Activism

Striking Tenants Negotiate to Purchase Building

Published

6 years ago

March 5, 2020

Tenant strikers and ACCE supporters gather on Thursday, Feb. 27 in the driveway of a 29th Avenue apartment building to announce the owner’s agreement to discuss selling to the Oakland Community Land Trust. Photo by Michelle Snider.

After four months of not paying rent in a unified strike, tenants at a Fruitvale district apartment building in Oakland celebrated on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, after receiving notice the landlord was ready to negotiate a sale.

Oakland Community Land Trust will negotiate the purchase of the building. If an agreement is reached and the building is sold the tenants wish to become owners of the property.

Due to what the tenants expressed as poor maintenance of the building and regular rent increases, some of the tenants stopped paying rent in November 2019 in a unified attempt to get the owner to sell the building.

Seeking to build a statewide and national movement, Director of Alliance of California for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Carroll Fife spoke with the residents on February 27 to give a formal update.

“We are starting a renaissance of housing resistance in the state of California right here in Oakland,” Fife said, “That began on November 18 (2019) with our housing week of action where a group of unsheltered mothers and housing insecure mothers reclaimed a vacant home so their children would not be on the streets.”

Referencing Moms4Housing, Fife said, “One of the main reasons for that action was to show housing should be a human right for everyone.”

Fife said Moms4Housing and the land trust are still in negotiations to purchase the property from owner Wedgewood Inc.

One victory that came from Moms4Housing was people starting to recognize how corporate real estate speculators affect housing, Fife said. According to her, an offer for the purchase of the home will come on Friday.

Despite Wedgewood adding $90,000 to the cost of the home, it would not sell for $800,000 as Wedgewood wanted — which Fife said was another victory. She would not disclose the exact price of the sale.

Fife described the purchasing process with the Oakland Community Land Trust as the trust putting in an offer to buy and negotiating the price. If the owner agrees and contracts are drawn for the purchase, the land trust will own the land.

The land trust will then move into a relationship with the tenants to either become the landlord or transition the tenants into owning the property. They can rent the apartment from the land trust, but the strikers at the 29th Avenue apartment building in Fruitvale want to become owners of the property.

According to The Mercury News, the building’s owner, Calvin Wong, and the land trust are set to meet Wednesday to discuss the potential sale.

Fife made a final announcement about a new Assembly bill (AB-2563) that ACCE will push this year to make housing a human right.

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

Posts by Michelle Snider | Website

Up Next

Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Visits Oakland Restaurant on Super Tuesday

Don't Miss

Community Pushes for Answers on Toxic Chemical Found at McClymonds High

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 7, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

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

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

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

3 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.