Posts Tagged ‘tenants’
Friday, November 30th, 2012
Ah mem’ries from all the way back in aught-eight – let’s hear from Angelo ”Father of Rent Control” Sangiacomo from back in the day:
“Who the hell is building buildings today, 440 rentals in San Francisco, and paying all cash? With rents down there at $500 and $700?”
Now, what are the chances that hundreds of people will be renting $500 studios in a new building at Eight and Market anytime soon?
Absolute zero.
Oh well.
Oh, here it is, the old Trinity Plaza at Eighth and Market and its replacement, the new Trinity Place, just behind:
Click to expand
Speaking of which, the existing tenants of Trinity Plaza need to move out soon, you know, for the soon-to-come implosion of the old building, but what’s up with all of these cleaning demands coming from Management?
Let’s hear from a youthful tenant who’s losing his place:
“Now we get forms with detailed instructions on everything that needs to be cleaned before you move out. In my mind, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom / toilet / sinks / oven etc should be enough. There are some pretty weird demands in here considering this building is being demolished. Some examples:
All carpets must be vacuumed and shampooed
Wood or linoleum floors must be mopped, waxed or polished using appropriate cleaning products.
Clean sink(s). Hardware should be clean, free of water spots and shiny
Cabinets must be cleaned inside and out. Scrub fronts clean to remove fingerprints and food.
Clean baseboards and coving. Clean, mop and wax linoleum floors with appropriate cleaning products.”
I cry foul.
On It Goes…
Oh, and for the record, this is the Senator Carole Migden Law - it’s in effect statewide:
“If the tenant and landlord cannot reach an agreement on the amount of the security deposit returned, the tenant can file a lawsuit against the landlord for return of the security deposit. The tenant can sue for:
- The amount of the deposit, plus
- Twice the amount of the security deposit in damages. The judge may give the tenant these additional damages if the landlord retained the deposit in bad faith.
The tenant can sue the landlord in small claims, which is informal and inexpensive, as long as the total amount sued for is $10,000 or less. Click for more information on Small Claims.”
Tags: 2012, 8th, Angelo Sangiacomo, apartments, apt, bay area, california, Carole Migden, central market, civic center, deposit, eighth, Father of Rent Control, implosion, law, market, mid market, rent, San Francisco, Senator, Senator Carole Migden Law, street, studio, studios, tenants, trinity, trinity place, trinity plaza
Posted in housing | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Horses, that’s why. Police horses, that is.
JHP poo, tourists, the Embarcadero, and Ferry Building. Welcome to San Francisco!
Click to expand
Perhaps the super-whiny whiners in the the area, such as Boston Properties* and whoever, will start writing sneaky letters to SFGov about how they’re going to sue, sue, sue over horse poo now?
Perhaps.
So, now that OccupySF is over, area property owners are happy? Really? Mmmm.
And who was it, was it Hawaiian Airlines or Disney what was demanding the end of OccupySF? Maybe I’ll look into that and see how they feel about Occupy. [Cough, boycott, cough.]
On It Goes…
*Owner of Embarcadero Center or someplace. (Now isn’t that a great name for a San Francisco company?)
Tags: (415), 2011, action, allen matkins, attorney, attorneys, bay area, building, california, chief, city attorney, cops, customers, damage, demand, Disney, ed lee, edwin lee, Embarcadero Center, encampment, four embarcadero center, Greg Suhr, harry bridges park, Hawaiian Airlines, holiday, horses, ICE, illegal, injunction, Justin Herman Plaza, law, leck gamble mallory & natsis, letter, letters, lighting, LLC, LLP, marshall c wallace, Mayor, mickey mouse, neighbors, occupy, occupysf, officers, police, poo horse\, San Francisco, skating, taint, tenants, three, toy story
Posted in police, protests | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
Our Teatro ZinZanni has a new home, but Sarah Duxbury says that some heavy lifting still needs to be done.
No matter, TZ’s cabaret performers were on hand all smiles yesterday at the news conference* in the “50 Broadway” parking lot near the Embarcadero. This location will be ZinZanni’s new home, if everything works out.
(I’ll tell you, I can’t tell the difference betwixt Gavin Newsom running the Newsom Administration and Ed Lee running the Newsom Adminstration, fundamentally. I mean, Ed Lee is not an impetuous asshole, so that means he behaves better, he tends to show up at these kinds of functions with a smaller entourage and less drama. That’s good, I s’pose…)
Oh, there he is, to the right of the gorgeous Martian(?) lady:
Click to expand
See how this will work? The famous European tent they use will go behind the new building:
All the deets after the jump.
And get over to highly-rated ZinZanni (if you can still get tickets, perhaps on a Wednesday or Thursday) before they shut down on the night of December 31, 2011. It really is quite an experience.
* I didn’t stick around for the Bauer’s “Intelligent” Transportation part of the presser. You know, you really need to work hard at sucking to get a Yelp rating this low.** But Bauer’s is well-connected to SFGov, so there you go, there’s your bidness model.
**Even with the work of shill reviewers avec their bogus five-star ratings…
(more…)
Tags: 2009, 2011, 27-29, 27/29, 34th, 34th America’s Cup, America’s Cup, arts, bauer, Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation, Bauer’s Transportation, bay area, board, boat, broadway, cabaret, california, CEO, Challenger Series, David Chiu, dinner, district 3, district 6, ed lee, edwin, Edwin M. Lee, founder, gary bauer, home, intelligent, James Herman, James R. Herman, Jane Kim, jobs, Lee, limo, limousine, lot, Louis Vuitton Cup, Mayor, Mayor Ed Lee, Norman Langill, not-for-profit, OEWD, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, on the air, parking lot, Pier 27, pier 29, Pier 50, Piers 27/29, PORT OF SAN FRANCISCO, president, race, San Francisco, San Francisco Waterfront Special Area Plan, Sarah Duxbury, Supervisor, Teatro, Teatro ZinZanni, tenants, theatre, transportation, waterfront, yacht, yelp, ZinnZanni
Posted in art, food and drink | No Comments »
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
My, how things have changed in three decades.
Let’s hear from Jesse Jackson today, talking about 1982, you know, back before you were born:
“Ed Lee stood with immigrants, seniors and tenants to protect them from deportation, wage theft and eviction.”
All right. Now, I don’t know, some people deserve to get deported and/or evicted, it all depends.
But nobody deserves wage theft, right?
And yet, what do you call this? (So we should have HSCO / Healthy San Francisco money go back to companies and restaurants and whathaveyou because that’s what the companies and restaurants want? Apparently.)
And Ed Lee “stood with tenants,” back in the day? All right, Jessie, but what about now? What about this? Is Ed Lee now, as the article suggests, the “preferred candidate for landlords” and those who “run tenants out” of San Francisco apartments? Well, yes, obviously. Who else, among the major candidates, could fit this description?
I mean, is there any conservative group / institution / political party / whatever in San Francisco what doesn’t support Ed Lee for Mayor?
And yet, there’s Jessie in there, chanting the mantra: ED LEE Gets It Done:
So, say it, Jessie:
I, Jesse Jackson, join with the San Francisco Republican Party* to offer my support for the election of Ed Lee as Mayor of San Francisco.
Say it.
Say it!
*Check it from the SFGOP.Org in the “OUR ENDORSEMENTS” section: “Supported for Mayor – Ed Lee mayoredlee.com.“ Now, do the San Francisco Democrats support or endorse Ed Lee? No, not at all.
Tags: 2011, bay area, california, Democrat, ed lee, Existing Building Operations and Maintenance, gets it done, jesse jackson, landlords, Mayor, operation, push, republican, Rev., San Francisco, tenants, Wage theft
Posted in paranormal, politics | No Comments »
Friday, September 30th, 2011
[UPDATE: Famous photographer Steve Rhodes is on the scene right now:
Step 1: Kiss the bride under the largest classical dome in the western hemisphere;
Step 2: Evacuate
Via Steve Rhodes - click to expand]
All that hullabaloo in Civic Center this AM is just CIVIC RESPONSE 2011.
Deets below.
The calm before the storm:
Click to expand.*
All the deets:
“Multi-Agency Joint Evacuation Exercise – Civic Center Area - ”Civic Response 2011″ – September 30th 2011, 10:30am
Exercise Overview
This will be a coordinated multi-organization joint evacuation drill involving the facilities management and security agencies, as well as the involved building tenants from within the San Francisco Civic Center area. This multi-agency drill will involve civilian and uniformed responders from the local and state government levels and is aimed at helping ensure public safety in the event of an actual emergency.
There will be approximately 1,500-1,800 building tenants evacuated and dozens of responders involved in this exercise. The participating agencies will activate their fire alarm plans and evacuate their tenants to pre-designated locations at Civic Center Plaza, UN Plaza, and the War Memorial area.
Participating Buildings – City Hall, Dept Public Health at 101 Grove Street, UC Hastings College of the Law, Veteran’s Building at 401 Van Ness.
The Command Post will be the SF PUC Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV) which will be parked on Grove Street between Polk and Larkin across from the Bill Graham Auditorium.
Mission: All participating buildings will execute their evacuation plans simultaneously and safely while keeping aware of the other facilities tenants.”
More deets, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: 101 Grove, 2011, 401 Van Ness, Airwing, bill graham auditorium, bride, buildings, ceremony, City Hall, civic center, civic center plaza, Civic Center Work Group, Civic Response, Civic Response 2011, college, command post, department, Department of Emergency Management, dept., dome, evacuation, exercise, fire, Fire Drill, General Services Agency, Goal, grove, gsa, larkin, law, marriage, media, mission, Mobile Command Vehicle, Multi-Agency Joint Evacuation Exercise, Polk, public health, Public Safety Department, radio, Real Estate Division, safety, September 30th, September 30th 2011, SF PUC, sffd, SFPD, SFPUC, sheriff, street, tenants, uc hastings, UN Plaza, university of california, Veteran's Building, War Memorial, wedding
Posted in government, health | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
I hope this ad was for free (because nobody else in the world wants to pay to advertise on this particular bus and the space would go to waste otherwise?).
Hey SFGOV, if you wanted to advertise something, how about the minimum wage in the 415? Lots of people don’t seem to know that one yet.
Anyway, it’s your San Francisco Rent Board. Hurray!
Click to expand
San Francisco Rent Board
San Francisco Rent Board 8 AM – 5 PM,
25 Van Ness Ave., Suite 320 Monday – Friday excluding holidays
San Francisco, CA 94102-6033 Phone: 415-252-4602
(Cross street is Market Street) Fax: 415-252-4699
Senior Staff:
Executive Director Delene Wolf
Deputy Director Robert Collins
Senior Administrative Law Judges Sandy Gartzman and Tim Lee
Rent Board Supervisor Jennifer Rakowski
Counseling: Drop-in
Due to limited staffing, we do not have the capacity to respond to inquiries by email. However, Rent Board counselors are available at the Rent Board’s office from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM each working day. Due to high demand and a limited number of staff, there can sometimes be delays in speaking with a counselor. Counseling sessions at the office are generally limited to 10 minutes.
Phone Counseling – 415-252-4602:
You can receive personal assistance by phone during phone counseling hours, which are 9:00 AM – Noon and 1:00 – 4:00 PM, Monday – Friday, excluding holidays. Because of demand, calls may be limited to 5 minutes. It is helpful if you have your questions written down before you speak with a counselor.
Info-to-Go – 415-252-4600:
Call our 24-hour Info-to-Go phone system to hear automated information on over 80 topics of interest to tenants and landlords. All of the recordings are available in English, Spanish and Chinese. Use the Info-to-Go Table of Contents (pdf) to facilitate your call and access the most relevant information. Printed versions of the Info-to-Go topics are also available on our website and through our Fax Back system.
Fax Back – 415-252-4660:
To obtain copies of the Rent Ordinance, Rules and Regulations, Rent Board forms and other printed information, you can download them from our web site or call our 24-hour Fax Back system and have the documents automatically faxed to you within minutes. Use the Fax Back Table of Contents (pdf) to locate the documents you want to fax yourself. Many of our forms and documents are available through the Fax Back system in Spanish and Chinese.
Other Important Phone Numbers:
Administrative Offices Only 415-252-4601
TTY 415-554-9845
Rent Board Hearing Coordinator 415-252-4629
Rent Board Appeals Clerk 415-252-4644
Duplication Requests and File Review 415-252-4661
Multiple Language Assistance:
We have bilingual staff in the following languages: Spanish and Cantonese. We also have a telephonic language line interpretation service available in 20 languages for limited English speakers who visit our office. Our 24-hour automated telephone information line (Info-to-Go) is available in Spanish and Chinese. In addition, many of our forms and documents are available in Spanish and Chinese through our Website and Fax Back system.
The Rent Board staff does not provide translation services at hearings or mediations. However, if you are unable to afford the services of an interpreter, you can file a Hardship Application for interpreter services and the Rent Board will hire an interpreter for you. Hardship applications for interpreter services can be obtained at the Rent Board’s office and must be filed at least 72 hours before the hearing or mediation. American sign language interpreters are also available upon 72 hours request.
Website: www.sfgov.org/rentboard
Our comprehensive website offers users 24-hour access to printable versions of: agendas and minutes of the Rent Board Commission’s meetings; monthly and annual statistical reports; the San Francisco Rent Ordinance; the Rent Board’s Rules and Regulations; the Uniform Hotel Visitor Policy; over 80 topics of interest to landlords and tenants; 10 in-depth Fact Sheets on major landlord/tenant issues; Rent Board petitions and other forms; news and announcements; our customer survey, and more. Many of our forms and documents are available on our website in Spanish and Chinese.
Tags: 2011, 25 van ness, 252-4602, ad, Administrative Law Judge, advertisement, alj, bay area, bus, california, Delene Wolf, Deputy Director, Executive Directo, Info-to-Go, Jennifer Rakowski, landlord, mediation, Muni, Phone Counseling, rent board, Robert Collins, San Francisco, San Francisco Rent Board, Sandy Gartzman, senior, SFMTA, street, Supervisor, tenants, Tim Lee
Posted in government | No Comments »
Friday, January 16th, 2009
Here’s the Message of the Year for tenants living in San Francisco – if your landlord defaults on his or her mortgage or fails to pay the utilities during these difficult times, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you will have to move out of your residence. City Attorney Dennis Herrera just created a big memo going over all the details, but if you’ve got a problem you shouldn’t worry about that – you should get help, possibly for free.
“Though the legal advice was issued as a published, public interest memorandum, Herrera urged tenants facing possible adverse consequences of property foreclosures to consult with private legal counsel or appropriate community organizations for information relating to their particular circumstances. Resources that may be available to tenants dealing with these matters include the following:
* The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Lawyer Referral and Information
Service
Online: http://www.sfbar.org/lawyerreferrals/
Phone: (415) 989-1616
* The San Francisco Tenants Union
Online: http://www.sftu.org/
Phone: (415) 282-6622
* Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco
Online: http://www.hrcsf.org/
Phone: (415) 703-8634
* Comite De Vivienda (St. Peter’s Housing Committee)
Online: http://www.comitedevivienda.org/
Phone: (415) 487.9203
* Asian Law Caucus
Online: http://www.asianlawcaucus.org/
Phone: (415) 896-1701
* AIDS Housing Alliance
Online: http://www.ahasf.org/
Phone: (415) 552-3242
San Francisco’s happy warrior, keeping busy in 2009:
Here are the full deets.
Herrera Asserts Rights of S.F. Tenants During Foreclosure Crisis
Legal Memorandum Outlines Rights of Tenants to Stay in Rentals, Receive Utility Service When Property Owners Face Foreclosure
SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 16, 2009) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera today issued a public memorandum detailing the rights of tenants in San Francisco under state and local law to remain in their rental units and continue to receive utility service when residential property owning landlords face foreclosure by creditors or delinquency on utility bills.
“It’s vitally important for tenants to know their rights and understand how to protect themselves from losing their homes if a landlord defaults on a mortgage or utility service,” Herrera said. “Though San Francisco has been lucky so far to avoid the widespread crisis we’ve seen in other cities, foreclosures here are still on the rise. State and local law affords tough protections for most tenants, and prudence dictates knowing your rights and the availability of legal and community resources in the event they’re needed.”
Herrera’s 11-page memo, which was issued to Acting Director of the Department of Building Inspection Vivian Day, PUC General Manager Ed Harrington and Director of Public Health Dr. Mitch Katz, holds that the San Francisco Rent Control Ordinance protects tenants in rent controlled units from evictions as a result of foreclosure on the deed of trust or mortgage of the building.
The memo confirms that existing policies of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission shield all City tenants from termination of water and wastewater services when property owners become delinquent on payments, and identifies provisions of state and local law to compel such privately-owned utilities as PG&E to continue gas and electric service when a public health or building officer certifies its necessity to protect life, health or safety. State and local law additionally provide for penalties for violations by private utilities of up to $1,000 per day, and recovery of attorneys’ fees for prevailing litigants.
Tags: city attorney, dennis, evictions, foreclosure, herrera, landlord, law, San Francisco, tenants
Posted in housing | 2 Comments »
Thursday, August 21st, 2008
Here it is in today’s San Francisco Chronicle: “If landlord delays fixes, ‘repair and deduct.‘” Click on over and read what “Property Manager Robert Griswold” has to say.
So, all that is fair enough, as far as it goes. But, gees Louise, there are caveats galore that could be appended to the pithy advice found in the article. How about a link to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, where they have all sorts of advice about reparing and deducting, including this:
“Each of these remedies has its own risks and requirements, so the tenant should use them carefully”
Or as a commenter at SFGate.com suggests, check out Berkeley’s Nolo, “your legal companion since 1971.”
The Nolo outlet at 950 Parker in Berkeley.
Now back in the day, you could guess at the law and everything would generally work out. But those days are over. Basic ideas that were burned into the California Constitution in the 1800′s have been tinkered with incessantly. Thusly.
Now all that can be good or bad. If your former landlord is thinking about retaining your security deposit in bad faith, the law created by Senator Carole Migden‘s old Assembly Bill 2330 might give him or her reason to pause. So that’s good.
But let’s say your flaky roommate took off for Tibet two months ago and left some of his stuff around – exactly how you go about handling things is important. Very important. If you guess at the law or use your own sense of what’s right, then you might make painful mistakes. That’s bad.
Ces’t la vie en Calfornia.
Anyway, If your landlord delays fixes, consider repairing and deducting. How’s that for a headline?
Tags: board, california, chronicle, chronilce, control, deduct, eviction, landlord, Property manager, rent, repair, Robert Griswold, San Francisco, sfgate, tenants
Posted in real estate | Comments Off
