City Government

Communities Turn Out for E12th Coalition’s Affordable Housing Proposal

Published

10 years ago

March 4, 2016

The fight to build affordable housing on a parcel of public land by Lake Merritt has once again turned into a tug-of-war between the East 12th St. neighborhood coalition with various community organizations’ support and market-rate developer UrbanCore backed by some of Oakland’s city staff.

On Monday, City Council held an emotional public hearing on the three development proposals for the E. 12th St. parcel, which were submitted by Bridge AVI Avant, Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) with the E12th Coalition, and UrbanCore with East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC).

While each of the proposals includes affordable housing, SAHA and the E12th Coalition’s plan is the only one designed for 100 percent affordable housing on the site, arguing that city-owned land should be delegated to housing those facing displacement during Oakland’s housing crisis.

Organizations that showed up in support of the E12th Coalition’s proposal included SEIU Local 1021, Asians 4 Black Lives, Oakland Education Association, Causa Justa, Oakland Rising, Urban Habitat, Critical Resistance and Public Advocates.

However, a city staff report released before the public hearing on Monday recommended UrbanCore’s proposal to build 360 units on the site – 252 market-rate units in a tower overlooking Lake Merritt and a separate mid-rise building of 108 affordable units facing the neighborhood.

On Thursday, UrbanCore, EBALDC and city staff submitted a resolution to authorize the city to enter into an exclusive agreement with the market-rate developer to go ahead with their proposal.

The resolution will be voted on during the March 15 City Council meeting.

UrbanCore’s proposal is quite different from their previous proposal to build a luxury apartment tower that had no affordable housing at the site—a violation of California’s Surplus Lands Act.

A leaked legal memo to the City Council by the City Attorney revealed to the public that councilmembers were aware of the illegality of UrbanCore’s proposal but were set to make the agreement anyway.

Back then, supporters of the E12th Coalition took over the City Council meeting to prevent the agreement from being passed. After months of compiling input from hundreds of community members living in the area, the E12th Coalition submitted a proposal for 133 affordable housing units and found an affordable housing developer – SAHA – to make the goal a reality.

On Monday, over 140 speakers signed up to speak on the item, almost all of them in favor of E12th Coalition’s “People’s Proposal.” Young spoken-word artists from 67 Sueños recited poems about their painful experiences of displacement.

James Vann, co-founder of the Oakland Tenants’ Union, told council members they needed to pass a public lands policy to address the use of city-owned land in a way that stops displacement and to prevent the battle for affordable housing from recurring on a case-by-case basis.

While housing advocates are in agreement that market-rate housing needs to be built alongside affordable housing to alleviate Oakland’s housing strain, speakers argued that doing so on city-owned land would be detrimental to residents facing displacement.

“Oakland is in a serious housing crisis due to the evictions of working-class people living here. There is no market-rate housing crisis,” said Vann. “There is probably between 15,000 and 20,000 market-rate units coming through the pipeline in the next five years.”

“We need to use the small amount of public land that we have to house the people who live here,” said Vann.

Krishna Desai of the E12th Coalition said, “The market will take care of market-rate housing. 73 percent of projects currently in the pipeline are for market-rate housing.”

“They’ve got it handled, they don’t need Oakland’s help,” said Desai. “The poor and working class need your help. Luxury housing will displace these folks in the last affordable neighborhood in Oakland.”

Several educators spoke at the meeting, reminding council members that the lives of Oakland families, students and teachers are at stake with this decision.

“We need our students to be able to live here,” said a member of the Oakland Education Association. “Black families are having to move out of Oakland, but they are Oakland. We need them here.”

“I am so glad that this is an election year,” said Mike Hutchinson, a school activist in Oakland. “Five of these eight seats are up for re-election, and if this process of choosing developers over communities doesn’t stop now, we will remember come November.”

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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

Published

3 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.