May 14, 2007
Never a Dull Moment in the TL
We've all had to deal with loud, bothersome neighbors moving in next door, right? Just imagine having the neighbors at the Seneca Hotel, operated by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. The city supplies the THC with folks in need, and the clinic must oblige by providing housing, no matter how uncomfortable those folks might make the hotel's non-clinic residents. One such resident -- he moved in years ago, when it was just a normal hotel -- has set up a video blog to collect the awkward scenes by which he finds himself surrounded: shouting tenants, drug dealers, petty theft, all caught on tape. Is the clinic to blame? No way, says the clinic; while their blogging gadfly says yes, absolutely.
For their part, the clinic told us that they evict any tenant who behaves very poorly. A search of SF Superior Court records for "Tenderloin Housing Clinic" as plaintiff reveals that they do invite a lot of people to leave. (Mostly due to non-payment of rent.) In emails to us, the owner of the blog says that the clinic's monitoring of clients has recently improved, but he still doesn't think there's much oversight. He's got a litany of complaints -- the THC allowed a tenant to be taken scammed by a domestic-partnering con artist, he says, and they have sex offenders living illegally in the building, and he says that Randy Shaw (the clinic's executive director) is using the clinic for financial gain.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is any of that true? Well, some of it is -- a sex offender does live at the hotel, but not illegally. (Sex offenders can't get public housing, but the clinic is legally distinct from public housing.) And it's pretty obvious that Randy Shaw isn't running the clinic for monetary gain; he's doing it because he believes it's the right thing to do for the people and the neighborhood.
But that's not much comfort to the guy who lives in the midst of the shouting and crime. Whether the clinic causes or relieves the neighborhood's problems, all he sees is a parade of criminals and a callous, uncaring clinic.
If you woke up to found your home surrounded by a bunch of strangers, some of whom unable or unwilling to live civilly and independently, you'd probably freak out a bit too. Then again, if you were in a desperate housing situation, you'd probably also find yourself thankful that the Tenderloin Housing Clinic exists. We hope everyone can work something out.
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"One such resident -- he moved in years ago, when it was just a normal hotel."
Years ago, the Seneca was operated by a total slumlord and residents couldn't get basic code enforcement issues resolved. Years ago, the Seneca didn't have full-time professional maintenance staff.
I'm not saying that THC solved all the problems by taking it over, but any objective person will have to admit that the tenants are better off with it being a THC Hotel.
Hi, just a couple of minor clarifications. It's not illegal for sex offendors to live in THC buildings, no. It's illegal, or it's not allowed for any convicted felons to live in public housing, which is funded by HUD and the Department of Human Services
the problem I have is that THC and public housing in SF gets funding from the same source, but one is public, the other is a private non profit..same funding two different standards.
as for making money from it, non profits are allowed to make money, and Randy Shaw does have a nice house in the Berkeley hills. I've heard rumours for years of large amounts of public money disappearing, but I can't find proof.
what's needed for Tenderloin Housing Clinic is a full scale audit. I don't have a copy of it, but THC once posted agood news about a cash influx to fix the elevator. It was large amount, over 100,000 dollars. Some people have told me it was over a million dollars. Either way, their conytracts are posted at DHS website.
this funding to get the elevator fixed?...oh yeah, that was over 5 years ago...still not fixed
Wow. If you live in the Bay Area and feel like you're struggling with high housing costs, rent, mortgages, etc., thinking you've got it bad, check out this video. Chances are, you don't have it as bad as the people who live there.
Definitely put my occasionally shout-y apartment neighbors in perspective!
Remember this when Randy Shaw is lobbying against more housing that doesn't go through his nonprofits.
Your tax dollars at work.
Divas Live: TL 2007
There's a sex offender listed as living in the $42 million HUD Hayes Valley HOPE VI Housing Development. Just look in meganslaw.ca.gov under zip code 94102 and zoom in on Haight between Webster and Buchanan.
Oral copulation with a minor under 14, now living in a spanking new townhouse courtesy of HUD and SFHA.
Wait, this person can't afford to live in a better place than this obvious dump, but he can afford a vide camera? :S
some times people loan their equipment.
too address paul Hogarth comments about the Seneca being owned by a slumlord years ago, that's right..In 2001 the Seneca was sold to the notorious Patels, and they proceed to let the hotel fall apart..there was crack everywhere, fires almost daily. tHC sued, and now they have a master lease with the same patel slumlord.
what I'm talking about is BEFORE 2001 when the original owners, the Raynals owned..this place was spic and span compared to both the Patels and THC. they wouldn't let people in here unless they had a job, now it's the exact opposite..you can't get in here if you have a job. You8 must be on welfare first.
years ago,..before 2001, the Seneca did have a unionized professional staff. They even came in once a week and replaced the bed sheets if you wanted that.. I remember the next week after Raynal sold it to Patel, after the fires, Raynal came in here, and he took one look at the place and shook his head. He was disgusted.
Yes, it is an improvement over when the Patels ran it themselves, but definitely not an improvement from when the Raynals owned and operated it.
and part of the problems is having extremely high maintainance costs, because of the clientèle THC brings in here. The taxpayers are paying for this now either way you look at it
There is no arrangement in which taxpayers would not wind up paying to support the people who are unable/unwilling to do so themselves. Somebody has to, one way or another; and who else is going to do it?
this person is on rent control since 1995. When this person first moved in to this building, it wasn't like this. This rent control means it's at least 100 dollars less amonth for the same room THC charges even to the welfare clients, which is one reason why this person can afford a camera..and being employed helps too
hey matt, I'm not knocking the concept of housing the homeless. who else is going to do it?..How about Tenderloin neighborhood Develpment Corp, also a non profit, and from what I hear, mortal enemy of THC. But from everything I've seen, TNDC does a better job, and even has some former THC refugees there.
I'm sure one could get crime stats for each and compare the two that way. Who follows their own rules better. I noticed for example on Craigslist recommended non profits, TNDC is there but THC is not...why is that?...
there's lots of things to look at in the big picture. Maybe now there's more pressure for THC to clean up their act a little.
Keeping it up to buidling code is the one thing I can say THC does..well, almost, because some of the clients daily try to bring that down again :P
some people shouldn't be here at all, IMHO..One woman last week went outside and just started smashing car windows for no reason..they took her away, but not to the funny farm, only to the police station and she's right back here again
she might do again, who knows?
I don't have an answer. All I know is what I've seen, and it's not pretty. Some of these people should be getting alot better care than they're getting now...this is just a wherehouse of sorts..Pretty much like any other apartment building, excpt for some of the people
"There is no arrangement in which taxpayers would not wind up paying to support the people who are unable/unwilling to do so themselves. Somebody has to, one way or another; and who else is going to do it?"
How about your apartment management, matt?
anybody else here willing to appeal to Tenderloin Housing Clinic to take over their building as apartment managers?
all in all, I do have to say "thanks Mattymatt and SFist"...so far...It does appear you have helped me in solving a nearly insolvable problem
Mostly I wanted to let people know this situation could conceivably happen anywhere in SF. It's not restricted to SRO's per se
thanks again, Sfist
I really wish I didn't have to go to this extreme to get something done
jeff
jeff
Seems to me like if the THC provided some THC, there might not be a problem. Except for petty theft of snack food, maybe.
As former management staff and a current tenant of TNDC, it pains me to admit that THC's staffing patterns make for far safer buildings.
At TNDC's Civic Center Residence, located at 44 McAllister next to the Hibernia Bank building, their crack (pun intended) maintenance staff have made repairs on the front door of the building since October of '05. The door has only operated as designed for a handful of weeks since. And this was after an infusion of MOCD $$ to install an ADA compliant door, which has somehow never materialized.
So, when you're running the desk at an SRO without a working lock on the door, what do you get? I'm a fairly skilled de-escalator, but I've been assaulted and threatened and have had to file TROs against guests of tenants. The grave shift desk clerk is currently on a worker's comp restriction that he can't return to employment until the lobby can be made safe. I advised him not to hold his breath.
But the bigger picture comes into focus when Mayor Newsom grabs the photo op to hand a set of shiny SRO keys to a homeless connect attendee. After all the smiles and glad handing, the homeless person-- and all of his addictions and disabilities and dysfunctions-- then becomes the problem of the non-profit operating the hotel. No consideration is given to how "housing ready" the prospective tenant might be, or to the inevitable negative impact on other tenants' lives. And let's not even get into the underfunded, window-dressing, "social services" offered. As for the number of tenants in the building who can be found on the state's sexual predator website, the building averaged around four. I had to show the website to the last manager I worked for there, so we can probably safely assume it doesn't even enter into TNDC's tenant selection criteria.
Bottom line: TNDC has built its considerable real estate portfolio by operating at the far fringes of tenant and employee law.
To put it another way, as an organization, TNDC is at least a dysfunctional as its founder, someone who wears Franciscan drag weekdays and does lines of meth in the Endup bathroom on weekends.
But... this thread was about THC and Randy Shaw. I know some of the folks at THC, and they're good bunch... far too good to be associated with a carpet bagging poverty pimp like Shaw. Randy, who portrays himself as a progressive while he's the single biggest beneficiary of Mayor Newsom "Care Not Cash" boondoggle. (those records can be found at DHS too. At "progressive" gatherings, he's sorta like the family member most are to ashamed to talk about.
OK, now I will cross threads: want to know the biggest single obstacle to Chris Daly fielding a credible opposition to Newsom? An albatross Chris wears around his neck that answers to the name of "Randy Shaw."
Hi chance, thanks for posting this. I have one friend who lives in a TNDC building and it seems alot better maintained and more staff than here at THC at 34 6th. But it's not 44 McCallister, it's the Dalt at 34 Turk. I know from the form 990 that THC has a larger budget, but fewer staff than TNDC. Another example is the businesses on 6th street, who constantly compare the THC building here with the TNDC building on the corner of Mission. Things like "how come nobody ever hangs out in front of that building, while people are in front dealing drugs all day long here?..it affects my business"
there's probably individual buildings in each non-profit worse than others, and i only know what I've seen. Alot of the staff here is OK, but then again, alot of the staff has quit too, and some have privately told me they're scared out of their wits, therefore the high turnover here
either way, we haven't heard the last of this, and you can email me via the bluoz website if you want.
thanks