Activism

Heritage Park Seniors Say Rent Hikes are Unaffordable, Garner Support from City

City officials have recently supported Heritage residents. During a city council meeting on Nov. 28, council members Cesar Zepeda and Melvin Willis asked staff to approve a letter asking USA Properties not to implement the 5% increase and to reevaluate future increases. The letter stated the increase could force residents “to sacrifice other needs to keep up with their housing cost” and possibly drive them to homelessness. The City Council unanimously agreed to send the letter, although USA Properties still raised the rents.

Published

2 years ago

December 26, 2023

By Zack Haber

Left to right: Dolores Ferrell, Donald Roberts, Samuel Lewis, Elda Fontano, and Timothy Sykes stand in front of a Christmas Tree at Heritage Park at Hilltop Affordable Senior Apartments in Richmond on Dec. 12. Photo by Zack Haber.

By Zack Haber

Some tenants at an affordable senior apartment facility in Richmond called Heritage Park at Hilltop have been speaking out against what they see as excessive rent increases. Low-income tenants like 72-year-old Elda Fontano worry that the 5% increase they received on Dec. 1 could price them out of the facility. The tenants have garnered support from city officials, who are questioning if 5% rent increases are affordable for Richmond seniors.

“This 5% increase is killing me and eventually it’s going to send me right out the door,” said Fontano.

Richmond Councilmember Melvin Wills said that conversations with tenants have shown him that many are already struggling with rent costs and that he thinks the goal for affordable housing facilities should be “stabilizing the community at hand.”

“I know that technically [Heritage] is considered affordable housing for the region,” Willis said. “But if you’re going to be increasing rents knowing that people can’t afford it and it’s just going to open up the space for someone who can, I identify that as a problem even if it is legal.”

Heritage, which opened in the year 2000 and has 192 housing units, is owned and operated by the Roseville based USA Properties Fund, inc. The company receives federal funding for the facility through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and has just over 100 apartment complexes operating or under construction. Most of them are affordable facilities, and about half of them are senior apartment facilities, like Heritage, for those ages 55 and older.

Rents at Heritage fall within what the state legally allows affordable housing providers to charge. The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee calculates and monitors maximum allowable rents for the low-income housing program. According to a spokesperson for USA Properties, the committee has set Heritage’s maximum allowable rent based on income levels of 60% of the area median income. These limits are $1,909 for two-bedroom apartments and $1,601 for one-bedroom apartments. The spokesperson said on average, Heritage tenants are charged $1,523 for two-bedroom apartments and $1,432 for one-bedroom apartments. Other than providing these figures, no one from USA Properties provided further comment or answered questions for this article.

The formula that the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee uses to calculate maximum rent costs at affordable senior facilities poses difficulties for Richmond residents. It’s based largely on area median income at the county level. But census data show that, on average, Richmond residents make less money than the rest of the county. While the average per capita income for all of Contra Costa County between 2018 and 2022 was around $59,000 per year, the average per capita income in Richmond during that time was around $39,500 per year. The formula doesn’t account for fluctuations in income throughout a county, so the committee allows companies to charge Richmond residents as much in rental costs as those living in wealthier towns like Lafayette, whose per capital income is around $111,000 per year.

The comparatively high costs of rent are straining Heritage residents like Fontano and her neighbor, 62-year-old Samuel Lewis. Both are on fixed incomes, can’t work because they have disabilities, and say they have trouble affording basic necessities like food. Fontano spends over half her monthly income on rent. Rent makes up over 70% of Lewis’s expenses.

Complaints about affordability are not new at Heritage. According to a city report, around 30 Heritage tenants expressed concerns to Richmond’s Rent Board and City Council shortly after receiving word that their rent would increase much as 12% in March of 2018. Some tenants said they feared they would be left homeless or “unable to buy medication or enough food.” In response to their concerns, the City Council passed a resolution in June of 2018 that stated it was “in the best interest of the city” to take a stand against the rent increases at the facility. According to Willis, who also is an organizer with the grassroots housing justice group Alliance of Californias for Community Empowerment, tenants organized through that group to push back against the 12% increase. USA Properties agreed to lower the increases to 3%.

In February of 2019, the Richmond Rent Board adopted a resolution capping rent increases at Heritage at no more 5% a year. The resolution also covered all of the approximately 30 other housing facilities in Richmond that receive Low Income Housing Tax Credit funds. USA Properties increased Heritage tenants’ rent by 5% in 2019, then in 2020 and 2021, rent was not increased while Contra Costa County had a moratorium that banned residential rent increases due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the 5% rent increases started up again in 2022 though, some residents again took their complaints to the city, saying the increases were now at too high a rate to be affordable. In August of that year, Heritage resident Laureen Lober told Richmond’s rent board in a public comment that due to the rent increase, “routine maintenance, utilities, cable, and internet might not be possible because living expenses are a struggle.”

In a Nov. 7 Richmond City Council meeting this year, shortly after receiving word that Heritage rents were again being raised 5%, Fontano submitted a public comment to City Council stating that the rent increase was especially burdensome as living expenses where rising while her and her neighbors incomes were stagnating.

“Please do whatever you can to help us or a lot of seniors in this affordable complex are going to end up homeless,” she wrote.

In their comments, both Lober and Fontano also complained of reductions in services and amenities as the rents were increasing. Lober complained that “dumpsters that residents were paying for have been removed causing an overflow of garbage,” while Fontano mentioned that a holiday event budget at the site was being reduced.

In response to affordability, service and amenity issues, tenants at Heritage formed a tenants association that began meeting last July. According to Lewis, about 30 people have been coming to the weekly meetings, and the association has had success in getting a trash service resumed that had been stopped. When a woman was temporarily displaced due to a habitability issue, the association was also able to inform her that USA Properties owed her a higher living expense stipend than the company had been paying, and she was then able to secure the higher stipend.

“We’re able to decimate information a lot more than in the past,” Lewis said about the association. “It’s a move in the right direction.”

Willis told the Post News Group he wants to continue to support the tenants. He feels the 5% rent increase cap at Heritage and other low-income senior facilities may no longer be sufficient.

“With inflation going up and folks who are on fixed income or in debt because of COVID,” Willis said. “We may need to revisit the 5% cap rent increase and what the impact on residents is going to be.”

By Zack Haber

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The Ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Hold Day of Advocacy at the Capitol in Sacramento

A member of the “Divine Nine,” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on Jan. 13, 1913, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The organization was established by 22 women who sought to shift the group’s focus from social activities to public service, academic excellence, and social activism.

Published

5 days ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) presents a Senate resolution to the Delta Theta Sigma Sorority Farwest Region at the State Capitol on May 4. Photo courtesy of the Senate Rules Committee.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

On May 4, members of the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., convened at the California State Capitol for the organization’s 23rd annual Delta Days in Sacramento.

The two-day advocacy event brings together chapters from across California to engage directly in the legislative process, connect with lawmakers, and advocate for policies impacting Black communities.

Members of the sorority were honored on the Senate floor by Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro), who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Richardson welcomed the Farwest Region during the presentation of a Senate resolution recognizing outgoing Regional Director Kimberly Usher for her leadership and service.

“In addition to the Far West Region, we are led by a fearless leader, regional director Kimberly Usher. She has now served her full term of what’s allowed,” Richardson said. “We are going to be having our regional conference, but we wanted to give it to her here, officially recognizing her service.”

The resolution was co-authored by Richardson and fellow members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and Delta Sigma Theta, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton).

Usher has served in the leadership role since 2022.

“We are founded on sisterhood that is deeply rooted in scholarship, service, and social action,” said Weber Pierson, a member of the Gamma Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

“Today, we continue a legacy of empowering communities and upholding the high cultural, intellectual, and moral standards established by our founders over a century ago,” she added.

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Rep. Kamlager-Dove Introduces Bill to Protect Women in Custody After Reports Detailing Miscarriages and Neglect

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

Published

5 days ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) on May 7, reintroduced updated legislation aimed at strengthening protections and healthcare standards for pregnant and postpartum women held in federal custody, including in immigration detention facilities.

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

The legislation builds on a bipartisan version previously passed by the House during the 117th Congress. The updated bill includes new standards for healthcare access, mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity protections and increased federal oversight.

“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody.”

The bill would also limit the use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant women, improve data collection on maternal health in custody and require additional staff training and enforcement measures.

Supporters of the measure said the legislation is intended to address long-standing concerns about maternal healthcare and safety in detention settings, particularly for Black women and low-income women who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and health disparities.

“Pregnant women in custody should never be subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment that threatens their health, dignity, or the well-being of their babies,” said Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP and a longtime public policy and government affairs strategist, in a statement.

A 2021 report estimated there are about 58,000 admissions of pregnant women into U.S. jails and prisons each year. Kamlager’s statement also cited a recent investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law that identified allegations of severe mistreatment or medical neglect involving at least 54 pregnant women or families in county jails between 2017 and 2024.

Federal policy under the Department of Homeland Security restricts the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants except in extreme cases. However, the agency reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing women between January 2025 and February 2026, including 16 recorded miscarriages during that period.

The bill is cosponsored by several House Democrats and backed by organizations including the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice.

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OPINION: The Fire of Oakland’s Justin Jones

Jones made headlines three years ago when he was one of a pair of Justins. Along with fellow State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), he fought their removal from the state house in Tennessee and won reinstatement. Now, Pearson is running for Congress and Jones is still fighting for all of us.

Published

5 days ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville). File photo.

By Emil Amok Guillermo

You may know Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville).

He grew up in Oakland and the East Bay. His mother is Filipino. You can tell by his full name Justin Shea Bautista Jones.

His father is African American.

He is fighting for all of us.

Now, Pearson is running for Congress and Jones is still fighting for all of us.

The recent 6-3 Supreme Court decision barring the use of race in drawing congressional districts marks a major turning point in U.S. history.

The decision took away the Voting Rights Act’s power to assure minority voices were both heard and represented.

“What we’re seeing now is this new Jim Crow system in which Black and Brown communities are without voice in our political process,” he told Fredricka Whitfield on CNN last weekend.

“That’s a canary in the coal mine for the rest of the nation. If they come for one of us, they’re coming for all of us, and some of my message to America is that the South is the front line of democracy,” Jones said. “They are dismantling multi-racial democracy here in the South, in states like Tennessee and Louisiana. But they aren’t going to stop here.”

That’s why Jones said we have to start paying attention to the South, and start helping them fight back there,” he said.

“I want to be clear that this terror, this type of system they’re enacting, are the same systems my grandparents told me about who grew up in Tennessee, a system where people like me couldn’t even be in political office. That’s the time they’re bringing us back to and I’m not sounding the alarm to be alarmist. But I am sounding it because we’ve seen this before in our history.”

Jones talked about Reconstruction and about what happened between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1960s, when there was no Black political representation.

It’s a rebellion to keep our democracy going forward, he said.

“Stand with us and help us fight back against this extremist power grab — this racist power grab against our vision of a multi-racial democracy,” Jones added.

“While there is a litigation strategy, it’s important to maintain what he called a “movement strategy” that leads to the largest voter mobilization and registration that has ever been seen in the South,” he encouraged.

In 2026.

“Tennessee is an oppressed state,” Jones said. “It’s a state where one in five Black voters can’t vote because of felony disenfranchisement. It is where you can use a gun permit to vote, but you can’t use a student ID card to vote.

That’s the Asian American African American voice of Justin Jones.

Read his words for inspiration.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a veteran journalist, commentator, and comic stage monologist. His new show “69, Emil Amok: Anchorman—The News Made Me Do It,” is at the San Diego Fringe at New Destiny/Lincoln Park, 4931 Logan Ave. Ste. 102. May 14-23, at various times. Get tickets here.