Housing Authority Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Recording in progress.

OK, we're bringing the meeting to order. This is the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners special meeting for April 6, 2026. The time is 11.03 AM. Item two is roll call of commissioners. President Doug Shoemaker. Present. Commissioner Luana Kim? Present. Commissioner Marianne Pikes? Present. Commissioner Juan Carlos Cancino? Present. Commissioner Falafuta Satili? Present. Commissioner Cynthia Alvarez? Present. Thank you. Item three is the acknowledgement of the Ramatush Ohlone community.

The housing authority of the city and county of San Francisco acknowledges that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramatush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. As the indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramatish Ohlone have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all people who reside in their traditional territory. As guests, we recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland. We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramatish Ohlone community, and by affirming their sovereign rights as first people. Peoples, excuse me.

Thank you, President. Item 4 is our closed session item for today. We can open for public comment after we introduce this item. And then we will be convening as a board nonpublicly for this item. And this is the Conference with Legal Counsel Existing Litigation to Confer with Legal Counsel Regarding Pending Litigation Pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.9 . the Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco versus Nan McCain Associates, Inc., for the San Francisco County Superior Court case number CGC-23-610309. Is there any public comment regarding closed session?

Well, just an opportunity to speak. Ace Washington, Fillmore Court Ambassador. I was just surprised to see a special meeting. I guess we could comment after you have your closed session, right?

This is the time you would give public comment. There's no public comment after the closed session.

So this is the only time for public comment for this whole meeting? That's correct.

Regarding closed session. Regarding closed session.

So it's technically today the public comment is only regarding the closed session item. But because I think not everyone was aware of that, If you want to make a public comment, we'll just keep it to two minutes.

OK. Thank you, Mr. Shoemaker.

We just want to be respectful of people who came and didn't realize that difference.

I appreciate that, particularly from you, Mr. Shoemaker. I have a special announcement. I probably will be moving in one of your buildings pretty soon. Oh, OK. 1633 Fillmore. I mean, you've got Fillmore. Valencia.

Congratulations.

Well, thank you very much. Yeah, that's a great looking building. I've been in this SRO for 10 years, and my new worker got me in there. So I hope that when you know that I'm there, they're going to say, well, Ace is welcome. Oh, Ace, no, no, don't put him in here.

As it turns out, I no longer work for Mercy Housing, but I think it is a wonderful building, and I'm thrilled that you're moving in there.

OK, so public comment. I want to speak on the six, seven housing developments in the Western Edition. You've got Plaza East, and you've got Hayes Valley, senior, Westside, Hayes Valley. So I need to talk to you about all of those developments in my community, the Western Edition. So we're going to talk about that. What's going on over there?

How are you doing?

OK, so that's all I have to say right now. OK, thank you.

Any additional public comments regarding closed session?

And again, we recognize that people weren't aware that the public comment today is restricted to the closed session. So if you came to make public comment on another end, this is the only time to make public comment.

OK. Hi. My name is Ariane Harrison. I'm the executive director of Marie Harrison Community Foundation, which is a social and environmental group in San Francisco, California, South East sector. I'm here to talk about some of the housing inequity and talk about and address some of the Some of the things that have been occurring in housing units across California by the same companies. The living conditions are erroneous. There's fungus, there's piping that are busted, there are leakings in the ceiling, and I'm speaking specifically of Alice Griffiths up in Hunters Plain, but it's also a reoccurring issue as well as in Fillmore and across California by the same companies. I think this should be drawn to you guys' attention. It is a hazard. There are people that are trapped in their living spaces that are disabled, and the elevator breaks down quite frequently. So that means they're not able to leave their building units. There have been several deaths. People have had to come into the building, go up several flights of stairs just to get a body and remove it. And that's because people have not had access to being able to call for emergency and stuff like that. There's been instances where people have gotten sick in their units that are disabled, that the ambulance has had to go up several stairs in order to get them out of their housing units. We have that. We have piping issues. And that means that there is a lot of leaking and a lot of fungus that's growing. Department of Public Health needs to have better follow up. when it comes to these kind of disparities. And we need for you guys to look into it and to address it.

Thank you, Ms. Harris.

We do have someone online that would like to give a public comment. Evangela, if you'd just unmute yourself. You have two minutes.

Yes. Can you all hear me?

Yes.

OK, thank you. My name is Evangela Brewster. I just want to make sure that housing authority understands that we are with housing authority, so we need to make sure that the part that y'all are supposed to do is done for us where we feel alone. We feel like our voices are not being heard. The things that are happening to us are not. being one understood and also taken serious. We have been dealing with things like this, unhabitable situations for years now. We understand that it's a community thing. So we're asking housing authority to step it up and not only be a voice for us, but listen to what we're saying. People are dying due to the recklessness of a related and John Stewart on top of people are still living it it's like animals in san francisco live better than people um and that's a very distasteful and disdain thing to be the case when literally um we have a big robust community when it comes to young people when it comes to elders when it comes to um making sure that people are able to be heard we need y'all to hear our voices and do something about it Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ms. Brewster. Again, just for clarity's sake, the public comment today is meant to be only on the closed session item, but this is the only time for public comment. So if you came to talk about something else, we're allowing people to make public comment now. Just keep yourself brief if you wouldn't mind.

We right here?

Yes, great.

OK, good morning. My name's Malik Washington. I'm a coordinator with the Marie Harrison Community Foundation. We are an environmentalist and social justice organization. I'm also a journalist. And I've written extensively about the uninhabitability issues throughout the city regarding Related Affordable and Jon Stewart. Those are the two that I've been focused on. We know there's other property managers in the city, Mercy Housing. I'm not talking about Mercy Housing. I'm talking about Related Affordable and Jon Stewart. And I'm talking about Alice Griffiths, which you've heard about probably from Evangela Brewster. Also, we're talking about the problems up on the Hill. Now, what's happening is that Related Affordable and specific actors, Christopher Jones, who is a regional property manager for those properties up there on that hill. I'm talking about Hunter's Point, so we're clear. LaSalle Apartments, Bayview Apartments, Shoreview Apartments. We're talking about those up on the hill, OK? What's happening is, amidst my journalism and my exercise of First Amendment, recently a petition was filed by community members to have the local property manager removed. I published this in my article. Next thing I know, I'm getting emails from tenants and community members telling me that Christopher Jones and his cronies that work for Related Affordable are retaliating against community members. And I have the article right here. I have a series of articles. It's called The Price of Being Poor. We need you guys to do something. OK, and just so you know, the community members in coordination with the Bayview Hunters Point Coordinating Council, has a meeting with Special Assistant Attorney General Alex Fish on Friday at 1 PM. Why are we meeting with an attorney general from Los Angeles who got appointed by Rob Bonta when we have a city attorney right here named David Chu that should be fighting for us? Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Janet Smith. I'm the president of the LaSalle Association. I'm also a resident of Bayview-Hunters Point under related management. I've been here my whole life. Back off what piggybacked what up. He said, I'm the one that got the petition to have the petition started against the manager, Mrs. Tracy McKnight. And I have a copy of the petition I would like to leave with you guys so you can see. And all the signatures are attached. And as he said, now the residents are being retaliated against, questioned by the management, sending her maintenance guys asking, why did you guys sign the petition? When you read the petition, you'll see why they signed the petition. Also, I have a copy. I'm going to leave this here with you. This is who related management is. Stephanie Ross, OK? He's the owner of the Miami Dolphins. also best friends with Trump, a good friend with Trump. And we as the Tenant Association, we put this bulletin out to help our residents to let them know, myself and my Vice VP, Olivia Boudreau, put out, pass it to the residents and let them know for their issues they are having to get in contact with us. Related management, the manager, Tracy McKnight and Christopher Jones, and also it's a guy named Mr. Joe Cross, his name is spelled K-R-O-S-S, not C-R-O-S-S, When we gave these to the residents to know where to come from, help to get in touch with us, a few days later, we let them put this out. Had them take hours down and put this up, where they get in touch with them two to five days later. But we want to help our residents now. They're not here for us. They're taking, they took security gates off of our residents up there. They're very unsafe now. We live in uninhabitable situations. The trash, the garbage, mold, and the rehab they did for us, it wasn't a rehab. It was a cosmetic adventure. They took our iron gates off, put up them Kmart thin gates. The doors do not lock right. They're very cheap. Also, they didn't paint our apartments. It's primer, so if we wash our walls, It's coming off. It's back to the old things. They put up the carpet and put down tiles, which is very, very thin and cheap. The floor is already lifting up. Something needs to be done. And I have this. I want to leave with you guys. Oh. Please, real quick. And this petition has already went to related company. I sent it to the mayor and Shaman's office and HUD, the San Francisco Department of Public, it's building inspection. So I'm handing you guys one. And I'm also leaving these copies with you guys so you can all see what I'm speaking on. Please, we need help up there, okay? And I'm praying for better days. better days better days are coming thank you guys mr williams online you can mute yourself you have two minutes

good morning can you hear me commissioners yes good morning commissioner my name is dennis williams jr executive director of film or community development corporation and chair of the plaza east development advisory committee i'm here today with an urgent case and a systematic failure you can no longer ignore commissioners i've been told to go through the rfq for plaza east and i am but i want to be clear the plaza east is a federal assisted housing and section 3 applies i'm a current resident and a qualified local developer and i've been part of this project for years even recognized by hud as someone who should be included at the development level so my question is simple where in this rfq is there a mechanism that ensures section 3 qualified resident developers are included as co-developers or joint venture opportunities not just as contractors Because without that, we are repeating the same pattern where the community participates in meetings but not in ownership. And then secondly, we have a problem, a very, very serious problem. A single father named Antonio Rushing with a three-year-old daughter who was removed from his support system at our Plaza East Apartments subsequently relocated across town to a John Stewart managed property at Westbrook Apartments on 90 Kiska Road. This was done against his wishes despite vacant units at Plaza East Today he is living in uninhabitable conditions, active plumbing leaks pouring into electrical fixtures, and he just moved there not even 60 days ago, a failing sanitation system, and exposure to unsafe building conditions. On top of that, he is facing gun violence and direct threats, and his child is now disconnected from her medical, school, and stability. This is not an isolated incident, commissioners. This is a pattern. The residents are continuously displaced, meanwhile as you know 800 units sit vacant citywide and conditions across holland's authority properties continue to deteriorate at the same time you guys continue to allocate millions of capital on capital improvements that the people who live there and local builders who could fix these issues and have been telling you guys this we're completely excluded Let's be clear, you're not just failing residents who are failing to use the very workforce and developers from these communities who are ready and capable of doing this work. Today I'm calling for immediate emergency relocation of this family back to Plaza East or a safe equivalent unit. A public report on vacant units versus place residents. and the mandatory inclusion pathways for local union contractors and community-based developers, specifically tied to all San Francisco Housing Authority repairs.

Thank you, Mr. Richards. Your time has expired. Thank you. OK. Seeing no other public comment.

No. OK, we can go to closed session. Just for logistical reasons here, this board will convene in the back room here along with council. And for those that are joining via Zoom, we're going to end the Zoom webinar. However, if you rejoin via the same link, you'll be placed in a waiting room when we have returned from closed session.

SFGov TV. San Francisco Government Television.

SFGov TV San Francisco Government Television

Thank you.

SFGov TV, San Francisco Government Television.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

SFGov TV San Francisco Government Television

you

Housing Authority Commission is back in open session. The Commission met in closed session to confer with Council regarding litigation. The Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco versus Nan McKay and Associates, the Commission met and approved a settlement unanimously with all parties present voting in favor and Commissioner Lai absent. We have approved a settlement, which is now with the attorneys to finalize. Is there anything else that needs to be said on that note? OK. Other than that, we will move for adjournment. Thank you.

Time is 12.17. Thank you.