City Government
Programs Halted at West Oakland Youth Center
Ongoing programing at the West Oakland Youth Center, an island of services for some of the city’s young people most in need of job training and support, have been disrupted as the city so far has failed to renew the contract that allows the center to operate.
The center’s director and advisory group members say they want the city to expedite the reopening of the center, which has been closed since Jan. 6, laying off staff and young people who work at the site.
They are calling for the city to be more transparent in its dealing with the center, located at 3233 Market St.
“You can’t be letting the safety net be ripped apart, and you don’t even tell anybody,” said Jumoke Hinton Hodge, a member of the center’s advisory group and the Board of Education.
“The language of the city is temporary closure, but the center has been five weeks without a contract and no communication,” said Liz Derias-Tyehimba, the center’s director.
Neither the Office of the Mayor or the City Administrator responded to the Post’s questions.
In an email statement to the Post, West Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney said these facts are not correct.
“The center is not closed,” she said.
On Wednesday at 3 p.m.,
a sign center at the West
Oakland Youth Center said
the center was open. But
the building was closed
However, a visit to the center yesterday at 3 p.m. revealed a big sign on the front that said, “We are open!” But the building was closed.
Councilmember McElhaney said the decision to close the center was made by its director.
“At the time of that decision, the city and the fiscal agent had been working to clarify and resolve several issues of operational and management concern that must be addressed. This resulted in a delay in the execution of the contract,” said McElhaney.
The issue is that this is the third time the city has had a lapse in procuring the contact in the last four years, said Derias-Tyehimba.
But there is no reason that the concerns are not worked out before the contract is allowed to expire, she said. There is no reason that the center should be closed, and youth should not be going without the programs that they desperately need.
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Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
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Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
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IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.
He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.
Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.
Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.
Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.
He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.
A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.
His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.
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