Bay Area

City Destroys Self-Made Homes

Published

7 years ago

October 24, 2019

While establishing a fire lane and cleaning a portion of a Home Depot parking lot where around 50 unhoused residents live, on Oct. 22 and 23 Oakland’s Department of Public Works (DPW) destroyed over a dozen self-made wooden homes and left those displaced with no alternative housing options.

“It’s nothing but it keeps a roof over my head,” said José Vargas about his thin, high-ceilinged, self-made home with a bed, couch and TV in an interview with the Oakland Post a few days before the demolition. He lived there with his partner, Jillian Wright, but was disassembling the home during our interview to save the wood, which he says he purchased at Home Depot for about $300.

“If the city gets to [my home] first, they’ll just destroy it,” said Vargas.

Vargas has lived in Oakland since his family came from Mexico when he was 3 years old. He had stable housing and worked in a restaurant until his father passed away three years ago. Since then, he’s lived by Home Depot, in an encampment that residents call The Community of Grace (COG).

COG has been under scrutiny since at least last November 2018, when the site’s City Councilmember Noel Gallo talked with KCBS about the site’s crime and squalid conditions. A walk through the site reveals large trash piles, living and dead vermin, and human waste. But the residents, most of whom are long-time Oakland residents priced out of their former housing claim that most residents leave Home Depot alone and that the city refuses to provide dumpsters, do consistent trash pick up, and provide adequate toilet services.

Vargas says he first found out he could no longer keep his home on Oct. 14, when the city put a notice on it saying it was a fire hazard. Vargas and his partner, Wright, understood the concern as one of their previous self-made homes recently caught fire, but they were frustrated that the city offered no alternative housing.

Wright says that for more than four months she has been on a waiting list for the city’s Community Cabins program, which offers temporary shelter in shared 10’x12’ cabins, but hasn’t been able to enter the program. Oakland North reported in September that the Community Cabins can only currently offer beds to 195 participants.

“This is as an attack on curbside communities,” said Candice Elder of The East Oakland Collective (EOC). “They’re citing self-built homes for fire-code violations that normally only apply to your traditional single-family home.”

Elder was on site when the city destroyed about 20 self-made homes between 81st and 85th Avenues beneath the BART tracks in East Oakland in mid-September.

At the city’s request, EOC successfully raised funds to provide replacement tents but the group refused to do it for the city again as they want the city held accountable.

“There should be a time period when residents can address any safety or fire code concerns to see if they can get their self-built structures more safe,” said Elder. “But the city is jumping straight to the extreme of destroy.”

EOC was able to negotiate with the city to allow some structures to remain for residents in particularly vulnerable situations. Two single mothers were able to keep their homes, as were an elderly couple.

The city’s leniency did not extend to residents with disabilities. A total of at least 13 homes were destroyed, including one belonging to Amy Krawkowskeie who has both cerebral palsy and a traumatic brain injury. The Oakland Post interviewed her partner, Kayla Krawkowskeie, as she packed up all of the couple’s belongings on October 22, hours before her home was destroyed.

“The fact that they’re demolishing our house is ridiculous,” Kayla said, who felt that she was being punished for other people’s lack of common sense. “We just need to be more careful about not cooking inside of places like this.”

Unlike the vast majority of other displaced residents, the city offered Amy and Kayla Krawkowskeie space in a Community Cabin site for six months. Although the couple preferred to stay in their former home as they had lived at COG for four years, they accepted the offer after the city destroyed their home.

The Oakland Post e-mailed Noel Gallo for comment on this story but did not hear back. The Post also e-mailed Assistant City Administrator Joe DeVries, who wrote the policy for The Community Cabins program, but did not hear back.

The city plans a similar operation in the private lot that borders the Home Depot lot and also has self-made homes, on Oct. 29 and 30.

Zack Haber

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Alameda County

The Marin City Flea Market Is Back

The Marin City Flea Market returns on May 23, offering arts, crafts, vintage items, and collectibles. The market aims to uplift local vendors and celebrate cultural diversity.

Published

13 minutes ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Customers shopping in Marin City Flea Market. Photo courtesy of marincityflea.org.

By Godfrey Lee

After a long absence, Marin City will once again hold its flea market. The market will have its grand opening on Saturday, May 23, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church parking lot on 101 Donahue St. It will be held every fourth Saturday of the month

The market will be free to the public

There will be arts, crafts, vintage, collectibles, and other items on sale at the market. Interested vendors can contact info@marincityflea.org or text (415) 484-2984 for more information.

“The Marin City Flea Market’s mission is to uplift local vendors, celebrate cultural diversity, and provide an accessible community space where creativity, entrepreneurship, and connection can thrive,” says their website, marincityflea.org.

The flea market is sponsored and run by the Rotary Club of Marin City.

For more information, contact info@marincityflea.org. Or text to (415) 484-2984

Oakland Post

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Activism

The People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft Speaks at National Probate Reform Coalition Meeting

Evangeline Byars and Carmella Carrington lead the STOPDEEDTHEFT.org movement, fighting rising deed and title fraud, which disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities nationwide.

Published

35 minutes ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Left to right: Evangeline Byars and Carmella Carrington are gaining nationwide attention with their STOPDEEDTHEFT.org movement.

Caption:

By Tanya Dennis

The National Probate Reform Coalition (NPRC) has learned that aside from rampant theft of properties occurring through probate court, deed theft extends even further with the support of banks, police, judges, attorneys and “the system” to steal Black and Brown properties.

Deed and title fraud are rising, with FBI data showing over 9,300 complaints and $173.6 million in losses in 2024 alone.

To that end, NPRC invited Evangeline Byars of The People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft as their keynote speaker on May 7.

Deed theft victims reach out to Byars because she has a reputation of getting things done. Introduced to community organizing at Medgar Evers College in 2011, Byars was mentored by Harry Belafonte and gained further movement training in 2012-13 through his “Gathering for Justice.” Byars also trained with the Youth Brigade 32BJ, Union in 2012 where she learned to map, target, and execute actions.

With that knowledge as an advocacy worker, Byars ran for president of TWU Local 100 for transit workers. During challenges of the union and political changes in New York when unions no longer had friends in government, they organized.

In 2025, deed theft victims approached Byars and told their stories. Byars investigated, and discovered rampant, unrelenting theft of properties, primarily from Black and brown families, got involved and helped them with their fight, teaching them how to sustain their fight at the grassroots level while remaining politically independent. This independence gave them the ability to move without co promise.

Deed theft is the taking of someone’s deed through fraudulent mortgages or a stranger that accesses property records, prepares paperwork and files for an owner’s property. New York is a’ first notice’ state, which means whoever appears first on record is the designated deed holder.

Deed theft escalated between 2013-23, the outcome of the subprime market, when people faced mass foreclosure and short sales. By 2014 people, primary Black and Brown, were fighting for their property.

In California, title theft (deed fraud) is a fast-growing threat often targeting high-equity homes, vacant land, and rentals. As of 2024, California leads the nation in real estate fraud with over 1,583 cases costing roughly $24.8 million in losses in a single year, reflecting the state’s prime position for scammers due to high property values, the FBI reports.

Byars says, “Deed theft affects Black and Brown people: it is by design, leading to the erasure of people of color homeownership that is happening nationwide. In every big city across the United States, towns and municipalities, we are witnessing a mass exodus of Black and brown people. This theft cannot occur without judges, notaries and law enforcement, it is a syndicate of players working together for the removal of people by illegal ejectment or eviction.

The People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft does court watch and constantly highlight the inequities in the court system.

Byars says, “This is a human rights crisis. Because of Wall Street and what New York signifies to the nation, know that no state is safe. Any person can come and create paper terrorism, slap forgery notes on homes; engage in illegal guardian procedures; initiate foreclosures; apply for fraudulent loan modifications; then there’s outright theft and forgery, just taking people’s homes. Believe me, it’s happening nationally and on the daily, These predators also target seniors over the age of 60 and women.”

The People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft take direct actions against perpetrators and are working with the New York District Attorney to create an office dedicated to gighting deed theft.

“Two ways to protect your deed is to keep a note, never satisfy your mortgage, because the bank is the biggest gangster, but if you’re making a payment, it keeps them in check. Or put your home in a living trust, once you have a trust, it hides the owner’s name and protects the person from predators.”

Oakland Post

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Amsterdam News

School District Extends Supt. Dr. Denise Saddler’s Contract for a Second Year

The Oakland Board of Education has extended Superintendent Denise Saddler’s contract through June 2027, promoting her from interim to permanent superintendent with a salary of $367,765.45 per year.

Published

1 hour ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Supt. Dr. Denise Saddler. File photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Board of Education voted this week to extend Superintendent Denise Saddler’s contract for another year, from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.

Under the new agreement, Saddler’s job title will become “superintendent”; she will no longer be called “interim.”

Along with the new title, she will receive full superintendent benefits and salary at $367,765.45 per year, according to the employment agreement.

The vote to approve the new contract passed 5-2 at Wednesday night’s board meeting.

Saddler’s original interim contract was for one year. The school board was planning to select a permanent superintendent by the fall but earlier this year decided to delay the search.

The new contract reflects the Board of Education’s “determination that continuity in executive leadership is in the best interests of the district as Oakland Unified continues implementation of its fiscal stabilization strategies, academic priorities, labor relations initiatives, and operational improvements,” the employment agreement reads.

In November, the board approved a $150,000 contract with a consulting firm to carry out that search, but Board President Jennifer Brouhard told KQED last month that the process never got off the ground.

“No work was done, no money has been paid for the work (to) the search firm for the superintendent search,” Brouhard said. “Hopefully, we’ll be resuming that in the early part of the fall.”

Dr. Saddler was born and raised in Oakland, attended local schools, and has dedicated more than 45 years of her career to serving Oakland students and families.

She began her career in 1979 as a teacher of students with disabilities. Over the years, she has served as a teacher, principal, district leader, and teachers’ union president.

While working in OUSD, she has served as principal at Chabot Elementary, area auperintendent, and executive leader for Community Engagement and Educational Transitions. She has also supported schools as a principal coach and substitute principal and taught at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Saddler holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Mills College and master’s degrees in special education and in Staff Development and Administration.