4 20-0315 Subject: Action To Prevent COVID-19 From Spreading
From: Council President Kaplan
Recommendation: Adopt The Following Pieces Of Legislation;
1) A Resolution Requesting The City Administrator To Acquire Buildings, Facilities And Supplies For The Provision Of Aide And Housing To The Homeless Residents To Prevent The Spread Of COVID-19 In Homeless Communities And Authorizing The City Administrator To Seek Reimbursement From The Federal Government For Costs Associated With The Acquisitions; And
Dear Council: We all know that there are thousands of empty houses and apartments across Oakland. It is time for the city to step up, realizing that no one is safe from the virus unless we are ALL safe, and house ALL unsheltered people safely and humanely in these empty units. This is not time to obfuscate and hold back; it is time for immediate action to shelter every person living in Oakland. San Francisco is modeling this move and while SF has thousands of empty hotel rooms which Oakland does not, Oakland does have a large capacity to house every person in a unit sitting empty.
Act now and save lives. The lives you save will not only be those of the homeless people in our community but will enhance the well-being of all Oaklanders.
Melissa Mandel
District 2
the easiest solution would to provide hotel vouchers for at least 3 months, or at best turn hotels into permanent SROs. this opportunity to prevent the spread of the virus not can also become the catalyst to solve homelessness. If San Francisco can do it, Oakland can too! also, for months hundreds of new condos and apartments that have sprung up from North Oakland to downtown sit empty because no one can afford them. again, work with yours' and the mayor's development buddies and move unhoused residents in them now. it is absolutely criminal that folks continue to live on the streets when hundred's of units sit empty - virus or not. and this virus completely changes the game. I wonder if people do not understand that unhoused folks do not live in a vacuum. we visit our housed families and friends, we go to the markets, we ride the buses, we pump gas. if zero prevention measures are put in place specific to unhoused residents this virus will spread like wildfire thru out all of Oakland.
Oakland should shelter homeless residents now, in hotel rooms that are empty because few people are traveling. It does not make sense to give City Council a blank check to buy "buildings and facilities" with no plan for how they will be funded or managed. Also, it will take a lot longer to purchase buildings responsibly than it would to lease hotel rooms. The East Bay Times published an article today explaining that San Francisco has already taken action to house homeless people in hotels. Oakland should follow San Francisco's lead and do this now. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/03/27/safe-from-coronavirus-dozens-of-homeless-move-into-hotels-to-ride-out-pandemic/
I oppose this. San Francisco is considering sheltering our unhoused in hotels, which would be much more practical. This resolution allows City Administrator to acquire buildings and facilities WITHOUT any specific spending limit or specific funding source. It is shameful to use this coronavirus crisis situation to put through extreme and reckless policies without any practical accounting.
I support this. Today I did some research. Oakland currently has sufficient housing inventory to shelter every homeless person in the city. In rental apartments alone - not even counting houses.
According to apartments.com:
- 3841 apartments are available
- 2426 rent in excess of $3000/month - 63%
- 251 rent for under $2000 - 6%
Some of the lower-priced apartments have shared bathrooms. We should rule those out.
The majority of these apartments are advertised as "luxury," but I'm certain the developers would understand. Housing should not be considered a luxury when human lives are at stake.
More luxury housing is being being built, in the middle of this pandemic, right as we speak. It's unfortunate to see so many construction workers forced to spread this virus. Building luxury housing is not an essential service, unless it is saving lives. These projects should be suspended so that these workers and their families can be spared, via social distancing, just like the rest of us.
I support this legislation to house our unsheltered neighbors during this time. Although this pandemic is affecting everyone, it is affecting privileged people far less than others. It is important that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, is given the tools to withstand this crisis and right now that means a secure shelter to practice social distancing. I would also urge the City Administrator to use not just run-down hotels in East Oakland.
Council leadership is important to kickstart these needed actions. Oakland Tenants Union urges approval.
Dear Council: We all know that there are thousands of empty houses and apartments across Oakland. It is time for the city to step up, realizing that no one is safe from the virus unless we are ALL safe, and house ALL unsheltered people safely and humanely in these empty units. This is not time to obfuscate and hold back; it is time for immediate action to shelter every person living in Oakland. San Francisco is modeling this move and while SF has thousands of empty hotel rooms which Oakland does not, Oakland does have a large capacity to house every person in a unit sitting empty.
Act now and save lives. The lives you save will not only be those of the homeless people in our community but will enhance the well-being of all Oaklanders.
Melissa Mandel
District 2
the easiest solution would to provide hotel vouchers for at least 3 months, or at best turn hotels into permanent SROs. this opportunity to prevent the spread of the virus not can also become the catalyst to solve homelessness. If San Francisco can do it, Oakland can too! also, for months hundreds of new condos and apartments that have sprung up from North Oakland to downtown sit empty because no one can afford them. again, work with yours' and the mayor's development buddies and move unhoused residents in them now. it is absolutely criminal that folks continue to live on the streets when hundred's of units sit empty - virus or not. and this virus completely changes the game. I wonder if people do not understand that unhoused folks do not live in a vacuum. we visit our housed families and friends, we go to the markets, we ride the buses, we pump gas. if zero prevention measures are put in place specific to unhoused residents this virus will spread like wildfire thru out all of Oakland.
Oakland should shelter homeless residents now, in hotel rooms that are empty because few people are traveling. It does not make sense to give City Council a blank check to buy "buildings and facilities" with no plan for how they will be funded or managed. Also, it will take a lot longer to purchase buildings responsibly than it would to lease hotel rooms. The East Bay Times published an article today explaining that San Francisco has already taken action to house homeless people in hotels. Oakland should follow San Francisco's lead and do this now. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/03/27/safe-from-coronavirus-dozens-of-homeless-move-into-hotels-to-ride-out-pandemic/
I oppose this. San Francisco is considering sheltering our unhoused in hotels, which would be much more practical. This resolution allows City Administrator to acquire buildings and facilities WITHOUT any specific spending limit or specific funding source. It is shameful to use this coronavirus crisis situation to put through extreme and reckless policies without any practical accounting.
I support this. Today I did some research. Oakland currently has sufficient housing inventory to shelter every homeless person in the city. In rental apartments alone - not even counting houses.
According to apartments.com:
- 3841 apartments are available
- 2426 rent in excess of $3000/month - 63%
- 251 rent for under $2000 - 6%
Some of the lower-priced apartments have shared bathrooms. We should rule those out.
The majority of these apartments are advertised as "luxury," but I'm certain the developers would understand. Housing should not be considered a luxury when human lives are at stake.
More luxury housing is being being built, in the middle of this pandemic, right as we speak. It's unfortunate to see so many construction workers forced to spread this virus. Building luxury housing is not an essential service, unless it is saving lives. These projects should be suspended so that these workers and their families can be spared, via social distancing, just like the rest of us.
I support this and making sure that homeless are housed properly in clean and safe buildings
I support this legislation to house our unsheltered neighbors during this time. Although this pandemic is affecting everyone, it is affecting privileged people far less than others. It is important that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, is given the tools to withstand this crisis and right now that means a secure shelter to practice social distancing. I would also urge the City Administrator to use not just run-down hotels in East Oakland.