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East Oakland Residents Take Mayor Schaaf on Tour of Neglected Flatland Streets

Published

10 years ago

September 18, 2015

On Saturday morning, dozens of East Oakland residents gathered in Elmhurst Park to await the arrival of Mayor Libby Schaaf, who had been invited to take a brief tour to witness what neighbors describe as years of neglect and disinvestment in their flatland neighborhoods.

People organizing with the community group Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) were calling on Mayor Schaaf to support “Equal Investment” in East Oakland – to fix crumbling streets and potholes and ensure that communities throughout East Oakland benefit from large scale development projects.

ACCE presented a letter to the mayor with two demands, asking her to sign her name at the bottom of the document to demonstrate her commitment to the neighborhoods.

The first demand in the letter was to work with the newly formed Department of Race and Equity to create a policy that “permanently sets aside a percentage of Oakland’s Measure BB funds for infrastructure repair to Oakland’s flatland communities, based on equity, race and income.”

The group suggested that the city’s current “80-20 model” for determining street pavement prioritization fails to take racial or income demographics into account and results in a great majority of Measure BB funds going toward fixing roads in Oakland’s “more upscale and “emerging” neighborhoods,” rather than in communities that need them most.

“The mayor claims the “80-20 model” is more cost effective because it costs less to fix streets that are not terribly crumbling,” said Kamara Wilson, secretary and treasurer of ACCE.

“But the places where more people of color and lower-income families live, where the streets are crumbling more and more and cars are torn up more, they don’t get prioritization,” said Wilson.

The second demand was to keep any Measure BB or any Public Funds out of the proposed Coliseum City Development without a written community benefits agreement, regardless of which developer is eventually chosen.

During the event on Saturday, neighbors shared personal accounts with Mayor Schaaf about the difficulties of living in their community caused by the safety risks associated with poor street conditions.

“It is difficult to leave our houses, and we have to take long detours to find a good path to reach our destinations,” said East Oakland resident and ACCE chair member José Paranguero.

“Our elderly can easily trip on the uneven sidewalks, our neighborhood is not wheelchair accessible, and mothers cannot walk through their own streets with their baby strollers,” said Paranguero.

The group led Mayor Schaaf on a short walking tour of an adjacent street, pointing out large potholes, crumbling asphalt on the streets and even a large hole that was big enough to hold an entire upside-down traffic cone.

Mayor Schaaf refused to sign the letter and was given the opportunity to respond in front of the crowd.

“I encourage you to become educated yourself about how you can better utilize the levers of government,” she said. “The systems of government are difficult and complicated to control because of how bureaucratic they are.”

Mayor Schaaf promised that the city would not enter into a development contract on Coliseum City without a community benefits agreement.

“The City of Oakland needs a public lands policy that must be approved by City Council, and I am happy to work with you on it before it is proposed,” she said.

The mayor also said she is willing to take a new look “80-20” funding model for allocating repair funds.

“We can open up and re-explore Oakland’s 80-20 policy to see if you really want to change the policy,” she said. “I think you want to look at the data to make sure it’s what you want.”

Members of ACCE said they had looked at the data and were certain they would like to the policy to change.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.