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Realty office people respond badly to modest tenant demonstration

The people in the Vanguard office were getting a bit pushy
The people in the Vanguard office were getting a bit pushy

By Tim Redmond

AUGUST 12, 2014 — A few moments after tenant activist Erin McElroy stepped out of a Vanguard Properties office on Mission Street and began chanting “Stop the Evictions” into a bullhorn, a middle-aged man who apparently worked in the office followed her out.

“Go get a job,” he shouted at her.

Seriously?

That was hardly the only moment when I wondered what the Vanguard people were thinking. This was a peaceful demonstration, one of dozens that happen all the time in this city, with tenants calling on landlords to resist the quick profits of the Ellis Act and preserve affordable rental housing.

A man in a pink shirt apparently didn't like having a video camera aimed at him
A man in a pink shirt apparently didn’t like having a video camera aimed at him

There were only about a dozen protesters. They entered the open doors of the Vanguard office, tried to deliver a letter in support of 64-year-old teacher Benito Santiago, and offered up a few chants.

A Vanguard partner named Michael Harrison, through a front company named Pinapple Boy LLC, is evicting Santiago.

Nobody at the demonstration threatened anyone. If the Vanguard people had just chilled out, the whole thing would have been over in about ten minutes.

Erin McElroy walks out as a Vanguard office worker grabs at her bullhorn
Erin McElroy walks out as the man in the pink shirt grabs at her bullhorn

But no: People in the office confronted the protesters, in some cases physically pushing them toward the doors. They sought to block and even snatch cameras. I was frankly relieved when the cops got there; someone could have gotten hurt.

The police did what you would expect – they made sure the office was secure, made sure nobody was blocking the sidewalk, and let the protest continue. No arrests, no big deal. It was all over pretty quickly.

Benito Santiago talks about his pending Ellis Act eviction from the home where he's lived since 1977
Benito Santiago talks about his pending Ellis Act eviction from the home where he’s lived since 1977

But tensions are really high in the city right now. People like Santiago, whose way-below-market rent still sucks up nearly half the money he earns as a paraprofessional at SFUSD and a dance teacher, are getting tossed out everywhere. The landlords who are doing it can’t possibly expect that the tenants are going to sit by quietly and let it happen.48hillsvanguardc

 

Again: I watched the whole thing, and saw no indication that any tenant activist was anything but peaceful – until the real-estate people started pushing and shoving – and even then, the demonstrators generally kept their cool.

“We don’t want to get arrested,” McElroy said before the event. “We are going to deliver our message, and then leave.”

From what I saw, though, the landlords are feeling the heat. And not reacting terribly well.

There’s some interesting video posted on YouTube here.

 

 

Tim Redmond
Tim Redmond
Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.

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