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Stop the Eviction! Pineapple Boy LLC aka Michael Harrison aka Vanguard Property

by Eviction Free San Francisco
On Tuesday August 5th, Benito Santiago and other members of Eviction Free San Francisco paid a visit to Vanguard Properties on Mission and 21st Street. Benito Santiago is currently being Ellis Act evicted by speculator Michael Harrison, co-founder of Vanguard Properties. Harrison obfuscates responsibility by hiding under his corporation Pineapple Boy LLC. We demanded that Harrison and his alias corporation immediate rescind the eviction of Benito Santiago and others currently being evicted at the four unit building at 151 Duboce. Harrison has Ellis Acted two buildings and nine units in the past, and owns multiple properties in SF. He is a classic speculator, thriving on the dispossession of seniors, people with disabilities, people of color, and poor and working-class San Francisco residents.
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On Tuesday August 5th, Benito Santiago and other members of Eviction Free San Francisco paid a visit to Vanguard Properties on Mission and 21st Street. Benito Santiago is currently being Ellis Act evicted by speculator Michael Harrison, co-founder of Vanguard Properties. Harrison obfuscates responsibility by hiding under his corporation Pineapple Boy LLC. We demanded that Harrison and his alias corporation immediate rescind the eviction of Benito Santiago and others currently being evicted at the four unit building at 151 Duboce. Harrison has Ellis Acted two buildings in the past, and owns multiple properties in SF. He is a classic speculator, thriving on the dispossession of seniors, people with disabilities, people of color, and poor and working-class San Francisco residents.

While Harrison was not in the office, nor his partner in flipping, Debra Despues, we were able to deliver our letter and demand, below. Benito was able to read it aloud, before four tall white men threatened escorted us out of the building. We did demand that one of them call Harrison and leave a message of our demand, which he did before we were ejected.

Our letter is below:

Dear Vanguard Properties and Michael Harrison,

We are here today to demand that you DO NOT evict Benito Santiago and the other residents of his building from his home in the Duboce Triangle. Michael Harrison, one of the co-founders of your realty group, hiding behind the LLC “Pineapple Boy LLC” is using the Ellis Act to attempt to evict him in order to flip the building and profit from his displacement.

Mr. Santiago is a senior and disabled Filipino resident member of our community. He was born and raised in San Francisco. He is a teacher for the San Francisco unified school district where he is a music instructor for special-needs children.

The Ellis Act is used to issue no fault evictions and displace long term tenants in order to “flip” properties. We do not believe that you, Michael Harrison, are “going out of business” which is the purpose of using the Ellis Act. We know that instead you are exploiting a loophole in a state law for your greed.

This greed is tearing communities in our city apart and we demand that it stop. The use of the Ellis Act is especially pernicious when used against seniors and disabled people, as it very often is. What this amounts to is the exploitation of the city’s most vulnerable residents, all in the pursuit of profit. We demand that this stops. Our homes and communities are not for your speculation and profit. We will fight until this stops.

Sincerely,

Eviction Free San Francisco






We ask that you also call Harrison and Despues, making it known that the community will not stand for this violent act of displacement.

Michael Harrison:
Phone: 415.875.7428
Cell: 415-602-4570
mikeharrison [at] vanguardsf.com

Debra Despues:
415-875-7418 and 415-602-4575
§Benito
by Eviction Free San Francisco
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Stop the Eviction of Benito!
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by One of many of the evicted
A demand that is not backed up by concrete action is nothing but a polite request -- and a request is easily ignored, especially when directed to a malefactor of this magnitude.

The only thing that social parasites and predators understand is force. Bare knuckle direct actions that do acute damage to their business interests, or that offer a credible prospect of doing this, are the only thing that will make a difference here.

So, other than more photo ops with Fred, what's next? Some clear specific bad-for-the-business-elite proposals are what SF really needs now. Let's hear some. Let's see some in action.

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