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CREATED:20050817T050200Z
DESCRIPTION:  Founder and Director of Precita Eyes Mural arts and visitors center 
 Facing Eviction   When does San Francisco stop being San Francisco? Can 
 you imagine the City without its murals? Neither can we, so we ask that you 
 come and join us on the steps of 400 McAllister, Friday, August 19th, at 
 8:30 a.m. to protest the eviction of one of San Francisco’s premier 
 muralists and community activists.   It’s no secret that the higher cost 
 of living, increasing rent, and out-of-control housing market in San 
 Francisco is changing the make-up of the City, driving out artists and 
 working-class people. Now, in what may be the ultimate slap in the face, 
 long-time veteran of the Mission District, Susan Kelk Cervantes, who has 
 been a central force in the creation of hundreds of San Francisco’s 
 murals in the Mission, including the treasured artworks on the Women’s 
 Building, Bernal Heights Library, and Cesar Chavez Elementary, is facing 
 eviction. Despite having lived in her home for over 35 years, Susan 
 Cervantes and her family received, via a three-day notice, an eviction from 
 her new landlords, Douglas Wong and Pearl Yee, who purchased the building 
 in July of 2005. They claim that her residence was an “unlawful use of 
 the space” because the previous owner, in the 1960s, had converted a 
 bottom floor, zoned for commercial use, into a two-floor residential 
 unit.   Susan is the Director and Founder of Precita Eyes Mural Arts and 
 Visitors Center, responsible for the creation of murals, connecting youth 
 to art programs, providing educational tours and much more. She has given 
 her life to art and states, “I gave back everything I had, all of my 
 income to promote what I believed was important- light and color and beauty 
 and the sharing of public space that belongs to everyone. We tried to 
 preserve culture and bring art . . .and now I may have to leave.” If 
 evicted, Susan Cervantes stated that she may have to leave San Francisco 
 due to the high cost of rent, and her absence at Precita Eyes may result in 
 the organization’s instability. This would place San Francisco’s 
 support of the muralist tradition in jeopardy. Many in the community are 
 rallying behind Susan, including Jeanne Derrah of the Precita Valley 
 Neighborhood Association who stated, “Susan’s eviction would be 
 devastating for her and for our community after all she has done for 
 us.”   Please come and join us to protest and say in a unified voice to 
 the courts and the press that San Franciscans refuse to be pushed out of 
 the City! We value the contributions of the City’s artists and say no 
 more unfair evictions in San Francisco!    When: Friday, August 19th at 
 8:30 a.m. Speakers will start at 9:00 a.m. Court hearing at 9:30a.m.   
 Where: Steps of 400 McAllister, Court House.   Who: To get involved in 
 organizing efforts, please contact Bobbi, of Central City SRO 
 Collaborative, via e-mail at Barbara@thclinic.org or 
 stopsusanseviction@yahoo.com.    Please also check 
 http://www.precitaeyes.org for further updates. For more background, you 
 can also read an article titled Cultural Cornerstone of the Mission Faces 
 Eviction, covering the Susan Kelk Cervantes eviction, on 
 http://www.BeyondChron.org.\n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/08/16/73533.php
SUMMARY:Founder and Director of Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center Facing Evict
LOCATION:In front of Courthouse
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/08/16/73533.php
DTSTART:20050819T160000Z
DTEND:20050819T170000Z
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