Ignacio De La Fuente

COUNCIL PRESIDENT DE LA FUENTE NEGOTIATES SETTLEMENT -- TENANTS WIN $950,000 IN HABITABILITY SUIT & RIGHT TO STAY IN REHABED AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Oakland, CA (October 16, 2000) – This afternoon Judge Tchaikovsky awarded the tenants of Oakland’s Oak Park Apartments $950,000, announced Oakland Council President De La Fuente’s Aide Libby Schaaf at a press conference earlier today at the apartment complex on 2618 East 16^th Street in Oakland. Today’s ruling confirmed a settlement agreement negotiated by De La Fuente that includes:

• $950,000 for the 45 families who’ve suffered from the dangerous and unsanitary conditions at the Oak Park apartments;
• The immediate sale of Oak Park apartments to non-profit developer Affordable Housing Associates (in partnership with EBALDC) to be rehabilitated from 56 units of primarily uninhabitable one-bedroom apartments into 30 units of new 3 & 4-bedroom apartments. Tenant plaintiffs will be able to remain in the newly rehabilitated property and be guaranteed low-income affordable rents.
• The financing of the Oak Park rehabilitation project with $2.231 Million in City of Oakland affordable housing funds.

The four-year legal battle has been led by Oakland tenant attorney Jay Koslofsky, with co-council Paul Wartell, on behalf of 45 Latino and South East Asian families who’ve

been subjected to unsanitary and dangerous living conditions in their 54-unit slum apartment complex. "In my many years of representing tenants in habitability cases, the combination of the monetary award plus the rehab as affordable housing makes the Oak Park award the finest result I’ve ever gotten for tenants," said Koslofsky.

The City of Oakland and mortgage note holder Fannie Mae also played key roles in the litigation. The City waged aggressive code enforcement actions against the property owner, leading to declaring the building a Substandard Public Nuisance and assessing the owner $1,000 a day in fines. De La Fuente negotiated the settlement between the many parties. Fannie Mae participated as part of their greater partnership to support affordable housing in the City of Oakland.

As the tenants celebrated their hard-won victory, they shared the following thoughts:

"We have been here for five years. The worst thing here was when the sewage spilled all over our floor and the bathroom ceiling leaked from the second floor. They never even replaced our carpet afterwards. I’m very grateful for this settlement because we don’t know how bad the conditions would get otherwise. I hope the new apartments would make the conditions more healthy for my children."

"I have been here for three and a half years. My children constantly get rashes and flu-like symptoms because of the mold in our unit. I’m very happy about our case and hope that they’ll tear this place down for new apartments."

"I’ve been here from Cambodia since 1987 with my wife and three kids. Right now, I’m studying and working to get off welfare, but I receive less money than before. I’m worried a lot about rents going up. When they fix this place, I can get a bigger place that will be affordable."

"Our attorneys and Councilmember De La Fuente’s office have been instrumental in helping us reach a settlement. Yet what was even more significant to me was the unity of our tenants association, which includes Asian Americans, Latinos and whites. For over three years, we’ve fought to get our units repaired, and now we actually get to have permanent, affordable housing. I hope our victory encourages more immigrants and low-income people to fight for their rights as well."

If you believe you may have unsafe or unsanitary conditions in your apartment, please call the City of Oakland’s Code Compliance Complaint Line at (510) 238-3381.

# # #