Eviction Defense Success

This Fall and Winter, there have been at least 3 major resident wins here in Oakland.

Nov 8th- Huge win for the residents of Wood Street. 

The Wood Street Commons, National Lawyer’s Guild, ABC, TANC, HAWG, and nearby housed neighbors, all came together to confront and document the Department of Public Works, OPD and The City Administrator on Homelessness, Latonda Simmons, and her staff. This coalition all worked to support residents living on Wood Street on between 17th and 20th st in resisting illegal eviction attempts by the City of Oakland.

On the Thursday before Monday’s displacement attempt, Carol Fife of District 5’s office, assured organizers of Cob on Wood, a partnered project of ABC, that nobody would be moved from that area and that they shouldn’t fear harassment or displacement. When residents saw the “Notice to Vacate Illegal Encampment” on that Friday, they moved fast to organize with eviction defenders and make a plan to stand their ground. 

Eviction defenders held an emergency meeting the night before the ordeal and by the end of the 2 hour discussion, with members of The Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Free Press Project, residents knew that this community would stand with them.

The day of, was heated but powerful. Lemonte, one of The Wood Street Common’s leaders and a huge eviction defense activist did an amazing job of calling Latonda Simons out. Moments after she shared (to a gathered crowd of those in solidarity with residents) “Nobody will be moved if they don’t want to.” He was about 40 ft away and shouted “Latonda!!! These men are pressuring X to move!” Annmarie of ABC ran over to where OPD’s “Civilian Technician” was attempting to persuade X to relocate down the road. She told the officers and Peet of DPW (the man who’s job it is to convince unhoused folks to self evict during city sweeps) that he does not have to move if he doesn’t want to due to the CDC’s guidelines, the laws Oakland has in place for evictions during a pandemic, and the illegal nature of that invalid eviction notice.

X smiled and joked at Annmarie, “You’re cute when you are mad” to which she responded, “I care a lot about this, they simply cannot do this to you.” “Thank you.” said X and they hugged. The city officials claimed that a local landowner nearby sued them for breaking the terms of the EMP, and this is why they wanted people to move, a reporter Zack Haber checked into this and later found out this was a bold faced lie. Read his article to learn more. 

zackhaber.medium.com/after-wood-street-clearance-homeless-people-stay-5212e9a39cc4

After OPD, and DPW understood that X knew his rights and wasn’t going to get pushed around, they wandered off with their tails between their legs. Later that day, they were successful in displacing two people, a couple and stated their reason as “we need to make space for the people down the road to move here.” The people down the road stood their ground so sadly this couple moved for nothing.

DPW were almost victorious again, convincing a scared resident to give them permission to demolish his late friend’s home. Annmarie has seen this tactic before, these men freak people out to the point of them agreeing to allow their items to be thrown away and homes bulldozed. They are in a state of high anxiety and fear and just want the conflict to be over. Luckily this shelter was shared between multiple people and Mavin, of The Wood Street People’s Collective and HAWG, Homeless Action Working Group stood in front of the bulldozer and told them they cannot destroy this historic home, her friend’s home, because of how long it has stood and because many people she knows use this space for emergency shelter. When volunteers and other residents stood with her, the city had no choice but to close their operations for the day. They did not come back Tuesday or Wednesday and Wood Street was safe from displacement until further notice.

Other victories from this day were when a Wood Street resident Mike shared with Latonda that the water from the “Safe RV site the city built behind where he lives was leaking foul smelling dishwashing water and food waste onto the back of his home. The city totes these designated “Safe RV Sites” as a safer solution to encampments, however, the one on Wood Street still doesn’t have working showers and they don’t have proper drainage for their sinks. This site opened in June of 2021.

Nov 29th- Cypress Freeway Memorial Park

Again Lemonte, and Theo Cedar Jones of the WSC came to lend their support and knowledge to the residents of Cypress Freeway Park to resist illegal eviction. This camp was entirely made up of black people, most of them elders. Urban Compassion Project was there and helped those who wanted to move, relocate to some of the “Safe RV Lots” and assisted residents who preferred to stand their ground. It is important to note that if an unhoused person lives in their car, tent, shelter or rv and stays inside when OPW and DPW ask them to move, there is nothing that these authorities can do to remove them. They would need to come back with a warrant signed by a judge and this could take months and a lot of paperwork to obtain.

Some people left for other sites on the first day. One older man who became recently homeless again after his wife passed and he became too lonely and disorganized to stay in his apartment. He moved all of his items to another street but couldn’t get his car into neutral so volunteers could move it. Luckily the city let his car stay there, because this is where he sleeps.

The second day of this eviction attempt, 3 families remained. They were very tidy and spoke articulately when peacefully confronting Amari of the City Administration on Homelessness. The attempting evictors slowly began to see that those remaining were not willing to leave, so they became desperate. The civilian technician who is close to retirement from OPD, so cannot rock the boat in the position he is in. This is the same man who was harassing X earlier this month, and now he was threatening a man living in the large RV on the street. He said “If you do not leave on your own terms, we will arrest you and impound this vehicle.” Which is fully illegal and could have been the mistake that cost the City of Oakland their loss in this battle of humanity and attempted force. 

The following day, Anthony, the man who was in the role of City Administrator on Homelessness (before it became a role for displacing unhoused folks), arrived and was as peaceful as ever. He was pleased that Stuff was starting to renovate his homemade shelter so that the sidewalk was clear. He was a great diffuser in remedying the very stressful and heated discussions of yesterday.

Near the Rv, there was one final conflict where DPW workers used their bobcat to remove debris. They were driving faster than trash could be sorted and separated from personal possessions. The one worker wanted to show off how swiftly he could maneuver this vehicle and almost smashed a cage with the resident’s dog inside. Volunteers stood in front of the bobcat (mini bulldozer) at this point and told them to turn the engine off. He also came within inches of hitting an electrical pole. Organizers could see that certain OPD officers were growing sympathetic and more aware of the pain and unnecessary anxiety this situation was placing upon exhausted residents and volunteers. They were less aggressive and then grew silent.

After the City’s team came back from break, everyone was told that the three families would be allowed to stay so long as they kept their areas tidy and that the sidewalks were clear. This marks the first time in Oakland’s history where a public park would be stewarded by unhoused residents. This was a huge victory for everyone involved. 

Dec 20th- East Oakland

Tension between residents and local business owners on 45th ave in Oakland grew exponentially leading to an illegal eviction attempt by the city of Oakland the week of Christmas. The business owners were upset that they couldn’t access the sidewalk and feared fire danger (in the pouring rain) that could be caused by unhoused folks cooking and using stoves to heat the inside of their homemade wooden structures.

Residents complained about this business owner for letting their dog poop all over these same sidewalks. The city had fined this business owner for graffiti that muraled the back wall of their business. Later the business owner also shared that he pays an incredibly high sum in taxes, which is true. The city of Oakland and CA charges an arm and a leg for their small business during tax season.

There was a heated moment when the business owner came out with a big grin and was filming the back and forth between Chi-Rack, his advocates, OPD and DPW. The advocates called him out for smiling while a man was going through trauma. No matter what their beef had been in the past, this filming was heartless, shameful and inhumane.

Tensions were high, but a small group of eviction defenders led by Jaz, volunteers and members of HAWG and ABC convinced the city that nobody should be displaced in the rain and during Christmas. It was OPD who made the call, “Nobody will be moved today.” The city reluctantly left after a few folks in tents moved less than a block away, while folks living in their cars, RV and a homemade shelter stayed.

The following week they were back and in less than 7 days, $1500 was raised to purchase an RV for Chi-Rack, the man who lived in the wooden structure. Volunteers helped haul this RV from West Oakland to East Oakland and he was able to relocate his wooden shelter from the sidewalk to the street. He had the help of Lemonte and a handful of volunteers so that the experience would not be as traumatizing as illegal eviction experiences of his past. This is harm reduction in the sense of our actions reduced the impact of the city’s pressure on unhoused peoples here.

The funds raised also went to another family on 45th who were living in tents before. Two used RVs were purchased during the holidays. It is beautiful what a few people can do to help one another out in difficult times. Instead of stand by when others are suffering, stand up for them and find ways to help. The smallest effort can change someone’s situation.

Email us if you have energy to help organize, and defend against encampment displacement at Artistsbuildc@gmail.com

Join Wood Street’s Rapid Response text thread if you wish to defend Wood St. Text EFAM to 18335260406.

Follow Urban Compassion Project on Instagram to stay updated with their projects and to plug in for eviction defense.