Uncategorized

Berkeley Joins Demand for Immigration Reform

Published

13 years ago

April 18, 2013

From left to right: Amaris Baca-Arana, Kyle Kuwahara, Marco Levine, Scott Kuwahara, Aminah Diaby, and Kaiya Daniels, representing the “Bring Rodrigo Home-Kids for Kids” campaign on the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 80, April 10, in Berkeley. Their classmate Rodrigo Guzman and his family took a trip to Mexico and were denied re-entry into the U.S. due to expired visas. Rodrigo moved to the United States around 2006 and is popular among his classmates and teachers. Photo by Laura Wong.

Ju Hong describes his story as an undocumented immigrant from South Korea, on the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 80, April 10 in Berkeley. Hong, heavily involved in the DREAMers movement, graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science and is working towards a Master’s degree in Public Administration at San Francisco State University. Photo by Laura Wong.

City Councilmember Jesse Arreguin at the Berkeley Celebrates Cesar Chavez event. Photo by Judith Scherr.

By Judith Scherr

Calling Berkeley’s pedestrian span over the freeway “The Bridge to Citizenship,” a crowd of about 100 people rallied at the bridge on April 10 for fair immigration reform, joining their voices with hundreds of thousands of others across the country.
Berkeley City Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, son and grandson of farmworkers, spoke before marching across the bridge.
“For too long our undocumented sisters and brothers have been living in the shadows,” Arreguin said. “They are our neighbors, classmates and coworkers. They pay taxes and raise their kids here and they contribute to our local economy. Despite the fact that they are embedded in our community, there’s no easy way for them to become legal citizens.
“For far too long, rather than fixing this broken system, our federal government has been dividing families and communities through raids and deportations. This has to stop.”
People without documents that authorize them to live in the U.S. – there are 11 million in the country and 143,000 in Alameda County — are beginning to speak out about the trials they face. They’re unable to drive or work legally, or even open bank accounts. Some, particularly day laborers, are vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who don’t pay them, understanding that they fear going to the police.
Ju Hong, a San Francisco State graduate student who has lived in the U.S. since he was 11, spoke to the gathering. Stating he is “undocumented and unafraid,” Hong talked about the difficult economic situation that caused his mother to leave her home in South Korea and bring her two children to the U.S.
He didn’t learn about his own immigration status until he was in high school, filling out a college application. ”There’s a social security section where I didn’t know what to put,” Hong said. “So I asked my mom about it and that’s when she told me everything about our situation. We came here with a tourist visa and she renewed additional tourist visas. And during this period, my mom tried to adjust our immigration status. But it didn’t work out. And therefore, we became undocumented. At first I didn’t know what it meant to be undocumented. Until I learned that I’m unable to get a job, obtain a driver’s license, or receive any type of financial aid. And worst of all I was and still am at risk of being deported back to South Korea.”
Recent California legislation allows eligible students to obtain financial aid for college and university.
Representatives from the Alameda County Central Labor Council and a group of fourth graders from Jefferson School sporting “Bring Rodrigo Home” t-shirts led the chanting crowd across the bridge.
The students and their adult advisors have catapulted their deported classmate Rodrigo Guzman into the limelight as a poster child for immigration reform. Rodrigo had lived in Berkeley more than seven of his nine years. He accompanied his parents on a visit to Mexico at Christmastime, but coming home to Berkeley, was stopped at the Houston airport, where authorities determined the family’s visas had expired and deported them to Mexico.
The next day, April 11, some of Rodrigo’s classmates spoke to more than 200 people gathered for the Berkeley Celebrates Cesar Chavez event at the Berkeley Adult School, an event targeting immigration reform.
Kyle Kuwahara, 9, read his letter to President Obama: “….In school we are learning about all these important people like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks who fought for people’s civil rights and freedom. So what about Rodrigo’s freedom? Who is fighting for his freedom? This is our time to stand up like Cesar Chavez, Yuri Kochiyama and Dolores Huerta to fight for Rodrigo’s rights.”
Next month, the children will travel to Washington D.C. at the invitation of Rep. Barbara Lee to lobby for immigration reform and the return of their friend.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

8 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.