For months Potrero Terrace-Annex tenants have been complaining about leaky roofs, broken radiators, and surging piles of trash and feces left unremedied by Eugene Burger Management Company (EBMC) – responsible for aging buildings under the control of the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) – and BRIDGE Housing, which manages 1101 Connecticut Street and is redeveloping another 1,600 units.
According to Mission Local, in the past EBMC collected rent from squatters who occupied vacant units at Potrero Annex.
“Eugene Burger is a horrible property manager,” remarked Shamann Walton, District 10 Supervisor. “Since they’ve come on board at Potrero Annex and Sunnydale, we’ve got a lot of complaints about trash, and them not responding to maintenance or repair issues. The Housing Authority have responsibility as well, Eugene Burger is under them.”
“SFHA was not taking responsibility. I asked them about why the roofs were failing since they were replaced 10 years ago with terracotta roofs,” said Edward Hatter, Potrero Hill Neighborhood House executive director. “I was informed people were stealing the copper caps but when I went to go check all the copper caps were in place. They keep saying they have no money for maintenance of occupied units. Of course, with the timing of trying to clean out the units to go to the next stage of construction they don’t want to invest into the current state of the buildings, so people are living with flooded-in water and sewage in the buildings.”
Anna Hennessey is a co-founder of SF Birth Circle, established in 2019 to provide an open environment for discussions around birth and parenting. The group holds a monthly meeting at Potrero Terrace-Annex.
“I’ve known some of the residents for years and the units are in a dilapidated state, falling apart. Management puts in appliances made out of the cheapest materials, the walling is not sturdy, faucets fall off after a few weeks. I’ve heard from multiple residents that there are mold problems, and when tenants complain, people just paint over the mold. This kind of treatment indicates that no one cares about the residents or fixing things properly, probably since they are planning to bulldoze the units down anyway to make way for the new developments. In the meantime, there are kids still living in these units and their health is at risk.”
“There’s still a hole in the roof, and our radiators don’t work so it gets cold,” said a resident who wished to remain anonymous. “Our radiator has been broken for two years, they still haven’t fixed it, we just use blankets. It’s kind of like having outside conditions inside.”
Walton has held several Board of Supervisors Rules Committee hearings, at which he reprimanded the Housing Authority, EBMC, and BRIDGE Housing for mismanagement. SFHA now requires EBMC to send monthly updates about improvements they’ve made to waste collection and other services.
Residents accuse the Housing Authority of poor bookkeeping practices, which results in tenants being asked to sign multiple leases or receiving erroneous ‘past-due’ rent notices.
“I recently got a note from them that we owe rent even though we paid,” lamented the resident. “I know I bust my ass to go to work to make sure that my rent is paid on time, maybe 30 to 50 percent of my paycheck goes to rent. That’s the first thing I pay. I don’t want to be homeless again. It’s hard, even for someone who has a job. I don’t know if it’s happening with everybody else, but I hundred percent understand it’s not just me.”
“Regardless of the rent you pay, which is based on the household income, the conditions are not up to par across the board,” said Tenika Blue, an 1101 Connecticut Street resident who previously lived in SFHA-managed housing. “There were experiences where I didn’t feel like the management that was overseeing for SFHA was concerned about safety in the community and their record-keeping at times would be off. I would receive notices that were not true to being up to date with rent. I paid my rent on time, but their whole record-keeping system was not the most reliable or efficient.”
Fifty-three of the 72 units at 1101 Connecticut Street are occupied by former SFHA residents. After Blue moved to BRIDGE Housing, she continued to receive notices that she had outstanding rent due.
“In terms of the cross between the new development and Housing Authority, I feel like there is still a lot of work to be done in order to eliminate some of these situations, especially when it comes to making sure your lease is up-to-date and handling the transition of all of the information, which can be complicated and inconsistent.”
Eric Brown, BRIDGE Housing senior vice president of communications and policy, claims personnel are only hired after an extensive vetting process that includes a minimum of three interviews, along with criminal background and reference checks.
At 1101 Connecticut Street “…trash was backed up to the third floor because there was no dumpster in the basement for the chute that starts from the top floor all the way down,” said Hatter. “I have been shown units by tenants where in the brand-new building, they got a leak in the kitchen, and the management company came in and opened up to show the leak without fixing it. We have been working and dealing with BRIDGE housing to develop rules for residents of 1101 which are still not in place. 1101 has now been occupied for three years. How do you have civil living and community when there are no rules?”
Kiowa Smith, a Terrace-Annex resident for more than 40 years, moved into 1101 Connecticut Street three years ago. She recently contacted Sunny Patel, the resident manager, about a building leak. When he didn’t show up, Smith called Shervon Hunter, founder of Stand in Peace. Hunter arrived the next day with Walton.
“Shamann sat with us, and he waited for an hour and half before Sunny popped up, and he spoke to Sunny for 20 to 30 minutes,” said Smith. “Later, while we were all eating and gathering around with Shervon and Shamann, Sunny stayed outside. As soon as they left, Sunny came in and started asking us questions about ‘who called Shamann’…like this man is interrogating us! I told him, this is not okay. He was irate, and I feel he’s been on a tear with me personally ever since then. He doesn’t have respect. He looks at you and talks to you like you’re nothing. It’s not just me. It’s like three-quarters of the building, and people are scared to come out. It honestly started with Jeffrey, the previous manager, he was doing something illegal too. So, this is just a recurring problem after BRIDGE took over.”
“Residents are tired and frustrated. There are things that happen and if you don’t listen to the people that live there that’s when it becomes chaotic. They are forming their own resident council at 1101 so they can have folks come and hold people accountable,” said Uzuri Pease-Greene, a former Terrace-Annex resident and Community Awareness and Resource Equity’s (CARE) executive director. “That’s a good thing, and we are figuring out how to support them by encouraging relevant people to attend the meetings. Right now, it’s really rushed with a lot of miscommunication. I think some higher ups are making decisions and have no clue what they’re making decisions for, because they’re not coming into the community. They also need realistic timelines for decisions and to communicate properly. They need to start taking responsibility for things that have happened as well.”
“We have heard concerns regarding staffing and turnover at the site and know that BRIDGE is working on addressing those concerns,” said Anne Stanley, communications manager at the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD). “MOHCD will continue to monitor the situation to ensure adequate staffing at the property, and that established grievance procedures are readily available and consistent with our policies. In addition to speaking directly to BRIDGE Property Management, residents can also voice their concerns through a number of on-site service providers including the Shanti Project who is contracted to provide resident services at 1101 Connecticut and can uplift resident concerns with both property management and MOHCD as needed.”
“BRIDGE is actively addressing a variety of maintenance needs that have been raised by tenants,” shared Brown.
These include repairs to the garage, gate-door, after-hours emergency line, and appliances. Brown added that there’s a plan to improve overall security as well as parking monitoring.
At a May BRIDGE Housing meeting Blue expressed optimism about the changes being made.
“I definitely feel that with more people raising their concerns about the issues that we’ve been facing, help is working its way with more meetings like this where we get to share our concerns with those that are really committed to see the community flourish,” she said. “Residents and people that are truly committed to see us win are really important.”
Mark Steensland 
Stephanie Lam