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San
Francisco Chronicle
January
22, 2003
by Jason B. Johnson
Every
night between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., Joseph Mayer, 15, is awakened
by the tightness in his chest. Coughing and shaking, he must
suck on a plastic tube connected to a breathing device to
calm his asthma attacks.
Joseph's
parents believe their son's condition was caused by black
mold growing throughout their two-bedroom northeast Hayward
apartment, which has a thick musty smell.
"I'd
like to get enough money to move out of here," said Joseph's
mother, Luisa Mayer.
Tenants
living in what they claim are deplorable conditions at the
Park Hill Apartments say they will file a $5 million lawsuit
against its owner today. Housing advocates say it's a prime
example of the Catch-22 situation facing poor and working-class
families throughout the Bay Area. They live in substandard
housing, and they can't afford to move.
Alameda,
Contra Costa, San Mateo and Marin counties had an estimated
62,000 households living in substandard housing conditions,
according to a 1998 study by the federal Department of Housing
and Urban Development.
Housing
advocates believe those numbers have increased due to a combination
of weak code-enforcement laws and the high cost of housing
for low- and moderate-income families.
"San
Francisco is less of a problem because we have more aggressive
code enforcement," said Randy Shaw, director of the Tenderloin
Housing Clinic, which runs six residential hotels funded by
the city.
"But
it's a problem all over the state," said Shaw. "Moving
isn't an option when you have no place to move to."
Shaw
said his group plans to have legislation strengthening code
enforcement statewide introduced in the upcoming state legislative
session later this month.
POOR
DRAINAGE
At
Park Hill, a collection of 109 units spread out over nine
buildings, residents pay rents ranging from $900 to $1,495
per month, apartment officials said.
Tenant
advocates say the flat roofs of the two- and three-floor buildings
have leaks, and poor drainage systems allow water to seep
into ground floor units.
Alameda
County building inspectors say they have no record of any
recent complaints being filed against the property.
Neither
Park Hill's owner, Rodney Busk, nor his attorney would return
several calls seeking comment on the pending lawsuit, but
manager Mike Miller said he was aware of the case. Miller
said he's not sure how many units have mold and other problems.
"Yes,
we are aware of those issues," said Miller. "Mr.
Busk would answer that, when (repairs to those units) will
be taken care of."
The
pending lawsuit represents more than 100 Park Hill tenants.
It claims the buildings were poorly designed and suffer from
leaks, chipped paint, cracked walls and mold growing rampantly
in several units.
The
mold is making tenants sick, with sample tests confirming
that the mold is toxic, said San Francisco-based attorney
Kenneth Greenstein, who is representing the tenants.
The
Mayers, who pay $1,200 a month in rent, have lived in the
complex five years.
Joseph's
father, Steve Mayer, who works as an auto mechanic, said apartment
managers have repeatedly failed to fix the problems in the
family's apartment.
"The
smell got so bad in his bedroom that now he sleeps on the
couch in the living room," Steve Mayer said. "I
hate that room."
'IT
COMES RIGHT BACK'
Pam
Walsh has black mold growing along the bottom of the walls
in her apartment, which she's rented the past five years.
"It
doesn't matter how often I clean it off, it comes right back,"
said Walsh. "I've had curtains up and I've had to throw
them away because they get mildewy. I don't even bother putting
curtains up anymore."E-mail Jason B. Johnson at jbjohnson@sfchronicle.com
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