Funeral for the Mission District This Weekend
Funeral for the Mission District street art. image from Hiveminer
I just got this press release today and figured I’d share it with you all. A few years ago Morgan Fitzgibbons and I talked about doing a Funeral for San Francisco to protest all the shady shit the greed mongers had done to this town, but we got sidetracked by other projects and then Morgan moved away. I’m glad someone is doing this. There’s a lot going on this Saturday but this is worth stopping by.
Funeral for the Mission
Retro Fit Vintage – Another Local Small Business Forced Out by Greedy Landlord
San Francisco, California-December 12, 2017-The San Francisco Housing Rights Committee will be holding a funeral this Saturday, December 16th, at high noon, in front of Retro Fit Vintage Clothes at 910 Valencia Street in the Mission. Protesters from the neighborhood, and from the San Francisco Housing Rights Committee, will hold the mock funeral as a continuation of their protest against the practices of Veritas Investments, and Greentree Property Management, and in support of the repeal of Costa-Hawkins state law, as well as reform of San Francisco’s renter protection laws. “Wanted!” handbills, for Veritas CEO, Yat-Pang AU, will be distributed to holiday shoppers by protesters at the event.
After 20 years of being in business in the Mission, Retro Fit Vintage clothes is joining the growing list of otherwise healthy, local, small businesses being forced out due to exponential rent increases. Previously, neighboring businesses, including Encantada Gallery (after 16 years) and Freewheel Bicycles (after 18 years), were both forced to close due to rent hikes. The fate of Dog Eared Books, a longstanding favorite Mission District bookstore, located in the same building, is unknown at this time.
Greentree Property Management is a subsidy of Veritas Investments, which has quietly become the city’s largest landlord, after purchasing over 250, small to medium sized, rent-controlled properties, has long been criticized by San Francisco Tenants’ organizations who question the legitimacy of their business practices, and their treatment of long-time tenants.
For more information, please contact Brad Hirn, San Francisco Housing Rights Committee, at (773) 892-8844, or Jon Kessler, housing rights activist, at (415) 490-7890
