Mary Phillips, 98, Evicted From San Francisco Apartment After Living There For 50 Years

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Source: Huffington Post



A 98-year-old San Francisco woman is being evicted from her home of 50 years, and critics says it's because the building's owners want to sell the place to take advantage of the city's booming real estate market.

“I’ve been very happy here,” Mary Phillips told KRON 4. “I’ve always paid my rent, I’ve never been late.”

Protesters gathered Wednesday at the officers of the building's owners, Urban Green Investments, in support of Phillips. They're calling for an end to the rising number of evictions under the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict tenants, temporarily shut down a rental property and then sell it at a profit, Business Insider reported.

Urban Green did not respond to a request for comments from local media either this week or last year, when the evictions also made headline

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/mary-phillips-98-evicted_n_5573150.html

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The wonders of the Ayn Rand-ian economic system in their full glory.

And it's not an isolated case - the Ellis Act is being used to stick it to the poor and elderly quite frequently.

Here's the contact for the evil bastards behind this:

Urban Green Investments

Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone].

1746 Union Street, San Francisco CA 94123-4407

[email protected]

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And here's a group fighting on Mary's behalf:
http://evictionfreesf.org/
https://evictionfreesf.org/?p=1643

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Thank you. nt

[DonCoquixote]

2. hey google

if youwanted some press, buy a few apartyments for ellis act victims

[truthisfreedom]

3. So who is Ellis, and when can we get him evicted?

[LiberalElite]

6. WHO CARES?

Listen, nobody's saying this isn't America anymore. I grew up in an America where people had compassion for the poor and elderly. People had humane standards. Oh, wait, this isn't America anymore. Not the one I grew up in. Maybe it's YOUR America now and it sucks. Why are you posting here anyway? I think you meant to be on Discussionist.

[joshcryer]

7. You'll last long here.

Head on over to Discussionist, they'd like you over there.

[Earth_First]

8. Who cares?

Any one who is interested in developing healthy communities that are based on thriving members within those communities.

Using real estate as a commodity rather than an asset which empowers the citizens of it's community is a disgrace.

It's a dominoe effect that will no doubt lead to others being forced out of their neighborhoods when otherwise successful tenants can no longer afford the neighborhood due to increasing cost of living increases when INVESTMENT firms who have purchased property with no other ties to community development other than short-term equity in these properties.

Who cares?

Anyone interested in healthy, thriving communities...

[mountain grammy]

21. The truth! Very well said.

[steve2470]

9. extremely heartless thing to say

You need to go to Discussionist asap.

[joshcryer]

11. Jinx!

[steve2470]

12. I copied you, I admit it lol :)

[joshcryer]

17. Ha! A min after my post? Well done.

[yuiyoshida]

14. Whocares?

ARE you sure You are on the right website? Really? What a compassionate conservative statement!!

[heaven05]

15. YOU are in the wrong

Last edited Thu Jul 10, 2014, 12:06 PM - Edit history (1)

discussion group. GFY is the one you're looking for. 98 years old? She has paid her dues and we owe her. She should, at the least, have been moved by this jerk and offered free rent and let alone for the rest of her life. I really do hope you end up in the same situation one day, then maybe you'll feel something. But, I forgot, narcissistic Ayn Randians have no compassion for people other than themselves and their type..........you are cold and heartless and you can't care. You're dead inside.

[alcibiades_mystery]

29. Apart from the now deleted post being morally reprehensible, it's also wrong on rights

There's no doubt that we have a general right to dispose of with property as we please, but it is not an absolute right, and it certainly isn't an absolute right when it comes to real property used for residential rentals. We have thousands of specific laws and ordinances dictating how and in what circumstances landlords can dispose of property used for residential rental income. Even if there was ONE law in ONE jurisdiction that made any such restriction, it would not be an absolute right in the United States. As it stands, courts have consistently determined that landlords cannot dispose of their residential rental properties willy-nilly. The problem here is not that restricting this manner of eviction would somehow void an absolute right. It's that the local ordinance is harmful to residents in favor of owners. But let's not pretend that property owners have an absolute right in the United States to dispose of their properties. It's simply false in history, in practice, and in law, existing only as abstract philosophy spouted by ignorant fanatics. This is indeed America. We have thousands of rental laws that protect the rights of tenants against the whim and whistle of property owners. That santroy79 doesn't seem to know this is only sign and symptom of his or her own ignorance about rights.

[geardaddy]

34. ^This

[heaven05]

42. thank you

and I'm glad his response was disappeared. That was just cold.

[Earth_First]

5. Urban Green?

Nice whitewashed moniker for an investment firm that is anything but 'green'.

[joshcryer]

10. SF at its finest.

[Johnny Noshoes]

13. 50 years....

After paying rent for 50 YEARS she should be able to live there RENT FREE. She's 98 years old how much time has she got left. Heartless BASTARDS!

[Mnemosyne]

20. Anyone making it to her age should never, ever, have to worry about a thing. Heinous. nt

[shenmue]

16. Good Lord

[Lithos]

18. sigh

I need a dandelion break.

?w=354&h=259

L-

[chelsea0011]

19. You would think after 50 years, the landlord would have developed

something more than just a business relationship with a tenant and not treat them like crap. And I don't mean to sound judgmental, as I am aware that tenants can be trying at times, but were all terms to settle taken into account here?

[DRoseDARs]

23. You assume Urban Green has been the property manager for 50 years.

They haven't. They took over in 2012-2013. This is typical vulturistic behavior of new property owners.

[valerief]

22. Those rich guys just aren't rich enough. In fact, they'll NEVER be rich enough

but that won't stop them. They'll toss every grandma they can find off her balcony.

[geardaddy]

35. Yep.

They bought it and instead of maintaining it as a rental propery, they'll use non-union labor to remodel shoddily and flip it for condos. This shit is rampant here in Minneapolis.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

24. So what does the landlord at issue look like?

This guy:



Or this guy:

[kimbutgar]

25. This is so sick. I live in SF and this is becoming common

My mother has a house she has been renting for over 20 years to a blind man. My sister is going to inherit this house. Her husband is threatening me to take over my mother's conservator ship because I won't raise the rent or improve the rental property. I spoke to the lawyers yesterday and they told me that my brother in law can't go after me. After reading this there is no way I am going to evict the blind man. Let my sister and husband be the villains when she inherits the house.

[Blue Owl]

26. Somewhere Paul Ryan is laughing

n/t

[theHandpuppet]

27. Outrageous, heartless, disgusting

SF's labor unions should refuse to work on any development project by this disgusting company.

[PasadenaTrudy]

28. Infuriating!

I hate what is happening in SF these days. All of our friends have moved over to Oakland. Yep, all evicted, but young enough and able to move. This poor woman...

[diane in sf]

43. This is happening to me. I've been in my place for 30 years and now I'm looking in Oakland

[PasadenaTrudy]

44. So sorry to hear this...

We had so many artist friends/relatives get evicted over the last couple years. Oakland is the place to be...for now at least. Good luck in your search!

[TBF]

30. It's disgusting that private property is valued more than people

in this country. At 98 years of age I think she should live wherever she pleases.

[Ash_F]

31. She's 98, they seriously can not wait a few more years?

[Hofbrau]

32. Unfortunate risk of renting...

[ForgoTheConsequence]

37. It shouldn't be.

That's the point.

[PasadenaTrudy]

41. +1 n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

33. I knew a 90 year old who was being forced out of her SF unit by the new owner.

He apparently couldn't be bothered to do it legally (or had failed) and he just started renovating the rest of the place, making sure that some days she had to negotiate an obstacle course just to get out of the building, working as early and late at night as legally allowed every day of the week, "forgetting" to make minor repairs in her unit, "forgetting" to turn the power on for hours at a time.

The stress wore her out before her caretakers could find her another place to live.

[geardaddy]

36. And he, of course, suffered no consequences.

Right?

[Gormy Cuss]

38. Got more square footage to renovate!

It was one of the few times as a mature adult that I considered pummeling someone.
The woman essentially was broken by his antics.

[Beaverhausen]

39. I think there is a law that they have to pay her 2-3 months rent and more

down here in Los Angeles, if your landlord is kicking you out for renovations and/or sale, the current renter is compensated. Pretty sure that's a state law.

I know this would be hard for her, but it's not like she will be kicked out with no compensation.

[KamaAina]

40. At least New Yorkers wait until old people die

reading the obituaries and pouncing on the apartments thus vacated is a classic NYC trick. It even became a Seinfeld episode.

[Brigid]

46. So that urban legend is actually true after all?

I saw it on " Night Court" once.

[Tetris_Iguana]

45. Pretty dumb move by the company

And not necessarily a move I would make.

It is their privately owned building, and with compensation and/or a grace period they should be allowed reasonable control over their property.

The most reasonable option being to just let all the current leases run out before renovating.

[Brigid]

47. Are these properties rent-controlled?

Is that what's going on here?