Story of One Person's Fight for Housing Rights in Berkeley

Steve DeCaprio moved into his house on March 13, 2004. He had been looking for a house of his own for at least 3 years. He found a house in the same neighborhood as many of his friends- it had not been occupied in some 15 years. Steve invoked "occupancy" under Acquisition of Property California Civil Codes Sections 1000-1006 and moved in. He has been embroiled in a fierce battle with the police, who allege that there is a relative of a previous owner but it appears that many of these documents have been forged. The facts would seem to suggest that Steve has every right to live in this house. He has been charged with 6 counts of "unlawful entry into a dwelling" under penal code section 602.5.

The house, which has been affectionately called "Banana House," is a formerly blighted 2 bedroom, 1 bath with a kitchen/dining area, a small
den with a fireplace, and a leaky basement. The house is in poor condition, but it would be good as transitional housing for people who currently don't have a place to stay, such as people who have recently been evicted from places such as the 40th Street Warehouse. Steve sees that he can also be part of popping the inflated housing market bubble. Steve has fixed the windows, installed incoming plumbing lines to make water come into the house, and pulled electrical permits. He had contacted a contractor, but before an estimate could be made, the police started harassing him and all work on the house stopped.

Berkeley police surrounded the house on May 1st and told Steve and his friends that they had to leave. There was no legal basis for this, but it was the first of many encounters between Steve and the police. On June 3rd, Steve was granted a temporary restraining order against the woman whom police claimed was the owner of the house (the fraudulent owner, according to Steve). On June 27th, and July 3rd, the police came again and spoke with Steve, and determined that it was a civil matter, not a criminal one. On July 14th, Steve's car was towed from in front of his home for no reason. On July 27th, while a temporary restraining order was in effect, the police came while Steve and friends were gardening. The police had come in response to a call for service by a neighbor alleging "breaking and entering" a charge that was soon disproved upon the cops' arrival. They held the
gardeners at gunpoint, searched the house, and cited Steve for unlawful entry even though he had keys to the house. The police took photos of the house,
including a book entitled the "Anarchist Cookbook," and items such as grocery lists. The photos were never used in court, likely because they were taken during an illegal search. Everything the police documented was submitted as evidence at the Police Review Comittee hearing and then in Federal court, but these photos were irrelevant to the charges against DeCaprio. They have been used by Steve to prove Fourth Amendment violation (they represent an unreasonable search and seizure).

After July 27th, Steve had realized that the police were not acting on behalf of the alleged owner, but rather, they were following some other agenda. It appeared to be that they were under pressure from the Alcatraz Avenue Neighbors' Association, which includes a handful of neighbors who are opposed to Steve's homestead. On August 13th, Steve was cited on film, and the Department of Public Works put boards up to block entry through the front door. On August 26th, Steve filed a federal lawsuit over civil rights violations committed by the city of Berkeley. Students from SF State who were making a documentary about housing rights went to Banana House on October 23rd, 2004, and the cops came and cited Steve, destroyed his lock, and locked the film equipment inside the house.

The temporary restraining order to keep the police away from Steve's house got a continuance, but the cops continued to deny him access. On January 24th, Steve was cited, and Steve's keys were taken by force by the police. On March 1st at 1am, the police dragged Steve out of the house and took him to jail at gunpoint. On March 2nd, Steve was issued a 100 yard stay-away order for "unlawful entry" of a noncommercial building or residence, as if he had invaded someone else's home. The restraining order has been maintained pending a trial.

The Berkeley police's claims that a woman who is a relative of a former owner is now the owner of the house are based on speculation, and, in Steve's view, unfounded. Documents requesting enforcement (ie, police visits to evict Steve) are forgeries and were not written by this relative of the former owners. Her attorney has claimed that the property, however, is part of the estate of Essie Thomas, to which she is a partial heir. The heir of the former owner, who lives in Sacramento, paid property taxes through 2003, but Steve paid them starting in April of 2004, and has paid the taxes for the first half of 2005. The police say that she is administrator of the estate, but that she is "in the process" of gaining title to the property. She would have to go to civil court to gain title through a lawsuit against Steve, but she is currently going through probate court. One interesting part of this story is that no interest in making her ownership of the property official was expressed until after the police began to arrest Steve for being on the property. If a person wants to reclaim a property, they have to do it within 5 years of not being in possession of it.

Probate proceedings cannot determine issues of real property when someone from outside the family is involved. He says that the case will end up in civil court. Her case hinges on her claim that she owns the house. This woman lives in Sacramento, so clearly she has no intention of living in the house. Steve says that her lawyer has said that she wants to sell. He has in the past offered her $35,000 for the house.

Some of the people in the neighborhood don't support what Steve is doing- this neighborhood on the edge of South Berkeley and North Oakland is, Steve says, "polarized." Neighbor Travis Eiden said, "I don't want you turning this into some kind of fight club house." One neighbor has made encouraging remarks along the lines of "Keep it up!" Numerous other neighbors have wished him good luck in the fight over his house. Travis Eiden claims to be the neighbor who has been calling the police, but Steve doubts this- there may be others. Steve tells
neighbors that what is happening is a violation of his Constitutional rights [4th, 5th, and 14th as per his Federal Lawsuit, then 1st due to political discrimination and freedom of the press (ie student film crew) and then 6th amendment subsequent to criminal
charges (ie 100 stay away order vs ability to access witnesses)]. He wants to be able to have witnesses.

Steve has attended 19 hearings- both court and commission hearings as part of his struggle to own his home. He filed a federal suit in August against the city of Berkeley. The fight for the house is being waged in federal, appellate, and criminal courts, as well as at police commission meetings. Steve has a friend who is making a documentary about the house. Steve is representing himself in court and in dealings with the police, with some advice from attorneys and paralegals.

With respect to the citations from October 23rd, January 12th, February 24th, and March 1st, statements were made that enforcement was under the direction of the City Attorney's office. The office in charge of defending the city is directing enforcement against a plaintiff in a case against the city, which would appear to be a conflict of interest. Steve has learned that the procedure for enforcing 13.52 (municipal trespassing) is flawed- the police actively encourage people to authorize enforcement without any evidence. This is used to facilitate harassment of the homeless in Berkeley.

Steve's fight for Banana House can be seen as an example of battles against gentrification in his area of the East Bay. He has learned that
the city's Code Enforcement Unit can go to houses based on tips of fire hazard. The Fire Department has eminent
domain bcause of questions of physical damage to buildings. In cases of Code Violation, it can go in with no notice, and people can be evicted without their removal being called "eviction." Steve has also learned that the head of the code enforcement unit, Gregory Daniels, has met with the police to work on "strategy." Mass evictions are taking place all over Berkeley and even in Oakland. Examples include Spaz North, which was an artists' warehouse; the BaatCave; the artists' loft in the Oakland Tribune building; and now Banana House.

On Friday, April 22nd, a judge in a federal court will decide about a motion from the city of Berkeley for summary judgement against Steve DeCaprio. Steve, in turn, has moved for a preliminary injunction against Berkeley, as well as summary judgement (the court would then judge based on what has been submitted, without any further proceedings). There is a possiblity that both summary judgements could be overruled, and the lawsuit against the City of Berkeley would proceed. The hearing will take place in Courtroom 2 at 10am, in the Federal Courthouse in Oakland, which is located at 1301 Clay Street, 94612. Judge Claudia Wilkins will be presiding. She is the judge who ruled against the City of Oakland and the FBI in the Judi Bari case.