Uncategorized

St. Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church in Bayview Targeted by Hate Crime

Published

10 years ago

September 10, 2015

By Anh Le

St. Paul Tabernacle Baptist Church in San Francisco’s Bayview District is the latest African American church that has been vandalized, targeted by what appears to be have been hate crimes.

<p>

The church, located at 1789 Oakdale St., just a block from the City College of San Francisco’s Southeast Campus, was vandalized on the evening of Aug. 27 or the early morning hours of Aug. 28.

“The attack on our church, that’s the devil at work. The building does not belong to us. It’s the Lord’s House,” said Beverly Taylor, who has been a member of the church for many years.

“They attacked the Lord when they attacked the Lord’s House,” she said. “In the Scriptures, the Lord says, ‘A weapon used against me will never stand. I will repay them.”

Taylor also said that the vandalism against the church impacted the church’s food pantry work, which distributes food to the poor. However, she said that the church will continue its food pantry work, one of its ministries for the Bayview community.

According to Capt. Raj Vaswani of the San Francisco Police Department’s (SFPD) Bayview Station, the police received a call about 5 a.m. Aug. 28.

“I sent my supervisors out to the church,” Vaswani said. “The (vandalism) had offensive language, the most serious,” he said.

He said that the crime is being investigated by SFPD’s Special Investigations Division. “We looked at any videos, the premise of the general area, physical evidence.”

“We want to give the church full support, to the people who go there. It’s traumatic, what happened at the church. The church is hurt, the people who go there, their operations. It is a hate crime,” Vaswani stated.

According to Sgt. Tony Damato of the Special Investigations Division, “Somebody broke into the church. (They) spray painted the walls. (They) damaged the sheet rock. (They) ripped the cushions on the pews. Things were tossed around.

“It is being investigated as a hate crime,” he said. “We will look for the individual or individuals who vandalized this church. When we find that person or the people involved, we will arrest them. The investigation is ongoing.”

Alvie Esparza of the SFPD’s Media Relations Unit said, “The church was broken into. “(There was) painted derogatory language and racist, homophobic, and religious graffiti. (There was) property damage. (There were) vandalized tables, desk, computer.”

“(We) canvassed the area and the building. (We are looking for) the suspect or suspects. This type of behavior is not condoned in San Francisco,” said Esparza.

According to a report on KTVU-TV, the vandalism at the church included bleach being poured on the cushions of the church’s pews.

SFPD issued a flyer on Sept. 1, to request the public’s help in its investigation. Anyone with information should call the Special Investigations Division at (415) 553-1133.

A fundraiser has been set up to help St. Paul’s pay for repairs.

The fundraiser is being organized by Showing Up for Social Justice (SURJ), a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice.

SURJ’s San Francisco chapter is collecting donations to show support for the church. The online fundraiser can be viewed at:
https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/we-stand-with-st-pauls-tabernacle-baptist-church.

The San Francisco Police Department’s Anonymous Tip Line is (415) 575-4444. The Case Number is 150753107. Or contact the police department’s Special Investigations Division at (415) 553-1133.

Anh Le is a writer and independent journalist.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Uncategorized

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

Published

6 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

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

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

Published

11 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

Posts by Oakland Post

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

11 months 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.