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San Francisco Secures Over $200 Million in State Funding for Affordable Housing

“These funds come at a critical time in San Francisco,” said Mayor London N. Breed. “They will help us continue to deliver desperately needed affordable housing units for our families, workers, and individuals exiting homelessness as part of our overall strategy of building more housing at all income levels across the entire City. In addition to the State’s critical leadership, I want to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi and our federal leaders for their incredibly important work to bring this funding to California and San Francisco.”

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2022

Oakland Post

Mayor London N. Breed

Funding Supported by American Rescue Plan Act

Mayor London N. Breed announced on February 4 that San Francisco has been awarded more than $200 million in funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. This support was provided by the new California Housing Accelerator Fund, which was seeded with a $1.75 billion investment from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

These dollars will provide the final funding necessary for four key affordable housing projects that will build over 400 units of affordable housing for families, formerly homeless individuals, public housing residents, and transitional aged youth. These projects include:

180 Jones St., a 70-unit development for formerly homeless and low-income adults in the Tenderloin.
1801 18th St., a 157-unit affordable family housing project that is a component of San Francisco’s HOPE SF initiative which will provide new replacement units for residents living in public housing in Potrero Hill and additional affordable family housing.
Parcel C3.1, a 138-unit affordable family housing development on Treasure Island.
San Cristina Hotel, a rehabilitation of a 58-unit Single Room Occupancy Hotel on Market Street which will house formerly homeless adults.

These shovel-ready projects are expected to begin construction in the coming months.

“These funds come at a critical time in San Francisco,” said Breed. “They will help us continue to deliver desperately needed affordable housing units for our families, workers, and individuals exiting homelessness as part of our overall strategy of building more housing at all income levels across the entire City. In addition to the State’s critical leadership, I want to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi and our federal leaders for their incredibly important work to bring this funding to California and San Francisco.”

“Thanks to Democrats’ American Rescue Plan, a life-changing $200 million investment in affordable housing is headed to San Francisco,” said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives. “With this urgently needed funding, our City will be able to build, rehab, and replace more than 400 affordable housing units, house more low-income San Franciscans struggling through the pandemic and reduce homelessness. Let us salute Mayor London Breed for her dedicated and long-standing leadership in expanding affordable housing opportunities in San Francisco.”

“When we launched the California Housing Accelerator, we had clear objectives – eliminate the backlog of projects standing in long lines for tax credits and bonds, bring affordable housing to communities in need, and reduce the amount of time and money involved in preparing to make these homes available,” said Gustavo Velasquez, director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. “And while more work remains in Tier 2, (the) announcement is an important step toward achieving our affordable housing goals.”

“We are grateful for the Housing Accelerator Fund’s investment in San Francisco,” said Eric Shaw, director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development. “This funding source has been key to moving our projects forward in a competitive funding environment.”

This report comes from the Mayor’s Office of Communication.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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5 days ago

April 26, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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2 weeks ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”