Activism

City Begins Wood Street Homeless Encampment Clearance and Faces Protest

Published

6 years ago

November 7, 2019

On Nov. 5 and 6, the City of Oakland began a clearance operation of a homeless encampment on a privately owned tract of land west of Wood St in West Oakland and were met with local residents who protested against displacing homeless people.

“I’ve developed relationships with people that live there and I understand that their situation is precarious,” said local resident Dale Smith, who protested on Nov. 6. “I don’t think the solution the city is putting forth is going to work.”

The city plans to eventually clear the lot, which runs about quarter mile from north to south. Oakland residents have lived there for over five years in vehicles, tents and self-made structures. No one knows exactly how many people live on the site, but most residents claim there are over 100. The lot has become more crowded recently as residents have been evicted from other areas of the city. Some residents claim that police officers directed them to the site.

“The city has been reviewing the idea of converting this privately owned lot to a safe RV parking area that would serve West Oakland RV dwellers,” said assistant city administrator Joe DeVries, “but the owner would need to clean it thoroughly first.”

The land is owned by a corporation called GameChanger LLC, but the city hasn’t stated who the individual owner is. The East Bay Times has reported that GameChanger LLC’s owner agreed to lease the land to the city for the next two to three years free of charge. As the city’s stated goal for Nov. 5 and 6 was to clear all vehicles from the site, GameChanger also agreed to pay the estimated quarter million dollar towing bill to the city.

The city’s communication director, Karen Boyd, claims OPD identified 139 vehicles that needed to be towed. Although the majority of the vehicles were abandoned, many of the lot’s RVs, vans, and buses serve as homes for people who are unable to afford housing in Oakland.

Past Oakland homeless clearances and evictions have resulted in people losing their vehicle-homes to impound lots. The poorest of the poor were especially vulnerable to these losses, as vehicle-homes that no longer ran were most likely to be impounded. Since many of the lot’s residents had been evicted before and lost their vehicle-homes, they, and the protestors supporting them feared they would lose them again.

On Nov. 5, over 35 housed protestors joined their unhoused neighbors, held signs and chanted “shame” and “quit your jobs” as police officers walked through the lot, directing people out of the way so tow operators could tow vehicles. Some of the signs read “Don’t tow our homes,” “Stop the evictions,” and “Ayuda no destruye,” which means “help don’t destroy” in Spanish.

After word spread that during the present clearance vehicles that served as people’s homes would be towed off the lot and unto Wood Street, as opposed to impound lots, the number of protestors dwindled, though homeless people and their housed supporters were still unhappy with the move. Around a dozen protestors showed up on Nov. 6.

Natasha Noel, a lifelong Oakland resident who was evicted from her home of 17 years, sits in front of her RV with a sign rested on it that says “I live here. this is my home.” Photo by Zack Haber

“It’s more of a safety zone in here and out on streets it’s more public,” said Jennifer ‘Harley’ Boslar, who was forced to move from the lot, “I feel like accidents can happen. A car could run into your RV. A semi-truck could run into your RV. People can get easier access to your RV than they can behind the fence.”

Wood Street, where many of the vehicles were moved, is a major route for big rig trucks. The Wood Street lot sits behind a fence with two small entrances, so residents have an easier time monitoring who approaches their vehicle-homes.

As of the night of Nov. 6, 15 vehicle-homes remain on the site. Police were unclear about when the remaining vehicles would be moved as the clearance was only originally planned to be a two day operation.

Natasha Noel, who grew up in Oakland and was recently evicted from her home of 17 years, still lives in an RV on the site and wants to stay there.

“I don’t feel like [moving] is a safe option at all,” said Noel. “On the street we’re likely to be towed at any second.”

Zack Haber

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.