The Poverty/Liberal Arts/Non-Profit Complex:

How Taxpayer Money Is Gifted To Slumlords While Tenants Live In

Third-World Conditions

The cover-up is always worse than the crime.

One might think it would be a simple matter to get the answer to a couple
of simple questions, like:

1. “How long do I have to live in a building while being exposed to hazardous
materials, like lead paint and asbestos?”
2. “How long do I have to go without the legally required number of toilets
for my building?

3. “How are seniors and people with disabilities supposed to exit the rear of
this building in the event of (another) fire?”

Ahh, but one would be mistaken. The answer to these questions depends on
who you are. “But there must be building codes, and ultimately the law to
protect you?” Au contraire, mon ami: “the law” is not a set of
Commandments, but rather an amorphous and basically incomprehensible
collection of archaic restrictions that are subject to interpretation by
bureaucrats , lawyers, and judges. The laws in the United States of America
were written to protect property, and IT’S owners.

Of course, if I lived up the Hill, these things would never happen. The Swells
don’t have to deal with these problems; they leave that to their lawyers at
$666 per hour. But I live in a building that the Tenderloin Housing Clinic
plans to turn into a “supportive housing” facility, and so my concerns are
secondary to their business plans. And the condition of the building does not
seem to concern them at all.

Before we begin, a few words about the term “community.” The community
decidedly is not the 6,000+ non-governmental organizations that essentially
constitute the social safety net in San Francisco. In fact, the term non-
governmental is a misnomer. “Government enabled” would be a lot more
accurate description. Government agencies at all levels have abdicated their
responsibility to take care of their constituents, usually by funding NGO’s
that are supposed to provide services; sometimes to the general public, but
most often to marginalized individuals. Thus the Poverty/Liberal Arts/NGO
Complex.

The term non-profit corporation does not mean “philanthropic” (the key word
here is corporation), it is simply an accounting/bookkeeping mechanism that
allows preferences and tax benefits to certain entities. But they are based on
the concept of charity; we have the resources and we will dole them out to
you. These organizations inevitably take on the personalities of their founder
and executive staff. These (usually) well-meaning but often clueless
individuals are often working from a paternalistic, budget-defined, liberal
arts perspective that never asks the people who live in the community:
“What do YOU want, or need?

The unfortunate consequence is an Orwellian distortion of language resulting

in “community” coming to refer to the NGO’s, not the people they are funded
to serve. Most things allegedly done for the community are actually done to
it. The community did not ask for, nor does it need the “Night Market,”
“Prototyping Festival,” “Sunday Streets” (which resulted in residents being
towed) and whatever that stuff is cluttering up U.N. Plaza.

And in many, if not most cases, the NGO’s serve themselves first; the
community gets whats left. NGO’s are first and foremost businesses, and
their most important function is to continue being funded. The people who
are their clients become...chattel. For example, the Tenderloin Housing Clinic
has devised a system requiring their clients to sign over their monthly
government checks to them; then they give the tenant the balance. While
this may indeed prevent the tenant from spending their rent money, it also
assures a positive cash flow for THC; while simultaneously preventing their
tenants from staging a rent strike over the deplorable conditions in some of
the properties they manage.

I’m not sure which is the bigger story here; the fact that some NGO’s are in
fact slumlords, the existence and expansion of the NGO/Real/Estate/Poverty
Complex, the astounding number of derelict buildings crammed to the sills
with “untouchables,” the fact that both the law and the building code are
subject to interpretation, the failure of City officials and taxpayers to “get it”
re: the housing/homeless crisis, or the culture of enabling in this town that
allows these conditions to exist. Or is it the several billion dollars that is
given out annually to these NGO’s without any public oversight?

Unfortunately, it’s all of the above. The mainstream media in this town didn’t
miss this story; they aren’t interested. As per usual, it’s not the incident, it’s
the cover-up. The media can be used to obfuscate (love that word)
information, as well as to reveal it. Investigative reporting has all but
vanished on the local level. The San Francisco “Examiner” seems content to
publish stories about how the DBI clears the most number of violations in
the country, according to a report issued by.....wait for it.....the DBI. Now
that’s objectivity for you. The local media might as well be in cahoots with
the City’s power brokers.

Way, Way Back In The Day, I had an article published in the S.F. Examiner’s
Sunday Image magazine about the homeless/housing crisis. Homelessness
was proportionately just as bad in 1990 as it is today, and for the same
reason: our obsolete Anglo/American-style predatory capitalist
socioeconomic system. That was 26 years ago; you might have thought
maybe this problem would have been addressed in the decades since then,
especially in a modern, progressive City like San Francisco. Somehow the
fact that some NGO’s are actually slumlords, receiving City, State, and
Federal tax dollars has slipped beneath the progressive radar. That is, unless
it is a “known known,” and is being deliberately ignored. Yeah, you, MSM.

The homeless crisis and the housing crisis are one and the same. It’s
probably not a good idea to have the same people who caused the last real
estate bubble/bust (and OBTW crashed the world economy) control where
people live (or their healthcare), but that is the situation we find ourselves
in. The banks control the real-estate market, not the Techies. City planning
has been privatized by the real estate industry. As long as land and housing
stock is owned by the banksters and their agents, most people will continue
to be at the mercy of “the market.” And if the market has proven anything,
it’s that it doesn’t give a damn about the welfare of human beings.

The word homeless is like a Rorschach Test; it means different things to

different people. For most, it is limited to the people they see on the streets
sitting, lying, panhandling, or shooting up. The people who cause discomfort
to the Swells as they trundle down Nob Hill to “the theatre.” The people who
shock tourists with the degree to which they are unkempt, incoherent, and
apparently uncared for. The most marginalized and neglected group of
homeless people in this town is the immigrant community. Whole families
are living in single rooms, and have been since the 19th Century. Chinatown
is a romantic destination for tourists, a source of fireworks for Locals, and an
embarrassment for City officials. But the Chinese are not the only
immigrants living cheek-to-jowl in the corridor stretching from North Beach
through the tunnel to SOMA, the Mission, Bayview/Hunter’s Point,
Sunnyvale, and West to Ingleside/Oceanview.
Another myth to dispel is that the dozens of NGO’s involved in housing the
poor are actually helping to solve the problem of homelessness. The non-
profit corporations that develop and manage property in San Francisco are
not philanthropic organizations. They are businesses with well paid executive
staffs; mostly lawyers(!). NGO’s also build, own, and manage some of the
most valuable property in the world. Most, if not all of them rely heavily on
unpaid and/or low-wage labor (volunteers and interns) to function. The
systematic exploitation of bright-eyed youth is a never-discussed but
nonetheless fatal flaw in this business model. People know when they are
being taken advantage of, they resent it, and that resentment shows up in
their work; or lack thereof.

Why are our most vulnerable citizens living in dangerous buildings, while
cheap, unsightly, carbon burning, water wasting towers and boxes (and box-
towers) for newcomers (most of whom will not live here in three to five
year) are springing up all over the City? A single room, no matter how large,
is not a “home.” People living in the scores of buildings designated as SRO’s
have a place to store a few belongings and to sleep, but not a place to live.
Unless you are a monk, or a depressive, or a person with disabilities, or have
been institutionalized, you cannot live in a 10’ x 12’ space.

Disturbingly, it appears that neither our most of our City officials, the NGO
housing industry, or private developers actually care about the people who
live in these turn-of-the Century firetraps. Why are landlords allowed to
receive taxpayer dollars for leasing their properties to NGO’s, when the
contracts say they must provide “safe and habitable rooms” in buildings that
are literally falling apart? Why do the Department of Building Inspection and
the Department of Public Health routinely overlook or ignore violations to
their respective codes, especially for properties managed by the slew of
NGO’s holding sway over the City’s budget?

There have been scores of Notices Of Violation issued by the Department of

Building Inspection, and 395 by the Department of Public Health for
properties managed by THC in the past five years. And why are code
violations, especially those regarding fire safety, “grandfathered” in? After
cranking up the Google Machine, I discovered one reason slumlords continue
to get away with, if not murder, what amounts to torture and false
imprisonment. This is a clause in a lawsuit by the City Attorney against one
of THC’s major lessors:

“66. The (redacted) DEFENDANTS and DEFENDANTS (redacted) also contract

with the City to provide multiple safe and habitable residential rooms in the
Winton Hotel for use by clients of CCSF (S.F. Human Services Agency)
departments.”

The concept of “neighborhood” or “historic” preservation can indeed be

useful, provided the building is in good enough condition to be renovated.
The problem is that buildings that have long outlived their purpose are
essentially being converted into warehouses for the Untouchables. You know,
the halt, the lame, the blind; the people we routinely ignore, or avoid even
thinking about. The “homeless,” the hopeless, the legless. The frail elderly,
lively seniors, immigrants, people with AID’s, the LBGTQ community, sex-
workers, alcoholics and other drug addicts, X-Cons, parolees, hoarders and
clutterers, and the few remaining African Americans in the City. People who
are seen, but not heard. People who are not actually noticed by anyone but
the Medical Examiner. But that’s another story. Refugees from our Endless
Wars; refugees from the gentrification of the Fillmore, Hayes Valley, the
Haight, and the Mission. Most recently, the Tenderloin, Bayview/Hunters
Point, Sunnydale, and Ingleside have experienced the rising home prices and
rents caused by gentrification.

Most of the responsibility for the existence of these types of sub-standard

buildings lies with the City and County of San Francisco for not providing
enough below market-rate housing, economic opportunities, and healthcare
for it’s residents. In effect, the City is forcing owners of derelict buildings to
provide public housing. Instead of the City requiring owners of these
properties to renovate or replace them, they are allowed to cash out their
buildings without having to sell them by leasing them to NGO’s like the
Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

Owners of derelict properties are being rewarded for allowing the public’s
continued endangerment by cashing out the properties without having to sell
them. City officials get plausible deniability by pointing to the existence of
these facilities as proof they are doing something about homelessness. The
NGO’s become fat and happy and top-heavy. It’s a win-win for everyone,
except the tenants. I believe some of the slum property owners, as well as
other types of speculators and developers (see The Grant Building, 1095
Market) are taking advantage of the Buy-A-Green Card scam (E-Visa) that
allows people to become Permanent Residents of this country for $500,000.

The Tenderloin and Sixth Street constitute most of San Francisco’s remaining
“Skid Row.” Along with the Mission and Chinatown, this area contains some
of the oldest buildings in the City. Many of the them are Single Room
Occupancy hotels built shortly after the turn of the century to house
transient workers, essentially flop houses; sleep, wash up, and back to work.
Most of these buildings have suffered decades of neglect, specifically water
damage, and are literally falling apart, a process aided or completed by
frequent fires. In January 2004, Matt Smith wrote an article for the SF
Weekly titled “The Place That Time Forgot.”

Mr. Smith observes:

“Since the area was declared an earthquake recovery zone in 1990, it has
been the site of $85 million in redevelopment spending, and several other
money streams are aimed at rehabilitating the buildings and/or people of the
Tenderloin and Sixth Street. But nothing seems to change, and there's a
reason: The government agencies and the nonprofit groups supposedly
dedicated to helping the denizens of Skid Row have created an unchanging
political economy that in some ways provides something for everybody:
political activists, slumlords, developers, petty politicians, bureaucrats,
mercenary merchants, drug dealers, government agencies, and nonprofit
groups (and lawyers) — all of whom would lose out if this part of downtown
were ever changed into something other than a dangerous, dehumanizing
slum.”

But wait; theres more: A Chronicle Watch story from January 2014 by Kale
Williams titled “All Star Hotel Residents Say Problems Persist” begins:

“Residents of the All Star Hotel, a single-room occupancy hotel in the Mission
District that offers 85 units to people who might otherwise be homeless,
have been complaining to the city about problems there for two years.
Starting in February 2012, they called attention to leaking pipes, exposed
structural beams and floors that were, in some places, "slanted so badly that
people were falling down," according to Department of Building Inspection
records. But the response by the property manager, the Tenderloin Housing
Clinic - a nonprofit that receives city funding - was anything but swift. Two
months after that, the city leveled a more serious order of abatement, which
leaves a permanent blemish on the owner's record, said James Li, an acting
senior building inspector. But it took until Aug. 20, 2013 - nearly a full year
later - for the owners to obtain permits to begin repairs. They were given a
year to show the fixes were complete.”

The idea of saving old buildings is often confused by sentimentality and

nostalgia. Not all old buildings can or should be saved. “Historic” means old
and important; not just old. Most structures older than 70 years cannot be
retrofitted for the needs of the 21st Century. Most of the ones that can
already have been turned into expensive boutique hotels and hostels. THC
seems to think because a building has an National Historic Place designation,
it should somehow be exempt from modern safety standards, which building
and fire codes are supposed to support. I’m not sure how this practice is
improving “the community,” but it certainly provides DBI, DPH, and the SFFD
a lot of work. Unfortunately, their doing their job didn’t prevent a blind THC
tenant from falling to his death in an elevator shaft at the Hartland Hotel just
last September, according to SFist:

"I feel THC and its Hotel Manager... are sweeping this tragic death 'under
the carpet,'" writes the resident who first informed SFist of the accident. "I
did come in contact with this man prior to his death, coming in and out of
the building and he was a very sweet person...The staff here has been
instructed to be very tight lipped about this incident but I just feel that
because this person was in an SRO and may or may not have had family,
THC is going to hope this gets forgotten about when in fact, I feel their
neglect caused this blind man's death."

After I expose the false logic that every old building is “historic,” I usually
get the Displacement Argument. “If you tear down that building, where are
all those people going to go? Well, in most cases, “all those people” amounts
to 20-200 individuals per property. My first thought would be that a large
percentage of the sober population could go into some of those towers and
boxes (and box-towers) that have sprung up like mushrooms, mostly in
Districts 6 and 10. Recent reports in the Mainstream Media suggest there are
numerous vacancies. It appears that $3500 studios and $4500 one-bedroom
cubicles may not have been an actual market, but rather a market
projection; i.e. wishful thinking.

The other obvious solution to the housing crisis/homeless dilemma is the

immediate conversion of suitable properties, located mostly in the Southeast
part of the City, into a variety of uses, like immediamente. Live-work spaces,
family apartments, wellness/fitness clinics, community kitchens, recreation/
community centers, parks and gardens. (Every block in the City should have
a park/parklet/garden on it). This can be accomplished much faster than
demolition and construction, but it does not eliminate the need for 21st
Century infrastructure to be built, and to be built rapidly. What are we
waiting for?

Most people don’t know that a building has to have waterproof membrane,
usually paint, to keep the wood from rotting or drying out. In a temperate
climate like San Francisco, you are supposed to paint the exterior of your
house or building every three to five years. If you do it properly; properly
prepare the surface, a prime coat, and two finish coats, the structure will
last until

there is some physical damage to it. However, a hole the size of a bedbug
will eventually allow enough water into the structure, and wood-eating fungi
will start to grow. When the cellulose is slightly decomposed, termites smell
it and start eating it, from the ground up. The accompanying dry-rot fungus
causes exponentially more damage than the termites do. Leaking roofs,
window casings, and door frames allow dry-rot to start in the substructure
and external walls. Leaking toilets and showers allow dry-rot to start in the
building subfloor and interior framing. If repairs are made in 5-10 years, the
structure can usually be saved. If water damage continues unabated for
decades; proper repairs become prohibitively expensive; and eventually
impossible. Building surfaces, especially wood, also have to be protected
from ultra-violet radiation from the Sun. UV radiation will degrade cheap
paint in a year. Most homeowners do not properly maintain their prize
possessions; slumlords never do it. So the buildings “age in place,” which is
to say: “decompose.”

The National Hotel is a three-story, un-reinforced brick building with a “soft”

first story, and is not on the register of Historic places. The National Hotel/
Budget Inn looks like a game of Jenga gone horribly wrong. For decades, the
structure has been neglected, patched, spliced, added too, and subtracted
from. Constructed shortly after the 1906 earthquake, it originally had an
outhouse on Stevenson Alley. The probable cause of the buildings dramatic
tilt to the West and South is likely the presence of Hayes Creek, still flowing
underground (with a cameo at the fountain in United Nations Plaza) to join
Mission Creek, as it has for centuries.

The National is well,...almost compost. I’m sure there are couple of nice
first- growth redwood and Douglas-fir timbers that could be salvaged and
repurposed, but the rest of the building is decaying plaster, rotten wood, and
peeling lead paint. It was not designed to last 110 years; and it hasn’t. This
building has no elevator (38 steps to the third floor), nor accessible rear
exit. The antique fire escape is unusable by seniors, disabled individuals, and
children (if it even works). The plumbing and electrical systems have never
been properly upgraded; only patched onto.

It is more than likely that there is lead in the water pipes, and it is dead
certain that there are several layers of lead-based paint that are continually
being disturbed by remodeling. Every single wall and ceiling has cracks from
water damage, settling, and the occasional temblor. There are places in the
building where the floor dips three or four inches over a span of four feet.
The framing timbers in the building are almost entirely first-growth redwood,
and the work this year has revealed substantial dry-rot. Redwood is virtually
impervious to fungus and insects; decay indicates water damage for
decades. Decay in the substructure means that the work being done today,
as well as work done previously, has only concealed the damage.

The National Hotel is the last place in San Francisco you would want to live,
but it is my home. Despite the occasional late-night fracas, eternally filthy
bathrooms, and numerous building and health code violations, the National’s
saving grace is that the third floor requires negotiating 38 steps. Most lazy
Americans will not drag a suitcase up two flights of stairs, and some simply
cannot because of age or disability, so where I live on the third floor is
comparatively quiet. In fact, I can guarantee that this is the quietest SRO in
the City (now that certain individuals have left). There are 11 permanent
residents on this floor, and usually no more a dozen transients; usually
“budget” travelers, or people who could not find lodging elsewhere. Some
tourists take in the conditions with good grace, others run screaming into
the night, and leave blistering reviews online.

Saints and sinners, losers and winners, celebrities, statesmen, artistes,

pimps, johns, Ladies Of The Night, security guards, waiters, dock workers,
seamen, construction workers, displaced persons from every corner of the
world. If only these walls could talk. Hmmm, that would be a great title for
some kind of series. All of these old hotels and apartment buildings in the
City have fascinating histories, and that is what should be preserved; not
necessarily the building itself.

Ahh, but THC plans to turn my “home” into an institution. This building
cannot safely house the 30-50 people who are usually here, about 20 who
are full-time residents. It sure won’t be able to handle 85-160 people on a
full-time basis. THC’s program model seems to be somewhere between a
halfway house and detox-center. This means there will be “sharps”
containers in the hallways, 24/7 video surveillance, allowing cigarette
smoking and dogs in the building, and the residents having to deal with not
only their clients, but with “visitors.” They even plan to allow more than one
person to live in a single room.

Did I mention there is no accessible rear exit from the building? A very fit
individual might be able to negotiate the antique fire-escape, I assure you
the majority of the tenants here could not. There is no way the majority of
people who live here could use the antique fire escape, if it even works. The
Fire Marshal told me, with a straight face, that if the front of the building
was engulfed in flames, we would have to wait for the ladder truck to get out
of the building. Like everything else in our culture, the inspections of fire
escapes, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers are now done by private
companies, which means the building owner has to pay. Which means.....
Requiring developers to include Below Market Rate housing is a real benefit,
but it will not make a dent in the need not just for new affordable housing,

but for entire new communities. The existing Community Benefit

Agreements with the tech companies could be modified to make sure they
pay their fair share of taxes. But the real-estate and financial communities
should also have CBA’s, because it is primarily their activity that is displacing
people. Instead of amorphous and non-accountable “community benefit
agreements,” how about getting the tech and financial communities to
commit to specific activities that visibly improve the community?

Perhaps a “superfund” that could be used for housing, recreation centers,

community kitchens, wellness centers, an affordable family movie theatre?
$120M, or even $350M are not significant sums, especially if it will just be
handed over to developers to do with as they please. These sums are not
nearly enough to replenish our ancient housing stock and associated
infrastructure. That will require several billions of dollars. That’s billions with
a “B,” Elected Representatives. That means some of those War/Agribusiness/
Big Pharma/ Dollars must literally come “home.”

“Tech” is much, much more than Twitter. The rapid increase in the efficiency
of photovoltaics and battery storage capacities is far more important to the
future of mankind (and the City and County of San Francisco) than what
amounts to gussied up emails and text messages. AI is quickly making
engineers and designers obsolete by allowing computers to write their own
code. The aspect of tech that is most important is the one that no one wants
to talk about: machines are doing all meaningful work. Theoretically this will
free human beings from the tyranny of labor, and allow our creativity to
flourish. Practically, it signals continued dislocation for millions of people,
especially at the lower end of the economic scale. Unfortunately, our public
officials are not addressing this issue at all.

Is San Francisco a “Green City?” Not even close, folks. Ocean-thermal

energy conversion and tide differential technology could provide a source of
cheap, clean electricity, in addition to ever-cheaper solar power. The fact I
don’t see windmills at the tops of all these new towers tell me someone
doesn’t know which way the wind blows. I mean, seriously, windmills at the
Altamonte Pass, but not on the coast? How about fog-harvesting technology?
Any idea how much water is in those fog banks? Ask a 4000-year old
redwood, or the native flora and fauna how they live from May to November
without any rainfall? Then there’s always plain old-fashioned rainwater
harvesting, and gray-water recycling. This is what the (near) future looks
like, kiddies:

“With some 70,000 m2 of existing buildings currently under retrofit

construction by Codding Enterprises, Sonoma Mountain Village will house
5,000 people in 1,892 homes, while providing 4,400 jobs in some 77,000 m2
of office, retail and commercial space. Recently approved by Rohnert Park
City Council, construction of the commercial units is well underway with the
residential phase following. The development aims to generate 100% of its
energy requirements from renewable onsite sources and to date has
installed the second largest privately-owned solar array in Northern
California – a $7.5 million, 1.14 megawatt, 7,710 m2 array that will power
1,000 homes. A second 1.18 megawatt solar array will also be installed.
Further demanding sustainability targets have been set including an 82%
reduction in transport emissions, 65% local food consumption goal, and 65%
reduction in use of municipal water.” http://www.bioregional.com/sonoma-
mountain-village/

The City’s current housing plan is somewhat distorted by failed austerity

measures and a lack of forward thinking. It seems that it is perfectly
acceptable to make cosmetic improvements to the oldest, cheapest, most
dilapidated buildings in the City, cram as many people as possible into them,
wait for a devastating fire, and then turn the building over. I don’t know if
that was the exact scenario that played out at the Winton Hotel, which is
listed on THC’s Portfolio page, but it is now being converted into a boutique
hotel. The Renoir Hotel on Market and McAllister would have been the
perfect property to turn into supportive housing. In addition to actually being
designed for people to live there, the Renoir had a full commercial kitchen on
the ground floor, which would have made a perfect community dining facility.
Yes, I suggested this to City officials, but I’m not a developer or NGO, so
they didn’t respond. Talk about a missed opportunity.....
If I were a far-sighted developer, I would buy the National Hotel and the
vacant lot next to the Strand Theatre. I would temporarily relocate the
permanent residents, and demolish the National, salvaging any usable
timbers to be used in the new building. I would then build a seven-story
structure on the site, with 85% BLM apartments, 15% premium condo units,
and a healthy cashflow from tourist budget tourist units. The BLM units
would remain in perpetuity. On one side of the ground floor there would be a
community kitchen for the residents that also sells meals to the public. It
would also prepare, serve, and deliver congregate meals to marginalized
individuals in the neighborhood. The other side would be a hi-tech
laundromat, using free water from Hayes Creek. A light well would provide
most daytime illumination for the entire building.

The second floor would house the current permanent-low income residents
in studio and one-bedroom apartments. The third, fourth, and fifth floors
would be premium budget tourist rooms, guaranteeing a healthy cash flow.
The the sixth floor would be reserved for single parents with children, and
the seventh floor would be mostly low, a couple of medium, and a few high-
income condominium units, whose sale will pay for much of the cost of the
building. There would be an all-season organic garden, an exercise area, a
children’s area, and a cookout facility on the roof. This structure will attempt
to be carbon-neutral, primarily using solar and wind energy, along with
passive heating, cooling, and lighting techniques. The vacant lot next to
Strand would become a community park and gardens. Ideally, this project
would be funded by a newly-minted Municipal Bank.

Randy Shaw used to be the darling of the “left” in this town. From humble
beginnings at Hastings College Of Law, Mr. Shaw has effectively become the
Emperor Of Skid Row. But his 20-year reign (of terror, according to many of
THC’s tenants) might be coming to an end. Recent discussions with various
City agencies indicate that they are getting tired of being the fall guys for
THC. And if by “community,” you mean people who live in properties
managed by THC, you will find no love for either THC in general, or Mr. Shaw
in particular. Ex-employees have little good to say about their time at the
organization.
Lawyers know how to do one thing very well, and that’s to use “the law” to
their clients advantage. “Legal” does not mean correct, moral, ethical, or “for
the public good.” What’s legal at any given time for any particular situation is
determined by a ruling, usually arrived at with the cooperation of both
“sides,” as well as the judge. Many of THC’s practices have been questioned
by others, including their lobbying efforts on behalf of political figures and
causes. Again, none of this is “news.”

The Tenderloin Housing Clinic assumed control of this building in July 2016.
Because of the extensive work that needed to be done, as well as the fact
that it was being done by unqualified workers, all of the work still has not
been signed off on by the City & County of San Francisco. Due to my
diligence (and a lawsuit), the building is no longer drawing with vermin. But
these photos were taken between April and July 4th, 2017. The roaches are
making a comeback, and the mice and rats are sure to follow. Because of
the opaque nature of the organization, it has been impossible for me to talk
to anyone with the authority to keep the property clean.

Of course it’s better that people are sheltered instead of being on the
streets. But living in an SRO is a temporary solution at best. The worst part
of the present regime is that the homeless (and hopeless) population
continues to grow in San Francisco. Filling dilapidated and derelict buildings
with marginalized individuals benefits THC and their cohorts far more than it
does the individuals they provide services for. The Tenderloin Housing Clinic,
the City of San Francisco, and the private sector have a choice to make:
continue exploiting the Untouchables, or get on the right side of history.

© 2016 Joseph Thomas

info.blackhorsemedia@gmail.com
415 992 6360