Influx of black renters raises tension in Bay Area

[annihilation]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081230/D95D896O0.html

ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) - As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren.
In 2006, as the influx reached its peak, the police department formed a special crime-fighting unit to deal with the complaints, and authorities began cracking down on tenants in federally subsidized housing.
Now that police unit is the focus of lawsuits by black families who allege the city of 100,000 is orchestrating a campaign to drive them out.
"A lot of people are moving out here looking for a better place to live," said Karen Coleman, a mother of three who came here five years ago from a blighted neighborhood in nearby Pittsburg. "We are trying to raise our kids like everyone else. But they don't want us here."
City officials deny the allegations in the lawsuits, which were filed last spring and seek unspecified damages.
Across the country, similar tensions have simmered when federally subsidized renters escaped run-down housing projects and violent neighborhoods by moving to nicer communities in suburban Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles.
But the friction in Antioch is "hotter than elsewhere," said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesman Larry Bush.
An increasing number of poor families receiving federal rental assistance have been moving here in recent years, partly because of the housing crisis.
A growing number of landlords were seeking a guaranteed source of revenue in a city hard-hit by foreclosures. They began offering their Antioch homes to low-income tenants in the HUD Section 8 housing program, which pays about two-thirds of every tenant's rent.
Between 2000 and 2007, Antioch's black population nearly doubled from 8,824 to 16,316. And the number of Antioch renters receiving federal subsidies climbed almost 50 percent between 2003 and 2007 to 1,582, the majority of them black.
Longtime homeowners complained that the new arrivals brought crime and other troubles. In 2006, violent crime in Antioch shot up about 19 percent from the year before, while property crime went down slightly.
"In some neighborhoods, it was complete madness," said longtime resident David Gilbert, a black retiree who organized the United Citizens of Better Neighborhoods watch group. "They were under siege."
So the Antioch police in mid-2006 created the Community Action Team, which focused on complaints of trouble at low-income renters' homes.
Police sent 315 complaints about subsidized tenants to the Contra Costa Housing Authority, which manages the federal program in the city, and urged the agency to evict many of them for lease violations such as drug use or gun possession. Lawyers for the tenants said 70 percent of the eviction recommendations were aimed at black renters. The housing authority turned down most of the requests.
Coleman said the police, after a complaint from a neighbor, showed up at her house one morning in 2007 to check on her husband, who was on parole for drunken driving. She said they searched the house and returned twice more that summer to try to find out whether the couple had violated any terms of their lease that could lead to eviction.
The Colemans were also slapped with a restraining order after a neighbor accused them of "continually harassing and threatening their family," according to court papers. The Colemans said a judge later rescinded the order.
Coleman and four other families are suing Antioch, accusing police of engaging in racial discrimination and conducting illegal searches without warrants. They have asked a federal judge to make their suit a class-action on behalf of hundreds of other black renters. Another family has filed a lawsuit accusing the city's leaders of waging a campaign of harassment to drive them out.
Police referred questions to the city attorney's office.
City Attorney Lynn Tracy Nerland denied any discrimination on the part of police and said officers were responding to crime reports in troubled neighborhoods when they discovered that a large number of the troublemakers were receiving federal subsidies.
"They are responding to real problems," Nerland said.
Joseph Villarreal, the housing authority chief, said the problems in Antioch mirror tensions seen nationally when poor renters move into neighborhoods they can afford only with government help.
"One of the goals of the programs is to de-concentrate poverty," Villarreal said. "There are just some people who don't want to spend public money that way."
Tensions like those afflicting Antioch have drawn scholars and law enforcement officials to debate whether crime follows subsidized renters out of the tenements to the suburbs.
Susan Popkin, a researcher at the nonprofit Urban Institute, said she does not believe that is the case. But the tensions, she said, are real.
"That can be a recipe for anxiety," she said. "It can really change the demographics of a neighborhood."





____________________________________________________________________________

"One of the goals of the programs is to de-concentrate poverty," Villarreal said. "There are just some people who don't want to spend public money that way."
Tensions like those afflicting Antioch have drawn scholars and law enforcement officials to debate whether crime follows subsidized renters out of the tenements to the suburbs.
Susan Popkin, a researcher at the nonprofit Urban Institute, said she does not believe that is the case. But the tensions, she said, are real.
__



I think it more has to do with an economic issue than a race issue. I wouldn't want someone moving into my neighborhood regardless of color if they were on subsidies. I think crime does follow poverty and all you do is spread the misery around and ruin it for everyone instead of just concentrating in one spot. All it takes is just a few rotten apples to ruin it for everyone. I bet there are some good honest people that im tossing into the lump incorrectly but it is not something I would want to take the chance.

[The Mighty Quinn]

Oh boy there goes the neighborhood

[CPLHUNTER]

Bay Area = Section 8 now it seems.

[zonk]

when they do stupid stuff like file a lawsuit just based on one skin color, rather than
to their family ...then who are the ignorant ones. this story is pretty one sided.

[Parx400]

White people in the bay area are really funny. They jump for joy to add diversity in their lives so long as that diversity stays in Richmond and Oakland.

[Siddar]

Hey a story about my town!

Put simply the section 8 assistance program brought allot of Oakland gangbangers into the city and the police are going after them end of story. The problem isnt that there black its that they are crimnals and bringing types of crimnal activity to Antioch that did not exist before. Driving the bad element out is actually going to help Blacks in the city more then anyone else because of the bad influnce the crimnal element has on there children and the negative preception it creates about blacks in general.

[Ordie]

White people in the bay area are really funny. They jump for joy to add diversity in their lives so long as that diversity stays in Richmond and Oakland.

Especially in Berkeley.

[G-AWZT]

White people in the bay area are really funny. They jump for joy to add diversity in their lives so long as that diversity stays in Richmond and Oakland.



Bingo!!!!!!
That's the typical liberal for you.

[Rudolph]

Bingo!!!!!!
That's the typical liberal for you.

... ... x2

[BlackFlag]

Funny how the liberal white guilt types get their panties in a knot when..God forbid they actually have to practice what they preach. Tolerance.

[G-AWZT]

It's hilarious that this is happening in the SF area................essentially Liberal Central. This confirms what I've suspected all along about libs.

[Rudolph]

All I know about Bay Area, SF is that it introduced the world to thrash metal, thank god.

And yeah, liberals love double standards, and hate people who call things as they are.

[BlackFlag]

All I know about Bay Area, SF is that it introduced the world to thrash metal, thank god.


That statement is very debatable.

[CG51]

Section Eight housing = State run broodmare for the average crackwhore. As long as you sh!t out a child every nine months then you get free housing and public assistance. Work is for suckers!

[Ordie]

Not all African Americans are renters.

Long term residents of East and West Oakland are moving to the suburbs as homeowners.
See below:


Preaching Prosperity

Acts Full Gospel has become the largest church in Oakland. But its parishioners have found more than God - they've found the suburbs.

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/PrintFriendly?oid=283417


Here are some photos from a blogg about Oakland.


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OPA9LAdgtYA/SUriDftAwHI/AAAAAAAAAQc/d90CG5d9P3U/s400/IMG_4484.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OPA9LAdgtYA/SUriDftAwHI/AAAAAAAAAQc/d90CG5d9P3U/s1600-h/IMG_4484.jpg)The above houses in San Leandro are not mansions by any means, but they're still solidly middle class housing. The only fence is a small white picket one. Compare that to the scene in Deep East Oakland, about 3 blocks away on 105th Avenue:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OPA9LAdgtYA/SUrizUZaAoI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/En7S1u-Iido/s400/IMG_4464.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OPA9LAdgtYA/SUrizUZaAoI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/En7S1u-Iido/s1600-h/IMG_4464.jpg)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OPA9LAdgtYA/SUriz4ccrKI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/o2EOPN9z4b0/s400/IMG_4466.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OPA9LAdgtYA/SUriz4ccrKI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/o2EOPN9z4b0/s1600-h/IMG_4466.jpg)
Source:http://www.oaklandstreets.com/

[Bombtrack]

Back to the actual article - de-concentrating poverty really works in curbing crime. As long as you keep marginalizing the people, they wont give a ****. I was reading an article not too long ago how Atlanta (pretty sure it was Atlanta..) got rid of their community housing and give those who need it rent rebates instead , crime went way down in the old neighbourhoods as they moved. Even here in Toronto, I found out that a bunch of houses in my neighbourhood (mostly middle aged yuppies in nice old Victorian homes) are rented out by Toronto Community Housing Corporation - but you'd never know it. Compared to the ghetto complexes of Jane & Finch where crime is a constant.


All I know about Bay Area, SF is that it introduced the world to thrash metal, thank god.

Very debatable indeed.

[Invisigoth]

Funny how the liberal white guilt types get there panties in a knot when..God forbid they actually have to practice what they preach. Tolerance.

there - location
their - belonging to them
they're - short for they are

Drives me insane. Sorry. Back to topic of black people being criminals.

[CG51]

Interesting Bombtrack. How does the rent rebate work? Is it still free housing? There are apts here in jax that are based on your income (just as HUD).

[Ordie]

This is from Oaklandstreets blog:

It seems that the migration of African American to the suburbs was long overdue due to racist real estate laws prohibiting black from owning property after WW2.



Why is Deep East Oakland one of the roughest hoods in the Bay while San Leandro seems so safely middle-class? The most compelling reason I can find is the long shadow of segregation.

It came as something of a surprise to me to learn that the Bay Area was once racially segregated. Call me naive, but a part of me got so caught up in thinking that the Bay Area is different that I just assumed it never practiced Jim Crow-style segregation. But it did. After World War II, as the suburbs sprawled outwards, black people were basically confined to places where they had already established a presence--namely, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, and parts of Berkeley. I learned much of this from The Second Gold Rush: Oakland and the East Bay in World War II (http://www.amazon.com/Second-Gold-Rush-Oakland-World/dp/0520207017) by Marilynn Johnson. She writes:


With federally guaranteed loans provided under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act (G.I. bill) of 1944, many middle-income residents found housing among the burgeoning subdivisions of surrounding suburbs...Furthermore, black families of all income levels were barred from most suburban developments through restrictive covenants, a practice resulting in additional pressure on the central city housing market.

(p. 213)

Consider what happened to one black family who made the mistake of moving into a home in San Pablo, north of Richmond:


When the Garys moved in, a crowd of more than 150 neighbors greeted them with jeers, rocks, a white cross planted on their lawn, and a brick through their front window. After several hours under siege, the county sheriff arrived and dispersed the crowd, but the attacks on the Garys continued intermittently for several weeks.



The local homeowners' group, the Rollingwood Improvement Association, offered to buy out the Garys at a $1200 profit--a considerable sum at the time. But the Garys refused to sell at any price, determined to keep their home. At that point, several white neighbors, including four board members of the Rollingwood Association, acquiesced and sent a letter of welcome to the Garys. At the group's next meeting, angry residents voted to recall the four board members by a three-to-one margin.

(p. 227)

East Oakland is today a ghetto in the sense of "a bad place to live," but it's helpful to remember that it was once a ghetto in the original sense of the term, i.e., "minorities must live within these quarters." San Leandro in particular was very aggressive in using restrictive covenants to make sure no black East Oaklanders spilled over into its borders. As quoted here (http://www.sanleandrobytes.com/archives/004400.html):


M. C. Friel and Associates, a Hayward real estate firm with expertise in racial covenants, became the East Bay's leading consultant on shoring up segregation. In 1947 Friel developed a plan to place as much of San Leandro's residential property under restrictive covenants as possible, limiting future property sales to "members of the Caucasian race."The situation began to change in the 70's, but by then the die had been cast. It's hard to believe that social policies from 30+ years ago would leave such a lasting imprint, but the evidence is right in front of our eyes.

[BlackFlag]

there - location
their - belonging to them
they're - short for they are

Drives me insane. Sorry. Back to topic of black people being criminals.

Holy albatross. I made a mistake, that annoys the piss out of me too. I deserved that.

[el borracho]

Funny how the liberal white guilt types get their panties in a knot when..God forbid they actually have to practice what they preach. Tolerance.

Being from the northwest, when the military sent me to the deep south I was a bit nervous about what to expect. After living in Georgia for four years I was surprised about what I experienced. The overwhelming source of racism was not whites against blacks, but lower class blacks who never associated outside of their neighborhoods. They voluntarily segregated themselves from the rest of the community and had no outside factors to influence their ideas. Middle class blacks who purchased homes in nicer parts of town were treated normally (as far as I saw) by whites, but blacks in the poorer parts of town called them all "uncle Toms." Basically it had everything to do with social-economic status and not skin color. In the NW, we had two black kids in my high school of 1200. There was actually more anti-black racism there than in the south because they never had to opportunity to interact with blacks.

Back to the quote, liberals tend to think that giving subsidies and hand-outs to help minorities is a good thing, but at the very core it shows that they feel that those minorities are inferior and therefore need extra help. To those that receive the handouts, they become hooked for life and many never learn to break their dependence on the system. I think this practice is much more racist than someone yelling an epithet at someone else.

[Hispeed1]

There's something wrong with the title of that article-it sounds so racist. "Oh no-here come the blacks!" What the f??? So what's wrong if African-Americans move into your neighborhood? I don't care what ethnicity my neighbor is and how rich/poor they are. +1 to Parx400's comment.

[BlackFlag]

[QUOTE=el borracho;3803523]Being from the northwest, when the military sent me to the deep south I was a bit nervous about what to expect. After living in Georgia for four years I was surprised about what I experienced. The overwhelming source of racism was not whites against blacks, but lower class blacks who never associated outside of their neighborhoods. They voluntarily segregated themselves from the rest of the community and had no outside factors to influence their ideas. Middle class blacks who purchased homes in nicer parts of town were treated normally (as far as I saw) by whites, but blacks in the poorer parts of town called them all "uncle Toms." Basically it had everything to do with social-economic status and not skin color. In the NW, we had two black kids in my high school of 1200. There was actually more anti-black racism there than in the south because they never had to opportunity to interact with blacks.

QUOTE]

I cannot even begin to explain how accurate this statement is. I live in the outskirts of Detroit, so I've had a great deal of contact with African Americans, and usually its no different than having contact with another White person. However, the blacks in Detroit are the same way (I apologize for the generalization), middles class blacks are looked at as Uncle Tom's or sellouts. Also, the further away from Detroit you get, (like Sterling Heights, New Baltimore, etc.) the more anti black racism exists.

Also, I grew up in Detroit, going to a elementary school there until half way through 5th grade. I've had more than a fair share of anit-white sentiment. It always pissed me off, that it was somehow it was ok to be picked on and ostracized
because I was white. Like I deserved it because of injustices done before I (or they, for that matter) was born.

[USMCRTop]

I lived in the Bay area in the early '80's- I knew things were changing when I heard in the 90's that white people were moving in to East Palo Alto- I just wondered where the Black people went

[annihilation]

Back to the actual article - de-concentrating poverty really works in curbing crime. As long as you keep marginalizing the people, they wont give a ****. I was reading an article not too long ago how Atlanta (pretty sure it was Atlanta..) got rid of their community housing and give those who need it rent rebates instead , crime went way down in the old neighbourhoods as they moved. Even here in Toronto, I found out that a bunch of houses in my neighbourhood (mostly middle aged yuppies in nice old Victorian homes) are rented out by Toronto Community Housing Corporation - but you'd never know it. Compared to the ghetto complexes of Jane & Finch where crime is a constant.



Very debatable indeed.

You said crime went down in the old neighborhoods were they moved out off. But i am curious about the place they moved too. I would like to know how they faired.

[Walter Sobchak]

Section Eight housing = State run broodmare for the average crackwhore. As long as you sh!t out a child every nine months then you get free housing and public assistance. Work is for suckers!

and this...


...and authorities began cracking down on tenants in federally subsidized housing.

The "Great Society" of the 1960s essentially destroyed two-parent homes for people who need any type of public assistance. Now, it's pretty much single moms getting baby money and all the baby daddies dropping by to hang out and play. This is the 900-pound gorilla in the phone booth that no one wants to acknowledge.

Oh, and since San Fran has such tough gun laws, gangstas can pretty much count on no one in the City By The Bay being armed, so it's easy pickings. Wait! You mean criminals aren't deterred by tough gun laws! I'm shocked... absolutely shocked, I tell you!!!11

[Ordie]

I lived in the Bay area in the early '80's- I knew things were changing when I heard in the 90's that white people were moving in to East Palo Alto- I just wondered where the Black people went

I know something about this because I do business within E. Palo Alto.

Several dynamics happend at E. Palo Alto. The most important thing was incorporation as a city. One of the first acts was the creation of a local police department.

Much of the drug activity was generated by the high incomes from Silicon Valley. Mercedes and BMWs would drive thru "Whiskey Gulch" pick up he drugs and drive away to Los Altos, Los Gatos or Campbell.

What the cops did was to photograph the activity, license plates and send the increminating photos to the car owner. Business for drug dealers dried up overnight.

As a city, they re-developed Whiskey Gulch into a high end business park with a Four Season Hotel. They also demolished residents motels and added an IKEA, Home Depot and other box stores to generate tax incomes and jobs.

The demographics of the city has changed as well. Before 1990, 63% of the city's residents were African Americans. Today, Latinos comprise 59%, blacks 22%, Tongans / Samoans 10%.

The big difference is community participation. Community policing is the norm and cops are on top of any minor infraction. If there are shoes wrapped on the telephone lines, its taken down immediately. Same goes with gang tags.

The big fear now is gentrification. East Palo Alto is one of the few affordable places to live in Silicon Valley. Many of its residents work in the service sector jobs (catering, janitorial, maintenace) supporting big employers such as Google, Sun Microsystems, HP and Stanford University.

During the housing boom, techies started to seek housing, and local renters felt being pushed out of the market to other places such as South Hayward or Oakland. This would have determental effects with the local restaurants and hotels who depend on service sector employees who live nearby.

There is also a technological gap in E. Palo Alto. Many local big Silicon Valley companies are promoting the idea of sending free laptops to Africa or Peru, yet the average household in E. Palo Alto (three exits from Google on Hwy. 101) lack a computer or internet connection.

Anyway sorry to digress, but that's E. Palo Alto in a nutshell.

[Lt. James Anderson]

You said crime went down in the old neighborhoods were they moved out off. But i am curious about the place they moved too. I would like to know how they faired.

It went up. It always does. You just spread the same amount of crime over a wider area an you get "a decrease in crime" in the old areas (which are still a no-go zones). Whata wonderful solution.

[USMCRTop]

I know something about this because I do business within E. Palo Alto.

Several dynamics happend at E. Palo Alto. The most important thing was incorporation as a city. One of the first acts was the creation of a local police department.

Much of the drug activity was generated by the high incomes from Silicon Valley. Mercedes and BMWs would drive thru "Whiskey Gulch" pick up he drugs and drive away to Los Altos, Los Gatos or Campbell.

What the cops did was to photograph the activity, license plates and send the increminating photos to the car owner. Business for drug dealers dried up overnight.

As a city, they re-developed Whiskey Gulch into a high end business park with a Four Season Hotel. They also demolished residents motels and added an IKEA, Home Depot and other box stores to generate tax incomes and jobs.

The demographics of the city has changed as well. Before 1990, 63% of the city's residents were African Americans. Today, Latinos comprise 59%, blacks 22%, Tongans / Samoans 10%.

The big difference is community participation. Community policing is the norm and cops are on top of any minor infraction. If there are shoes wrapped on the telephone lines, its taken down immediately. Same goes with gang tags.

The big fear now is gentrification. East Palo Alto is one of the few affordable places to live in Silicon Valley. Many of its residents work in the service sector jobs (catering, janitorial, maintenace) supporting big employers such as Google, Sun Microsystems, HP and Stanford University.

During the housing boom, techies started to seek housing, and local renters felt being pushed out of the market to other places such as South Hayward or Oakland. This would have determental effects with the local restaurants and hotels who depend on service sector employees who live nearby.

There is also a technological gap in E. Palo Alto. Many local big Silicon Valley companies are promoting the idea of sending free laptops to Africa or Peru, yet the average household in E. Palo Alto (three exits from Google on Hwy. 101) lack a computer or internet connection.

Anyway sorry to digress, but that's E. Palo Alto in a nutshell.

Yah I lived in San Carlos from 81-83, I knew that east P.A. was mostly Black and I could never get over how much there was a change when you crossed over the freeway towards Stanford University- I had heard that that lot of lower income folks moved over to the East Bay and I always wondered where the people who cleaned toilets for hi-tech companies lived: I heard Hunter's Point area is all different now as well- as a side note, is there still a 101st Airborne Division room in the San Mateo Public Library ??

[loganinkosovo]

Not all African Americans are renters.

Long term residents of East and West Oakland are moving to the suburbs as homeowners.
See below:


Here are some photos from a blogg about Oakland.


Source:http://www.oaklandstreets.com/

And African American home owner's don't want those SOBs in their neighborhood either!

"Longtime homeowners complained that the new arrivals brought crime and other troubles. In 2006, violent crime in Antioch shot up about 19 percent from the year before, while property crime went down slightly.
"In some neighborhoods, it was complete madness," said longtime resident David Gilbert, a black retiree who organized the United Citizens of Better Neighborhoods watch group. "They were under siege.""

[deagle]

hmmmm...calling as they see it .... lots of new black renters correlating with a higher percentage of crime....its not racism/discrimination

[Ordie]

Yah I lived in San Carlos from 81-83, I knew that east P.A. was mostly Black and I could never get over how much there was a change when you crossed over the freeway towards Stanford University- I had heard that that lot of lower income folks moved over to the East Bay and I always wondered where the people who cleaned toilets for hi-tech companies lived: I heard Hunter's Point area is all different now as well- as a side note, is there still a 101st Airborne Division room in the San Mateo Public Library ??

You probably seen the school buses from E. Palo Alto to Carlmont HS. (Belmont/San Carlos) 30-40 minute trip.

Hunter's Point is still a dump. However 3rd street and Mission Bay has changed with UCSF setting up a stem cell reseach campus with a new MUNI light rail line.

The San Mateo Main Library was demolished and re-built on the same location. I haven't been inside since they re-opened 2 years ago. But I'm sure its there.

NOTE: The City of San Mateo adopted the 101st Airborne Division. I believe San Mateo was the only City in the United States to give a homecoming parade for returning Vietnam Veterans. Not all of the San Francisco Bay Area were anti-military.

[bugkill]

And African American home owner's don't want those SOBs in their neighborhood either!

"Longtime homeowners complained that the new arrivals brought crime and other troubles. In 2006, violent crime in Antioch shot up about 19 percent from the year before, while property crime went down slightly.
"In some neighborhoods, it was complete madness," said longtime resident David Gilbert, a black retiree who organized the United Citizens of Better Neighborhoods watch group. "They were under siege.""


Thank you. There are way too many idiots here that seem to think it is a "black thing" where gangs and drug dealers rule a neighborhood. There are many black residents that hate these bastards, but the threat of getting killed and depending on crappy law enforcement departments that can't protect them, maked many of them feel helpless.

It is not a "black thing" or the way that blacks live. It is a segment of society that is a cancer and you have them in white areas as well (and they have white skin).

[BorisBC]

The best way to get rid of those undesirable elements is just bulldozer their homes... that's what happened in Canberra in Oz. There were some real no-go (for Canberra anyway) areas, all Centrelink (welfare) types, so the Govt just kicked them out and knocked the places down and built nice clean apartments there.

Dunno what's happened to the dropkicks that lived there, but there is bugger all places to go for them now in Canberra!

As for OP about crime and whatnot.. I grew up in some of those dodgy areas in Canberra, and managed to pull myself out and now have a pretty good life. So IMO, a big FU to people who can't be bothered getting themselves out of that ****. They get no sympathy from me.

[Deman]

I'm always amazed when Landlord's accept Section 8 Tenants. Section 8 Tenants are virtually all *****, and no amount of guaranteed income is worth the inevitable damage they will do to your property and your neighborhood.

I'm a landlord and I know several other landlords. The few landlords that have taken on Section 8 Tenants have had god-awful experiences.

In NYC, they recently passed a law barring landlords from refusing Section 8 Tenants (Thankfully it only applies to 6 family or higher apartment buildings), but even with that law in place, most landlords are finding ways around it.
Saw this posted on another forum.

[Bia]

Pat yourself on the back as a liberal and giving community... then reality slaps your dumba55 in the face.

Influx of pitbulls is worth a few L0Ls

[jtv3062]

Antioch has really turn to ****, started in my opinion after 1990. Hudson ct and Scyamore dr being pretty bad before than.

It's spreading to the near by city of Oakley. where I'm from.

[Walter Sobchak]

...and no amount of guaranteed income is worth the inevitable damage they will do to your property and your neighborhood.I have a rental property and after the influx of Katrina-istas, I was approached by FEMA and HUD. They guaranteed me at least 200 dollars a month more than I was asking and even offered a clean-up stipend of 300-dollars when the tenants moved out. I don't recall what the damage limitation was, but it was in the neighborhood of 1200-1500 dollars.

I declined and leased it to a family who stayed about two years. Meanwhile, two nearby homes, owned by a retired widow, went under the Federal progarm and housed displaced persons from New Orleans. This lady is in her 70s and these properties are a big part of her income, which lets her live independently; she's not wealthy, either. Her main reason for taking the FEMA-HUD offer was that she wanted to do something to "help those poor people".

One was cared for pretty well, and only required clean-up and minor repair. The tenants were both school teachers and permanently relocated to Houston and lived there only until they could afford housing in the school district where they found jobs.

The other home was occupied by a pregnant single mom with six children. The kids terrorized the neighborhood kids. The police were there a couple of times a week. The mom always had "company" at the house, with sometimes as many as five cars (the mom had no transportation) parked all over. This family was in the house over two years, five months past the time when funding stopped. To evict someone in a house under HUD is complicated, and the normal state laws for landlords and evictions do not apply. HUD offers no help, only sympathy and a flood of harshly worded, "you better" letters.

When she finally left with her seven children, the house was total wreck. A co-worker showed me photos that he took for the widow, and the place was indescribable. The damage came to just over 48,000 dollars, and all HUD covered was the 1200-1500. The owner was able to apply for some FEMA funds to cover some of the repair costs, and she paid a lawyer 300 dollars to fill out the application. She got another whopping 3,700 dollars! In the end, she filed on her homeowner's insurance, which carries a 3% deductible. Also, it took six months to repair the house. In the end, it cost her lost rental income, an increase in her insurance premium, about 10,000 dollars out-of-pocket costs and a lot of time and aggravation. Mainly, it shattered her view of people as basically good.

Oh, and final insult, the single mom tried to sue the widow because one of her kids supposedly fell down the stairs. Of course, both banisters were torn off by the kids and mom's "visitors", but she basically said the house was unsafe. She offered photos of the house just before they moved out as "proof". Well, in this case, the suit was thrown out, but the widow still had to hire a lawyer to represent her and file for the dismissal.

Like a famous cynic once said, "No good deed goes unpunished!"

[brainplay]

Not all African Americans are renters.

Long term residents of East and West Oakland are moving to the suburbs as homeowners.
See below:


Here are some photos from a blogg about Oakland.


Source:http://www.oaklandstreets.com/

Uh..Ordie. Those houses aren't exactly something to be thrilled about.

Notice the gang grafitti on the sign's in pic #1. Painting over another grafitii can be childish fun or the fact that there are two active gangs in the area who don't get along.

Nice pitbull and trashed yard there in pic two. Glad they put some chicken wire over that bent fence to keep it from getting out.

Lots of nice gang grafitii there. Thats not artiste` stuff.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nq3djCvjKWw/SQ5wbLOXHMI/AAAAAAAABfU/q2l-0jQi_k8/s400/IMG_4155.jpg

Not gang grafitii.....or is it? p-)

[hsh2]

That statement is very debatable.

*1000

Furthermore: KREATOR>>>>>Slayer, Testament, Exodus etc

[boet faas]

The tone of this thread is eerily the same as what I am experiencing in the complex that I am living in. I bought the place just over a year ago after living here for about a year and a half. The complex is only 5 years old and very modern. Until 6 months ago when SA was hit with credit crisis and our interest rates went through the roof. Everybody sold and most units were bought by black owners. As it stands now I cannot live here anymore because of the parties every night, loud music, people having a conversation with each other literally 50 meters apart and the third world security think tank that has taken over with typical brain dead black finesse. When parties are taking place the party goers bribe the security with free booze to look the other way. The other day one security guard was drunk he could not even walk straight. It is intolerable and I don't even think that I would be able to sell the place for the same amount as what I bought it for in the first place. So I am moving out and renting until I can some day find a buyer willing to make a living here.

[boet faas]

PS. I am moving to OZ in June. Thank God.

[BMUS]

I think this sums it up pretty neat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP7fJR9PaXI (http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=sP7fJR9PaXI&feature=related)

Phil Orcs is always right p-)

Damit, cant get the embeded to work... :(
http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=sP7fJR9PaXI&feature=related

[bigvig]

Embed fail??

[BMUS]

Embed fail??
Yep, i suck.

[LaoSexMachine]

Sad but true here in Houston too.

[brainplay]

Sad but true here in Houston too.

Not really the same. Thats really an effect thanks to Katrina. Unfortunately many of their not-so-civil types came as well.