Eviction Free SF Marches to the Home of Mayor Ed Lee and Demands a Moratorium on Evictions

San Francisco— This Saturday, October 18th at 12pm, Eviction Free San Francisco and community advocates marched to the home of Mayor Ed Lee in Glenn Park, and demanded that he intervene in the eviction crisis in San Francisco. As long-term tenants, communities of color, seniors and disabled people are displaced at a rapid rate, new luxury condominiums pop up on every corner, making the city even less affordable and motivating speculators to continue to evict for a profit.

This demonstration follows more than a year’s worth of protests by Eviction Free San Francisco, primarily targeting speculators and landlords responsible for evicting tenants for a profit. As the eviction crisis becomes more devastating to San Franciscans, Eviction Free San Francisco made the following demands of the Mayor:

1. That Market Rate developments be halted and have a citywide
moratorium on eviction declared until the housing needs of the poor and
working class are fully met.

2. That substantially more money be put into the Small Sites loan fund
to create community-owned housing.

3. That City-owned land and buildings be transferred to housing co-ops
and land trusts to create long-term affordable housing.

4. That the sit/lie and anti-panhandling measures criminalizing the
homeless and poor be repealed.

Says Tom Rapp, an Eviction Free San Francisco organizer, “ The Mayor has publicly committed to protecting those who are being displaced and making San Francisco more affordable, but continues to sell the city to real estate developers and speculators. “

Numerous tenants currently facing eviction spoke out, sharing their stories of eviction and disgrace at the Mayor for not intervening in an effective way. Tenants demanded that instead of continuing to privilege tech and real estate at the expense of tenants, that Mayor Ed Lee steps up and honors the renters that make up the majority of the city. Tenants demanded Tenants' Tuesday instead of Tech Tuesday. Claudia Tirado, a 3rd grade teacher currently being evicted by Google's head of e-Discovery, also demanded Teachers' Tuesday.

A film of the protest and demands can be see here: https://vimeo.com/109354718