Ask Mayors Breed and Schaaf to Stop Evictions During Coronavirus

Coronavirus is to wreaking havoc on our personal lives, and many people are being asked to work from home. But hourly workers, low-wage workers, musicians, performers, and those who work for tips – like bartenders and servers – don’t have that option. Their livelihoods are getting destroyed by the fallout from the virus and many may not be able to pay their bills because of it.

That’s why Supervisor Dean Preston is introducing legislation Tuesday 3/10 for a moratorium on all evictions in San Francisco during the coronavirus outbreak. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has already announced a plan to do the same.

As 48 Hills mentions, Preston’s measure “will take more than a month to work its way through the legislative process. If the mayor were on board, she might be able to use executive authority to move more quickly.”

Luckily Rupa Marya, a doctor and professor at UCSF has written this open letter to Mayors Breed and Schaaf asking them to put “a moratorium on evictions and enact plan to forgive rent for wage workers who will be unable to make the income needed to pay rent for the month of April”. You can read the letter below, and then go here to sign your name to it. The more people who sign it, the more likely it is for the mayors to listen.

Dear Mayors Breed and Schaaf,

As a hospital medicine physician at UCSF and a first responder to the CoVID19 spread, I want to commend you for taking steps to contain the virus by recommending limited social engagement. I believe that limiting how many gatherings are happening this month will be crucial to how quickly and effectively we weather this storm together.

Many wage workers I know will be deeply impacted by this. Musicians are having gigs canceled. Restaurant workers are not making the tips they need to survive. Theater performances are being canceled and actors, stagehands and crew are impacted. Yoga teachers and dance teachers have no

I am asking for you to put a moratorium on evictions and enact a plan to forgive rent for wage workers who will be unable to make the income needed to pay rent for the month of April. By following the advice of the SF health department, they are doing a service to the greater good and should not be punished fiscally for that collective action.

Thank you for considering this plan. We look forward to your action to protect our economically vulnerable residents.

Sincerely,
Rupa Marya, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Hospital Medicine
University of California, San Francisco

You can sign it right here.