City Government

Richmond Housing Authority Crisis Reflects Long Term Neglect and Mismanagement

Published

12 years ago

March 6, 2014

In recent weeks, the Richmond Housing Authority has been under fire for mismanagement and neglect of it public housing properties, which serve families in 715 units.

According to the Center of Investigative Reporting, reports released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, indicate there have been 16 life-threatening safety violations in the past two years; and there have been continuous reports of rats, roaches, mold and leaks.

Despite the public outcry, all the reports of mismanagement has so far failed to bring change, according to Councilmember Nat Bates, a candidate for mayor.

He says the city has known about the housing issues for years, but there hasn’t been any action. While he appreciates the media shedding light on the problem, he says still nothing has been done.

“All we do is bojangle – stepping, shucking, and jiving,” said Bates, who wants to see the constant stream of meeting and discussion lead to concrete results.

“The Housing Authority staff is predominantly African American, tenant groups are predominantly African American, and we have management staff treating our own people like dogs,” said Bates. “It is an embarrassment.”

Mayoral candidate Uche J. Uwahemu says that the housing authority problem highlights the city’s ineffective leadership.

“The condition of our public housing is embarrassing and clearly shows the gap between leadership and the poor,” said Uwahemu.

Both Uwahemu and Bates argue that Richmond’s Housing Authority is in need of a “competent” housing director.

Tim Jones, executive director of Richmond’s Housing Authority, was contacted for comment but declined to comment.

Jones’ failure to respond angered Bates. “If he has nothing to say he should be gone out the door,” he said.

Richmond Vice Mayor Jovanka Beckles wrote an opinion piece, published in the Bay View about the housing authority crisis. She says it is a symptom of bigger issues affecting residents in the city.

“As long as income disparity remains egregiously high, people will struggle with housing and there will be public housing,” wrote Beckles.” As long as there is public housing, we the stewards of the public funds must be vigilant in ensuring that it is responsibly and respectfully managed.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:City of Richmind Jovanka Beckles Nat Bates public housing Richmond Housing Authority Tim Jones Uche Uwahemu

Up Next

OP-ED: Fred Blackwell, “(Finally), A City Administrator Committed to Oakland”

Don't Miss

Everything That Affects Women Has to Do with Politics, Says BWOPA

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

1 day ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

1 week ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”