development Corporation is a subsidiary of EBALDC)

Brother Ayinde (Of UNIA/Jubilee West http://unia.us/contact.html ) is currently listed as the Vice President of IHDC.

Ted Dang (Notorious Oakland slumlord. In the past, people died in a fire at one of Dang's properties because there were no smoke detectors in the Oakland residential building) is listed as chief financial officer for IHDC.

Anita Rees is listed as the secretary of the 501c3 nonprofit organization, that was set up as a subsidiary of EBALDC in 1997.

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