Elected Officials, Community Leaders Rally Against Evictions of Long-Term Black Residents in Fillmore

SAN FRANCISCO — Elected leaders, community members and anti-displacement advocates – more than 100 in total – gathered today at King-Garvey apartments, demanding a stop to evictions of long-term Black residents at the 211-unit affordable housing cooperative in the Fillmore.

“People are being ripped from their homes, where they have lived for decades, based on technicalities,” said Preston. “This is further uprooting a community that has seen so much displacement for decades. We will not stand by silently as this injustice takes place. We must stop these evictions.”

After learning about the pending evictions, Supervisor Dean Preston sent a letter to Kalco and HUD on July 29 demanding a pause to the eviction proceedings to negotiate a settlement. On Monday this week, more than 40 prominent Black-led groups signed on to a support letter echoing the Supervisor’s demand. As of today, more than 400 people have signed a petition to stop the displacement of these residents.

The residents who spoke at the rally have long histories at King-Garvey. Richard Henegan, 61, has lived at King-Garvey apartments since he was seven years old, and his mother, Betty Hammond, was a founding member of the cooperative. Kalco insists that because Richard spent his mother’s final days as an in-home caretaker, that he no longer is a legal occupant of the unit.

“This is a community my mother helped build from the ground up, and she did this work to pass along our home to future generations,” Henegan said. “The fact that they are trying to throw me out based on a technicality, and take away the equity my family has built over decades, is unconscionable. This is systematic racism, plain and simple, and it needs to stop now.”

Maria Hunter is the sister of David Hunter, a disabled individual who has lived at King-Garvey since he was born in 1974. He has significant physical and mental disabilities, including amputations to his feet due to diabetes, and requires help to perform life activities. According to his attorney, the property manager obtained a "default judgment" (also known as an eviction order) with a hearing on the merits, according to his attorney. David is eager to refute the allegations in Court, but property management won't let him, refusing to vacate the default judgment.

Dede Hewitt has lived at King-Garvey for 26 years, and claims she has dealt with uninhabitable living conditions, including exposure to Asbestos, for years. When she complained and involved the city’s Department of Building Inspection, she was retaliated against, she said. Around the same time the city informed King-Garvey Board of Directors that there would be a hearing on the lack of repairs, she was served with an unlawful detainer, Hewitt said, demanding she forfeit her unit within 10 days.

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