Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
The myth of affordable housing is demolished by “minimum income requirements”
2008 Protest In Front Of The California Hotel By Tenants Facing Illegal Evictions By The John Stewart Company & the dissolved Oakland Community Housing, Inc. Photo by Lydia Gans.
The myth of affordable housing is demolished by “minimum income requirements”
By Lynda Carson - May 12, 2023
Oakland - These are grim times that we find ourselves in. We are on the verge of a catastrophe with hundreds of thousands of HUD subsidized tenants facing eviction if the debt limit crisis manufactured by extremist right-wing fascist Republicans that is holding our country hostage pushes the low-income tenants over a fiscal cliff. Currently, activists with the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) are urging people to unite to oppose deep budget cuts and push Congress to invest in affordable housing and homelessness programs at the scale needed!
Reportedly, San Francisco residents making a whopping $179,500 per year qualify for affordable housing at $3,400 per month!
Meanwhile, the myth of affordable housing is being demolished by affordable housing developers that are demanding that the poor must meet their “minimum income requirements” to move into so-called affordable housing projects.
Reportedly, as of February 2023, the average social security check for the elderly is $1,693.88 per month.
Additionally, reportedly, the average monthly disability payment in California from SSDI is $1,395.93, and the average monthly disability payment in California from SSI is $729.00.
And reportedly, the average monthly payment from CalWorks is $717.00.
The Myth Of Affordable Housing Is Demolished By “Minimum Income Requirements.”
Reportedly, during May of 2023, Empyrean Towers an affordable housing project in Oakland that is owned by Resources for Community Development (RCD), and managed by the John Stewart Company (JSCo), has rental units going for $750 per month for a studio apartment, and $875 per month for a 1 bedroom unit.
However, Empyrean Towers has a “minimum income requirement” of $2,200 per month for 1 person, which excludes poor people with average social security benefits, or SSDI, or SSI, or CalWorks benefits earning less than $2,200 per month from being eligible to reside there.
Embark Apartments in Oakland owned by RCD has a “minimum income requirement” of $45,700 per year for 1 person.
Additionally, Park Alameda, in Alameda, owned by RCD has a “minimum income requirement” of $2,188 per month for 1 person, excluding the poor from this so-called affordable housing project.
RCD is in the news recently for pulling out of a project to build so-called affordable housing in People’s Park in nearby Berkeley, that probably would have also had “minimum income requirements” excluding the poor from that project.
Empyrean Towers in Oakland, owned by Resources for Community Development (RCD), used to be called the Menlo Hotel or Hotel Menlo, and was owned by wealthy multi-millionaire Richard Singer who landed in prison after pleading guilty to one count of solicitation to commit arson at the low-income residential Menlo Hotel.
Around 8 years ago, Al Jezeera, reported on suspicious fires in the Bay Area, including the arrest and imprisonment of Richard Singer.
Many poor people used to reside in Oakland’s cheap hotels years ago. During 2004, the going rate for a room in an SRO located in the local sleazy for-profit residential hotels for poor people in Oakland, the Sutter Hotel charged $560 per month for an SRO, the Ridge Hotel charged $475 per month, and the Old Oakland Hotel charged from $480 to $520 per month. The Lake Hurst Hotel near Lake Merritt offered SRO rooms for as little as $675 per month, and in addition to the room, they offered renters two free meals a day, five days a week in their dining room, and none of them demanded a “minimum income requirement” to reside in these cheap hotels for the poor.
During August 2022, the average price for a one bedroom apartment in Oakland skyrocketed to $3,022 per month.
Additionally, according to an old leaked report, much of Oakland’s unhoused and homeless problems downtown are a direct result of Oakland’s former Mayor Jerry Brown’s attempts to displace the poor. In 2000, reportedly by Terry Messman of Street Spirit, “A city report leaked to Street Spirit by Lynda Carson (myself), an anti-eviction activist who works with Just Cause Oakland at the time, shows that Mayor Jerry Brown ordered his housing development staff to conduct a survey of all 24 Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels in the Central District and analyze how much it would cost to remove and replace them, presumably with market-rate housing and upscale commercial developments.”
Other Affordable Housing Projects Demanding “Minimum Income Requirements.”
The Civic Center Residences in San Francisco owned by TNDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,100 - $1,200.
The Dalt Hotel in San Francisco owned by TNDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,200 - $1,350.
The William Penn Hotel in San Francisco has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,300 - $1,500.
The Clayton Hotel in San Francisco has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,092.
1535 Jackson in San Francisco owned by CCDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,450 - $1,850.
Swiss American Hotel in San Francisco owned by CCDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,150 - $1,350.
Ava Nob Hill in San Francisco owned by Avalon Bay Communities has a “minimum income requirement” of $29,088 per year to rent a studio apartment even though the average social security recipient only has an income of $20,316 per year.
Avalon at Mission Bay in San Francisco owned by Avalon Communities has a “minimum income requirement” of $38,568 for one person.
Martin Luther Tower in San Francisco owned by Martin Luther Tower has a “minimum income requirement” of $34,800 for one person.
Yerba Buena Commons in San Francisco owned by Yerba Buena Commons, has a “minimum income requirement” of $28,000 per year for one person.
The Knox SRO in San Francisco managed by JSCo, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,544 per month.
The Emery in Emeryville, owned by Lennar Multi-Family Communities has a “minimum income requirement” of $47,950 per year.
Avalon Berkeley owned by Avalon Bay has a “minimum income requirement” of $28,824 per year for 1 person.
Hismen Hin-Nu Terrace in Oakland owned by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) has a “minimum income requirement” of $55,114 per year.
Avalon Senior Housing in Oakland owned by EBALDC has a “minimum income requirement” of $20,000 per year.
Quail Run ll in San Leandro owned by Eden Housing charges $1,823 for a 1 bedroom apartment, but has a “minimum income requirement” 2 times the rent per month.
The evidence is clear that “minimum income requirements” are excluding the poor from the so-called affordable housing projects in the Bay Area, resulting in homelessness as a result.
Additional lists revealing “minimum income requirements” that exclude the poor from so-called affordable housing projects may be found here https://sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/OpenHouseListings.pdf , or here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5edfc8058a79fa72e7b4820e/t/63ac9ee50d649d0d38baf18c/1672257254464/January+2023+Greater+Bay+Area+Affordable+Housing+List+-+Openhouse.pdf , and here https://www.selfhelpelderly.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/San-Francisco-Affordable-Housing-List-March-2022-ENG.pdf .
The question arises. What does it mean to be called a so-called affordable housing project, if the “minimum income requirements” exclude the poor from the projects?
Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com .
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
More about Lynda Carson may be found in the links below...
(IndyBay News Wire)
Longtime tenant activist Eleanor Walden of Berkeley passed away Friday, April 7, 2023
by Lynda Carson (newzland2 [at] gmail.com)
Wed, Apr 12, 2023 8:46PM
Click below…
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/04/12/18855450.php
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
Rally To Protect Seniors, the Disabled & Children -
Friday, April 29, 2005
(Lynda Carson is a guest speaker along with Congresswoman
Lynn Woolsey)
Click below for details...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/29/NBGOJCFDP21.DTL&type=printable
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
WINGS broadcast, with Lynda Carson interview by Kellia
Ramares which aired in 7 countries; Subject: Cuts to
subsidized housing programs...
Click below...
http://www.audioport.org/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=2248&nav=&
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
(Lynda Carson guest speaker to promote Million Worker
March - 2004)
Join us in a Speak-Out
Treasurer, AFSCME Local 3506, Chicago Clarence Thomas,
Co-Chair Million Worker March, ILWU Local 10, Lynda
Carson, Women Economic Agenda...
Click below...
http://web.archive.org/web/20090926095233/http://globalwomenstrike.net/English2004/MillionWorkersMarch.htm
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
(San Francisco Chronicle)
Owners told to evict problem tenants
Oakland may act if they refuse
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, February 19, 2004
But longtime tenant activist Lynda Carson said she
feared the new city law would lead to "witch hunts"
against innocent tenants. She said landlords aided by
police would abuse the law to force out longtime
renters and replace them with yuppies willing to pay
more money.
"They really want to gentrify this city,'' Carson
said. "This insidious law makes it easier for
landlords to get rid of anyone they want. They can
just claim you are a nuisance.''
Click below for full story...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/19/BAG5053Q301.DTL
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
The Morning Show for Tuesday, June 1st, 2004 : KPFA 94.1FM Berkeley
Lynda Carson, housing advocate in Oakland and a Section 8 tenant, and Randy Shaw, director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. Morning Show Segue Music: ...
Click below for web stream...
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=2400
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
(Newsweek Magazine)
HOW DONATING $500 TO EX-KKK LEADER DAVID DUKE CAUSED THIS MINNEAPOLIS BAR TO SHUT DOWN
BY CONOR GAFFEY ON 9/3/17 AT 12:15 PM
DeRoma’s donation was first revealed in a post on Indybay (By Lynda Carson) a community news organization based in San Francisco, which has posted records of donors to Duke’s campaign.
Click below...
https://www.newsweek.com/david-duke-kkk-white-supremacists-minneapolis-659014
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
KPFA RADIO - Pushing Limits - With Lynda Carson - July 2015
https://kpfa.org/episode/pushing-limits-july-17-2015/
http://www.pushinglimits.i941.net/?p=1093
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
Rally Slams Housing Authority Leaders
BY Amanda Ott
Contributing Writer
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Upset with the operation of the Berkeley Housing
Authority, a group of Berkeley residents rallied
yesterday evening to call for drastic organizational
changes.
The protest was organized by the community activist
group Save Berkeley Housing Authority, which members
said was formed after four years of mismanagement
within the city's housing authority.
Lynda Carson, founder of the community group, said
her confidence in Berkeley Housing Director Stephen
Barton is further diminished by discrepancies between
his oral and written versions of evaluation results.
Click below for full story...
http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=21450
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
By Lynda Carson - May 12, 2023
Oakland - These are grim times that we find ourselves in. We are on the verge of a catastrophe with hundreds of thousands of HUD subsidized tenants facing eviction if the debt limit crisis manufactured by extremist right-wing fascist Republicans that is holding our country hostage pushes the low-income tenants over a fiscal cliff. Currently, activists with the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) are urging people to unite to oppose deep budget cuts and push Congress to invest in affordable housing and homelessness programs at the scale needed!
Reportedly, San Francisco residents making a whopping $179,500 per year qualify for affordable housing at $3,400 per month!
Meanwhile, the myth of affordable housing is being demolished by affordable housing developers that are demanding that the poor must meet their “minimum income requirements” to move into so-called affordable housing projects.
Reportedly, as of February 2023, the average social security check for the elderly is $1,693.88 per month.
Additionally, reportedly, the average monthly disability payment in California from SSDI is $1,395.93, and the average monthly disability payment in California from SSI is $729.00.
And reportedly, the average monthly payment from CalWorks is $717.00.
The Myth Of Affordable Housing Is Demolished By “Minimum Income Requirements.”
Reportedly, during May of 2023, Empyrean Towers an affordable housing project in Oakland that is owned by Resources for Community Development (RCD), and managed by the John Stewart Company (JSCo), has rental units going for $750 per month for a studio apartment, and $875 per month for a 1 bedroom unit.
However, Empyrean Towers has a “minimum income requirement” of $2,200 per month for 1 person, which excludes poor people with average social security benefits, or SSDI, or SSI, or CalWorks benefits earning less than $2,200 per month from being eligible to reside there.
Embark Apartments in Oakland owned by RCD has a “minimum income requirement” of $45,700 per year for 1 person.
Additionally, Park Alameda, in Alameda, owned by RCD has a “minimum income requirement” of $2,188 per month for 1 person, excluding the poor from this so-called affordable housing project.
RCD is in the news recently for pulling out of a project to build so-called affordable housing in People’s Park in nearby Berkeley, that probably would have also had “minimum income requirements” excluding the poor from that project.
Empyrean Towers in Oakland, owned by Resources for Community Development (RCD), used to be called the Menlo Hotel or Hotel Menlo, and was owned by wealthy multi-millionaire Richard Singer who landed in prison after pleading guilty to one count of solicitation to commit arson at the low-income residential Menlo Hotel.
Around 8 years ago, Al Jezeera, reported on suspicious fires in the Bay Area, including the arrest and imprisonment of Richard Singer.
Many poor people used to reside in Oakland’s cheap hotels years ago. During 2004, the going rate for a room in an SRO located in the local sleazy for-profit residential hotels for poor people in Oakland, the Sutter Hotel charged $560 per month for an SRO, the Ridge Hotel charged $475 per month, and the Old Oakland Hotel charged from $480 to $520 per month. The Lake Hurst Hotel near Lake Merritt offered SRO rooms for as little as $675 per month, and in addition to the room, they offered renters two free meals a day, five days a week in their dining room, and none of them demanded a “minimum income requirement” to reside in these cheap hotels for the poor.
During August 2022, the average price for a one bedroom apartment in Oakland skyrocketed to $3,022 per month.
Additionally, according to an old leaked report, much of Oakland’s unhoused and homeless problems downtown are a direct result of Oakland’s former Mayor Jerry Brown’s attempts to displace the poor. In 2000, reportedly by Terry Messman of Street Spirit, “A city report leaked to Street Spirit by Lynda Carson (myself), an anti-eviction activist who works with Just Cause Oakland at the time, shows that Mayor Jerry Brown ordered his housing development staff to conduct a survey of all 24 Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels in the Central District and analyze how much it would cost to remove and replace them, presumably with market-rate housing and upscale commercial developments.”
Other Affordable Housing Projects Demanding “Minimum Income Requirements.”
The Civic Center Residences in San Francisco owned by TNDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,100 - $1,200.
The Dalt Hotel in San Francisco owned by TNDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,200 - $1,350.
The William Penn Hotel in San Francisco has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,300 - $1,500.
The Clayton Hotel in San Francisco has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,092.
1535 Jackson in San Francisco owned by CCDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,450 - $1,850.
Swiss American Hotel in San Francisco owned by CCDC, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,150 - $1,350.
Ava Nob Hill in San Francisco owned by Avalon Bay Communities has a “minimum income requirement” of $29,088 per year to rent a studio apartment even though the average social security recipient only has an income of $20,316 per year.
Avalon at Mission Bay in San Francisco owned by Avalon Communities has a “minimum income requirement” of $38,568 for one person.
Martin Luther Tower in San Francisco owned by Martin Luther Tower has a “minimum income requirement” of $34,800 for one person.
Yerba Buena Commons in San Francisco owned by Yerba Buena Commons, has a “minimum income requirement” of $28,000 per year for one person.
The Knox SRO in San Francisco managed by JSCo, has a “minimum income requirement” of $1,544 per month.
The Emery in Emeryville, owned by Lennar Multi-Family Communities has a “minimum income requirement” of $47,950 per year.
Avalon Berkeley owned by Avalon Bay has a “minimum income requirement” of $28,824 per year for 1 person.
Hismen Hin-Nu Terrace in Oakland owned by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) has a “minimum income requirement” of $55,114 per year.
Avalon Senior Housing in Oakland owned by EBALDC has a “minimum income requirement” of $20,000 per year.
Quail Run ll in San Leandro owned by Eden Housing charges $1,823 for a 1 bedroom apartment, but has a “minimum income requirement” 2 times the rent per month.
The evidence is clear that “minimum income requirements” are excluding the poor from the so-called affordable housing projects in the Bay Area, resulting in homelessness as a result.
Additional lists revealing “minimum income requirements” that exclude the poor from so-called affordable housing projects may be found here https://sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/OpenHouseListings.pdf , or here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5edfc8058a79fa72e7b4820e/t/63ac9ee50d649d0d38baf18c/1672257254464/January+2023+Greater+Bay+Area+Affordable+Housing+List+-+Openhouse.pdf , and here https://www.selfhelpelderly.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/San-Francisco-Affordable-Housing-List-March-2022-ENG.pdf .
The question arises. What does it mean to be called a so-called affordable housing project, if the “minimum income requirements” exclude the poor from the projects?
Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com .
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
More about Lynda Carson may be found in the links below...
(IndyBay News Wire)
Longtime tenant activist Eleanor Walden of Berkeley passed away Friday, April 7, 2023
by Lynda Carson (newzland2 [at] gmail.com)
Wed, Apr 12, 2023 8:46PM
Click below…
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2023/04/12/18855450.php
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
Rally To Protect Seniors, the Disabled & Children -
Friday, April 29, 2005
(Lynda Carson is a guest speaker along with Congresswoman
Lynn Woolsey)
Click below for details...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/29/NBGOJCFDP21.DTL&type=printable
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
WINGS broadcast, with Lynda Carson interview by Kellia
Ramares which aired in 7 countries; Subject: Cuts to
subsidized housing programs...
Click below...
http://www.audioport.org/index.php?op=program-info&program_id=2248&nav=&
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
(Lynda Carson guest speaker to promote Million Worker
March - 2004)
Join us in a Speak-Out
Treasurer, AFSCME Local 3506, Chicago Clarence Thomas,
Co-Chair Million Worker March, ILWU Local 10, Lynda
Carson, Women Economic Agenda...
Click below...
http://web.archive.org/web/20090926095233/http://globalwomenstrike.net/English2004/MillionWorkersMarch.htm
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
(San Francisco Chronicle)
Owners told to evict problem tenants
Oakland may act if they refuse
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, February 19, 2004
But longtime tenant activist Lynda Carson said she
feared the new city law would lead to "witch hunts"
against innocent tenants. She said landlords aided by
police would abuse the law to force out longtime
renters and replace them with yuppies willing to pay
more money.
"They really want to gentrify this city,'' Carson
said. "This insidious law makes it easier for
landlords to get rid of anyone they want. They can
just claim you are a nuisance.''
Click below for full story...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/19/BAG5053Q301.DTL
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
The Morning Show for Tuesday, June 1st, 2004 : KPFA 94.1FM Berkeley
Lynda Carson, housing advocate in Oakland and a Section 8 tenant, and Randy Shaw, director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. Morning Show Segue Music: ...
Click below for web stream...
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=2400
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
(Newsweek Magazine)
HOW DONATING $500 TO EX-KKK LEADER DAVID DUKE CAUSED THIS MINNEAPOLIS BAR TO SHUT DOWN
BY CONOR GAFFEY ON 9/3/17 AT 12:15 PM
DeRoma’s donation was first revealed in a post on Indybay (By Lynda Carson) a community news organization based in San Francisco, which has posted records of donors to Duke’s campaign.
Click below...
https://www.newsweek.com/david-duke-kkk-white-supremacists-minneapolis-659014
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
KPFA RADIO - Pushing Limits - With Lynda Carson - July 2015
https://kpfa.org/episode/pushing-limits-july-17-2015/
http://www.pushinglimits.i941.net/?p=1093
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
Rally Slams Housing Authority Leaders
BY Amanda Ott
Contributing Writer
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Upset with the operation of the Berkeley Housing
Authority, a group of Berkeley residents rallied
yesterday evening to call for drastic organizational
changes.
The protest was organized by the community activist
group Save Berkeley Housing Authority, which members
said was formed after four years of mismanagement
within the city's housing authority.
Lynda Carson, founder of the community group, said
her confidence in Berkeley Housing Director Stephen
Barton is further diminished by discrepancies between
his oral and written versions of evaluation results.
Click below for full story...
http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=21450
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
Add Your Comments
Latest Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
City created rules
Tue, Jun 20, 2023 12:02AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$210.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network