By Josh Koehn : sfstandard – excerpt
A Republican billionaire, a real estate developer, a venture capitalist, a famed investor’s wife and a lawyer huddled last week to decide whether Jay Cheng—the head of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco—should continue to serve as the leader of the city’s most powerful political group.
After spending millions to dominate local politics over the past four years, Neighbors was suddenly in the midst of a crisis.
Media outlets were reporting that Cheng had attempted to help hire staff for Mark Farrell’s mayoral campaign, raising questions about improper coordination between the Neighbors political committee and a candidate committee. More disturbingly, old reports of Cheng being accused of sexual battery by an ex-partner in 2010 were resurfacing…
Sources with knowledge of Neighbors’ operations told The Standard that even before the tumultuous last two weeks, the organization’s board was split on Cheng’s future. Some of his allies have been slow to speak up in support of him. Sources said that relationships have become strained as moderate political groups are competing for the same pot of money in an election year…
Jay Cheng’s political acumen has generally been widely praised, but his decision to send text messages about a job offer for Farrell’s mayoral campaign was seen as stunningly naive, if not an ethical breach that should disqualify Neighbors from trying to influence the mayor’s race… (more)
Diving into the political hailstorm of San Francisco politics is not recommended for novices, as Mr. Cheng found out. It is hard not to draw comparisons with actors on the national stage as we watch the circus unfolding in courtrooms across the country. The Me Too movement is huge and growing since the High Court struck down Roe. That added fuel to the fire that has become a driving force to return to the comforts of the past, when life was simple and predictable. Living on a game show is only fun for a minute. Outsiders preaching change do not benefit from this movement. Negotiations are proving to be the only way to move forward in this divisive environment. No one is going to win it all, but, you can look really naive if you think you can buy it.
- By James Salazar : sfexaminer – excerpt
San Francisco has suspended a local nonprofit from bidding on or receiving new city contracts and grants for up to five years after it allegedly defrauded The City of more than $100,000 in taxpayer money.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced Monday that his office had suspended Providence Foundation, the nonprofit philanthropic arm of Providence Baptist Church, from receiving city funding after an investigation by his office found that the nonprofit submitted at least $105,000 in fraudulent invoices to The City.
“There’s a difference between having challenges with financial compliance and intentionally defrauding the City and its taxpayers,” City Attorney David Chiu, whose investigation remains ongoing, said in a statement. “This nonprofit took over $100,000 of public money meant to benefit people experiencing homelessness. That cannot be tolerated.”… (more)
Hopefully someone is keeping track of these rip-offs. A 100 thousand here. A 100 thousand there. The losses are starting to mount up.
By Kevin V. Nguyen : sfstandard – excerpt
The same companies that fueled the city’s last real estate boom are also the ones contributing to its latest bust
In the 2010s, blue-chip tech firms like Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, Meta and Salesforce spent hundreds of millions of dollars opening glamorous, amenity-filled offices in downtown San Francisco, spurring a building boom that altered the city’s skyline.
After a global pandemic and a wholesale shift to hybrid work, those same firms have retreated en masse—leaving the city’s now hollowed-out downtown to pay the price.
By the end of 2019, the 20 biggest tech employers had leased more than 16 million square feet of space, nearly a quarter of the city’s total office stock. Now, those same companies are holding onto only 8.3 million square feet, according to data from real estate firm CBRE.
“Tech companies were the most important as it was related to growth, but they’re also the most responsible for the downsizing as well,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center.
Big Tech’s San Francisco Pullback…(more)
By Allie Rasmus : KTVU – excerpt
https://www.ktvu.com/news/alameda-sues-on-behalf-of-houseboat-community-over-draconian-rent
ALAMEDA, Calif. – A community of more than 50 people who live on houseboats in Alameda is getting some help from the city attorney.
They’re suing the property owner for violating the city’s rent control rules, and intimidating some of the community’s elderly residents.
Specifically, the people living in the colorful floating homes at the Barnhill Marina is the largest floating home marina in Alameda with 56 berths, or boat slips.
These houseboat residents have to pay rent to a landlord for those spots in order to connect to electricity and water services.
Under city law, the rent on those berths or boat slips, are subject to the city’s rent control laws…(more)
San Francisco parking crackdown
ktvu – video
https://www.ktvu.com/news/sfmta-workers-fearful-parking-crackdown-could-put-target-on-their-backs
They say issuing more tickets will put a target on their backs and feel like it could put them in danger on the job and possibly increase their chances of being assaulted by disgruntled drivers.
As a result, SFMTA front line workers say they’re going to host a rally Thursday to bring attention to their increasing safety concerns….(more)
Report: More Than 80% of Middle-Income ‘Below Market Rate’ Housing Units Sitting Vacant In SF, Partly Thanks to Red Tape
By Joe Kukura : sfist – excerpt
It’s great that San Francisco developers are given incentives to set aside housing for middle-income families who can’t afford the pricier units. It’s not so great that a large percentage of these units are sitting empty because of bureaucracy and the general state of the housing market.
There have been times when we’ve reported on large volumes of vacant housing in San Francisco. But when local publications report on this, we often get pushback from the online entity known as Housing Twitter saying that vacant housing is statistically overstated.
Yet Housing Twitter was agog Sunday over some housing unit vacancy numbers that no one’s arguing. The Chronicle published a report that much of the SF housing set aside for middle-income earners is just sitting vacant, because of a combination of red tape, lack of awareness of the program, and the fact that the price-points of these units can’t compete with prices in the still-somewhat-depressed rental market — meaning that they aren’t exactly below market rate… (more)
Hopefully the next mayor will leapt the Dahlia program. Return to firs come first served. Let people apply for the housing and then figure out comes closest to qualifying. If not one qualifies who applies, change the rules to fit the reality. If a homeless person gets the space fine. If not, wherever the moving tenant leaves is up for someone else to move in. Either way, the places are filled and not sitting empty.
By Amy Graff : sfgate – excerpt
KQED is initiating staff buyouts, an effort to reduce costs in the face of a budget deficit, SFGATE has learned.
In an April 17 email to staff at the Bay Area’s best-known public broadcasting station, KQED President Michael Isip said the buyouts are a first step in reducing costs and that additional tactics might be necessary, including layoffs or a hiring freeze.
“We’ve operated with a board approved budget deficit for the last two years and we’re now projecting a higher than expected budget deficit at the end of this fiscal year,” Isip said in the email. “This is not sustainable long term and we need to take action and find savings to get us back on track to reducing our deficit.”…
As part of the buyout program, early retirement packages are being offered to employees 55 and older who have been with the organization for at least 10 continuous years, according to the email. The organization will also consider buyouts for other interested employees. The last day of work will be June 14 for those who opt in to the buyout, the email said.…(more)
Burdened by debt, savvy SF office owners get creative
By Kevin V. Nguyen : sfstandard – excerpt
With billions in loans coming due, landlords and lenders have no choice but to forget pre-pandemic times
With a $54 million loan from Bank of America coming due for its downtown San Francisco building at 115 Sansome St., the Vanbarton Group held a private auction last December to help the bank recoup whatever money it could get back.
More than 20 bids came in for the restored 14-story beaux-arts building with a ritzy Japanese omakase restaurant and Blue Bottle Coffee on the ground floor.
But lo and behold, the winner of that auction ended up being none other than Vanbarton itself. The final price came in at around $35 million—nearly 40% off the original loan amount and 60% less than the New York investor’s original 2016 purchase price of $83 million…
Public records show Vanbarton now owns an all-equity stake in 115 Sansome, meaning it is free and clear of the debt. Now, the company can use its money, which otherwise would have gone to the bank, to invest back into the property and offer lower rents to prospective tenants. Bank of America, which sources said supported the auction, declined to comment on the matter. …(more)
Trump’s campaign is going the way of his media company
By Rick Newman : yahoo – excerpt
Investors who believe in Trump’s mythic invincibility are learning that markets can make mortals out of anybody.
Want to know how Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is going? There’s a ticker symbol for that.
Trump’s new company, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT), has become a kind of tracking stock for the fate of the former president’s political career. DJT, as the company is known, is supposed to be an alternative media enterprise reflecting conservative viewpoints. But as much as anything, it’s a binary bet on Trump himself and his 2024 presidential bid…(more)
By Steve Stallone : 48hills – excerpt
Deal would tie up all of SF’s borrowing authority for three years—and could cost the taxpayers millions.
The Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island development is in trouble. Don’t take our word for it, see the Stockbridge/Wilson Meany v. Kenwood lawsuit where the members of the development group are suing each other for position in the cue to claim their share of the project’s shrinking profits.
The nearly 30-year history of this redevelopment project has been plagued by incompetent planning, lack of accountability and more Mulligans than a Trump golf tournament.
So now the developer consortium, known as Treasure Island Community Development LLC, and the Treasure Island Development Authority—the independent agency overseeing the economic redevelopment of the former Naval Station Treasure Island—with the political backing of Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Matt Dorsey (District 6 includes Treasure Island) have agreed to change the terms of the Disposition and Development Agreement of 2011, the contract between the city and the developer group that delineates each sides’ obligations in completing the project…
The new arrangement (dubbed “Alternative Financing” — think Kellyanne Conway’s “Alternative Facts”)—is so unusual and complex even the professional staff presenting it to the Planning Commission struggled to answer questions…
TIDA is in even more financial peril because it has lost much of its commercial lease revenue due to demolition of existing buildings. There is also a gradual exodus of east sideresidents as TIDA makes the future of current resident housing options uncertain, further reducing TIDA’s residential lease revenue… (more)
The residents of San Francisco have no skin in the failed game. Why should we bail them out? They can just hand the problem over to their financial institutions the same as another failed operation has done lately. Give it a rest until the market is ready to support their plan. San Francisco is not the bank of last resort or in the re-insurance business.
Some of us have been saying for a long time that demolition of existing housing is a bad idea. Now we see that the market agrees with us at least some of the time.
zRants 