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Public Housing in Private Hands

With the pandemic raging, the Public Press is focusing on the most vulnerable renters in the nation’s most expensive housing markets.

Plaza East apartments

Yesica Prado / San Francisco Public Press

A private developer proposes that Plaza East Apartments in San Francisco, built less than 20 years ago, be demolished and rebuilt. Tenants want to see a plan for repairs to existing homes.

“Public Housing in Private Hands” is a series that explores poor living conditions in government-run and other subsidized housing, examining the decisions of both public officials and developers. Stories also examine the limits of local and state eviction moratoriums designed to help those in economic need in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The reporting team includes reporters Nina Sparling and Madison Alvarado, data journalist Frank Bass, infographics intern Jenny Kwon and research assistants Ande Richards and Imran Ali Malik, who are students at UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program.

Support for this series was provided by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Thanks also to the Investigative Editing Corps, which helped launch this series, “Public Housing in Private Hands,” in 2020.

Housing

A sign covered in bird droppings that sits above a doorway at San Francisco's Plaza East public housing development reads "No Trespassing. SFHA Property." Tenants at Plaza East describe units that are as damaged and neglected on the inside as they appear externally.

City, State Records Reveal History of Disrepair, Neglected Problems at Plaza East

11.30.2021

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By Madison Alvarado

How did the Plaza East public housing development, built just two decades ago, fall into disrepair in such a short time? Nobody involved in the project has been able to explain how things got so bad at Plaza East, but there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Housing

The wall behind a bathroom sink is marred by black mold.

Slow, Incomplete Repairs at SF Housing Project Frustrate Residents

10.18.2021

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By Madison Alvarado

Six months after San Francisco agreed to lend the developer of a run-down Western Addition public housing complex $2.7 million for emergency repairs, the work is behind schedule and many residents at Plaza East Apartments say their units remain damaged by mold, leaks and pest infestations — even after repairs were done.

Housing

Multiple three-story apartment buildings line a San Francisco hillside in the Potrero Terrace public housing development.

Rent Payments to SF Public Housing Agency Plunged in Last Two Years, Spurring Eviction Fears

09.30.2021

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By Frank Bass, Nina Sparling, Reporter and Jenny Kwon

Rent collections by San Francisco’s public housing agency fell precipitously in late 2019 and have continued to decline to less than half of what is owed, according to a San Francisco Public Press analysis — but the agency can’t explain why.

Housing

Two front doors to apartments at Plaza East, the one on the right boarded up.

HUD Denies Request to Demolish Plaza East

04.06.2021

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By Nina Sparling, Reporter

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development denied an application to raze and rebuild Plaza East Apartments, a 20-year-old public housing complex in the Western Addition, the agency confirmed.

The determination was made on March 30 but not publicly disclosed until Tuesday, when HUD officials were questioned by the Public Press. The move comes three months after the San Francisco Housing Authority submitted a demolition application, with Mayor London Breed’s endorsement.

Housing

Plaza East apartments

With Mayor’s Backing, Developer Asks to Demolish, Rebuild 20-Year-Old Public Housing

03.30.2021

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By Nina Sparling, Reporter

Federal officials are considering a proposal to allow a developer to tear down and rebuild a 20-year-old public housing complex in the Western Addition — a plan that does not address residents’ demands for repairs to health and safety issues in the current structures.