Forced Evictions, False Promises Lead to Homelessness
In March, an article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle with the headline “3 public housing complexes to be rebuilt with more units.”
With the excuse that the projects are decrepit, and claiming that they will be “refashioned” into denser neighborhoods, the powers that be have slated countless tenants of Westside Courts in the Western Addition, Potrero Terrace in Potrero Hill, and Sunnydale Projects in Visitacion Valley for evictions.
According to the article, the new agreement is between the Housing Authority and construction companies. The money for the “renovation” would come from both private and public funds.
The article says the quantity of public housing units will remain the same with the addition of, “hundreds of new affordable and market-rate rental units and homes for sale to help offset the costs.”
It is estimated that there will be 3,000 units in the new neighborhoods.
In the shelters, there have been numerous cases of folks of color and youth and senior citizens evicted from apartments and single-resident occupancy hotels (SROs) under similar circumstances. The so-called “justification” was renovation with broken promises of the right to return.
Some of those people who formerly rented in apartments slated to be upgraded now, in actuality, live in SROs—that is, if they are lucky. Many, including many residents of SROs, now panhandle to survive in the streets. Some of these, as well as many others, are homeless or have been forced to leave the city.
Because of the upcoming inevitable crisis of capitalism, cities throughout the nation are closing down public housing: in Atlanta and New Orleans, for example.
During a time of economic and political upheaval, it’s smart, if detestable, policy for those in power to use government apparatus to move the economic and political fighters away from the city, the historical center of political activity for the working class, and the centers of the greatest discontent.
Yolanda Catzalco