Homeless

Oakland Evicts Residents of Union Point Homeless Camp

Published

6 years ago

August 24, 2019

Nicole Kahele and Elijah Marra pose in front of their handmade sign on Aug 20th, shortly before the City of Oakland evicts them from Union Point Park. Kehele is one of for plaintiffs in a lawsuit claiming Mayor Lib¬by Schaaf and the city are violating her 4th, 8th, and 14th amendment rights during evictions. Photo by Zack

Oakland’s Department of Public Works (ODPW) and Oakland’s Police Department (OPD) and Auto Plus Towing evicted at least 20 adults and five children who were living in RVs, campers, and other vehicles in a parking lot in Union Point Park on Tuesday.

“I grew up within a mile radius of here my whole life and I’m a member of this community but they’re trying to shuffle me out of where I’m from,” said Nicole Kahele. “We’re staying in a public park because there’s no affordable housing.”

Kahele is one of four Union Point community members who, after experiencing past evictions, filed a lawsuit claiming the City of Oakland and Mayor Libby Schaaf are violating their fourth, eighth, and 14th amendment rights and that ODPW is not following its own stated policy when it evicts unhoused residents.

“The City is supposed to bag, identify and tag all the property that people want to keep but can’t take with them and store it for free for three months,” said Needa Bee, an unhoused, lifelong Oakland resident who lives outside of Union Point but is helping with the suit. “That has never happened in the three years that I have been following evictions.”

Kahele and the other defendants, all of whom lived at Union Point before the eviction, had filed a restraining order to U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer through their lawyer, Emily Rose Johns, that prevented ODPW from evicting them.

The order also protected other Union Point residents, as the city couldn’t evict some residents while allowing others to stay. But the city successfully challenged and overturned the order while Johns was on vacation and posted eviction notices on Friday, Aug 16, leaving most Union Park residents five days to pack all of their belongings to leave.

The rush to pack was especially difficult for those who have physical limitations and/ or disabilities. Elijah Marra, who was recovering from hernia surgery that he’d had two days before, complained of sharp abdominal pains as he packed his belongings. While he was able to keep his most important belongings, there was much he had to throw away.

Residents whose vehicles didn’t run, like lifelong Oakland resident Dre Nash, had to have them towed and impounded. The City offered some of these residents a single night in a homeless shelter but no one was offered permanent housing. Nash’s RV home and almost all of his belongings are currently in an impound lot and he’s unsure of when or how he can get them back.

Oakland’s assistant city administrator Joe DeVries, who helps to organize and implement the Schaaf’s administrations plans and policies for homelessness, claims that he and the city see eviction as a last resort, but that they’ve received complaints from housed residents, as well as the Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the California Coastal Commission.

“It’s tidewater land and it’s protected so it’s really not an appropriate place to have people camping,” said DeVries.

While DeVries claims the encampment was filled with trash and not well kept, those staying at Union Point claim it’s difficult to keep clean when the city doesn’t provide consistent trash service, and that housed residents would have the same issues if they didn’t have weekly trash pickup.

None of the Union Point residents the Oakland Post spoke with wanted to leave the site without being offered another permanent living option and many claimed they felt safe there as they supported each other.

While Union Point’s residents claim that some housed people come by and harass them, some nearby housed residents say they don’t want them forced out.

“They’ve fallen on hard times and everything’s so damn expensive here,” said Douglas Thorn, who’s lived near Union Point for three years. “I think they’re decent people, and I enjoy having them here.”

Zack Haber

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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6 days ago

December 25, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of December 17 – 23, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 17 – 23, 2025

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

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Mayor Lee, City Leaders Announce $334 Million Bond Sale for Affordable Housing, Roads, Park Renovations, Libraries and Senior Centers

Saying “Oakland is on the move,” Mayor Barbara Lee announces results of Measure U bond sale, Dec. 9, at Oakland City Hall with city councilmembers and city staff among those present. Photo courtesy of the City of Oakland.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Saying “Oakland is on the move,” Mayor Barbara Lee announces results of Measure U bond sale, Dec. 9, at Oakland City Hall with city councilmembers and city staff among those present. Photo courtesy of the City of Oakland.

By Post Staff

The City of Oakland announced this week that it is successfully moving forward on the sale of $334 million of General Obligation bonds, a milestone that will provide the city with capital funding for city departments to deliver paved roads, restored public facilities, and investments in affordable housing.

“Oakland is on the move and building momentum with this bond sale,” said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. “We are reviving access to funding for paving our streets, restoring public facilities we all use and depend upon, and investing in affordable housing for our community, all while maintaining transparency and fiscal discipline.”

“These bonds represent our city’s continued commitment to sound financial management and responsible investment in Oakland’s future,” said Lee.

“Together, we are strengthening our foundation for generations to come,” she said. “I’m grateful to our partners in the City Council for their leadership and support, and to City Administrator Jestin Johnson for driving this process and ensuring we brought it home.”

According to the city, $285 million of the bonds will support new projects and $49 million of the bonds will refund existing bonds for debt service savings.

Oakland issued the Measure U bonds on Dec. 4 after two years of delays over concerns about the city’s financial outlook. They all sold in less than a week.

The new money bonds will pay for affordable housing, roadway safety and infrastructure improvements, and renovations to parks, libraries, senior centers, and other public facilities under the city’s Measure U Authorization.

Citywide paving and streetscape projects will create safer streets for Oaklanders. Additionally, critical facilities like the East Oakland Senior Center and San Antonio Park will receive much-needed renovations, according to the city.

Some of the projects:

$50.5 million – Citywide Street Resurfacing
$13 million – Complete Streets Capital Program
$9.5 million – Curb Ramps Program
$30 million – Acquisition & Preservation of Existing Affordable Housing
$33 million – District 3: Mandela Transit-Oriented Development
$28 million – District 6: Liberation Park Development
$3 million – District 5: Brookdale Recreation Center Capital Project
$1.5 million – District 1: Oakland Tool Lending Library (Temescal Branch Library)
$10 million – District 3: Oakland Ice Center

“I recognize that many naysayers said we couldn’t do it,” said Johnson. “Well, you know what? We’re here now. And we’re going to be here next year and the year after. The fact is we’re getting our fiscal house in order. We said we were going to do it — and we’re doing it.”

Investors placed $638 million in orders for the $334 million of bonds offered by the City. There was broad investor demand with 26 separate investment firms placing orders. The oversubscription ultimately allowed the city to lower the final interest rates offered to investors and reduce the city’s borrowing cost.

“The oversubscription ultimately allowed the City to lower the final interest rates offered to investors and reduce the City’s borrowing cost,” said Sean Maher, the city’s communications director.

“The Oakland City Council worked closely with the administration to both advance the bond issuance process and ensure that the community had a clear understanding of the City’s timeline and approach,” said Councilmember at-Large Rowena Brown.

“In September, the City Council took unanimous action to authorize the Administration to move forward with the bond sale because these funds are essential to delivering the very improvements our communities have long asked for – safer streets, restored public facilities, and expanded affordable housing,” she said.

Continuing, Brown said, “I want to extend my sincere thanks to City Administrator Jestin Johnson, Finance Director Bradley Johnson, and Mayor Barbara Lee for their leadership, diligence, and steady guidance throughout the City’s bond sale efforts.

“Navigating complex market conditions while keeping Oakland’s long-term infrastructure needs front and center is no small task, and this moment reflects tremendous professionalism and persistence,” she said.

Moody’s gave the city an AA2 rating on the bonds, its third-highest rating, which it gives to high-quality investment-grade securities.

There was both a tax-exempt portion and a taxable portion for the bond offering, reflecting the various uses of the bond proceeds, according to a statement released by the city.

The $143.5 million of tax-exempt bonds have a 30-year final maturity and received an all-in borrowing cost of 3.99%. The $191 million of taxable bonds have a 24-year final maturity and received an all-in borrowing cost of 5.55%.

The $49 million in tax-exempt bonds that refinance existing obligations of the City resulted in $5.6 million of debt service savings for taxpayers through 2039, or $4.7 million on a present value basis.

Mayor Lee said that, based on her experience serving on the House Financial Services Committee of the U.S. Congress for more than 10 years, city staff has done an exemplary job.

“I have witnessed many cities go to the bond market throughout the years,” she said. “I can tell you with certainty that Oakland’s team is remarkable, and our residents should be proud of their reputation, their competence, and their deep knowledge of this very sophisticated market.”

Looking ahead to the final sale of the bonds, according to the city press statement, pricing marks the point at which the City and investors locked in the final dollar amounts, interest rates, and other key terms of the bond sale. This stage is commonly referred to as the sale date. At pricing, no funds are exchanged. The actual delivery of bonds and receipt of monies occurs at closing, which is scheduled within the next two weeks.

Capital projects receiving this funding will proceed on individual timelines based on their individual conditions and needs. At the time of closing, funding will be immediately available to those projects.