The skyline of downtown San Francisco, seen from Potrero Hill in 2008. Photo: Andreas Praefcke

The second most valuable company in the world, Amazon has been gobbling up space throughout the southeast corner of the city, taking advantage of zoning meant to preserve blue-collar jobs in a market in which housing and office space have typically generated higher revenues. — The San Francisco Chronicle

Amazon bought a 510,000-square-foot former sanitation motor pool parcel in the Showplace Square section of the city for $200 million in December of 2020. It has since proposed an expansion of the site’s footprint into an over 725,000-square-foot distribution hub for 400 workers that neighboring tenants, including the diffuse California College of the Arts, say will create a “pedestrian nightmare” of around 2,900 vehicle trips a day.

Now, as a result of the company’s proposal, San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton is seeking legislation that would place an 18-month moratorium on any new parcel delivery services operating in the city. It has already picked up backing from the local Teamsters and UFCW unions. The legislative effort, which the paper sees as another flashpoint in the “war between organized labor and Amazon,” is also backed by more environmentally-minded Prothero Hill and Dogpatch inhabitants, who say the company “has the neighborhoods surrounded” with similar developments that combined with existing freeways and Caltrain stations negatively impact the air quality in the area.

Previously on Archinect: Amazon warehouses are wreaking havoc in California’s Inland Empire

The concern echoes those of residents in Southern California’s Inland Empire, who have been beset by a series of environmental and transportation headaches since buying into the jobs-centric development schemes starting around a decade ago.

“Hundreds of people now have come in to make this their neighborhood, and this just really turns the clock back to a massive usage that is antithetical to a livable neighborhood for people with children, seniors,” one Seventh Street resident told the Chronicle. “It’s contrary to that.”

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The post Amazon’s newest warehouse battle has San Francisco lawmakers pushing for a moratorium on comparable developments | Information appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Amazon said Tuesday it will pause work on a proposed last-mile warehouse in San Francisco’s Showplace Square after the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed legislation that placed an 18-month moratorium on all new parcel delivery services in the city.

In a statement a company spokesman said, “We will continue to evaluate our long-term use of the site, and in the short-term we will work with our neighbors to look at ways to use the location to serve the community.”

The company’s announcement came after the board voted 10-0 to back the moratorium, which was crafted in part as a response to Amazon’s plan to build a 725,000 square foot warehouse at 900 7th St.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin recused himself from the vote because he owns stock in Amazon.

While the board didn’t discuss the legislation at Tuesday’s meeting, the vote was preceded by a fiery rally in front of City Hall at which organized labor, environmental watchdogs, and residents of San Francisco’s southeast neighborhoods denounced Amazon’s expansion plans.

With an 18-wheeler emblazoned with a “Teamster” banner as a backdrop, Jason Rabinowitz, president of Teamsters Joint Council 7, said “the type of jobs we don’t need to have are the Amazon style poverty jobs that are underpaid, unsafe , include no rights at work.”

“Good jobs uplift our community,” he said. “Amazon style poverty jobs drag us all down.”

Folks attend a press conference at Civic Center Plaza that urged passage of temporary moratorium legislation on Amazon and other parcel delivery service facilities in San Francisco.

Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle

Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton, who represents the neighborhood where the logistics center would be located, said that if Amazon wants to build in the district it will have to negotiate a community benefits package similar to deals struck with major waterfront developers.

“You can go and ask Pier 70. You can ask the (Potrero) Power Station. If you are going to come into our neighborhoods you are going to talk to the people in the neighborhood. You are going to provide them with community benefits,” he said.

The legislation passage is a big win for a broad coalition of organized labor, including the Teamsters, the United Commercial Food Workers, Service Employees International Union and the Building Trades Council.

Jim Araby, strategic campaign director with the United Food & Commercial Workers, said the legislation would “Create the process necessary to hold large corporations like Amazon accountable to the community, the workers and the elected officials.”

“This legislation is the first step to make sure there is an actual process, that you can’t just plop down a 700,000 square foot in the middle of a community and say we are going to buy you off with five dollars and an ice tea ,” he said.

JK Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen

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On the Clock is Motherboard’s reporting on the organized labor movement, gig work, automation, and the future of work.

San Francisco introduced legislation on Tuesday that would place an 18-month moratorium on parcel delivery facilities in the city, a move specifically designed to slow down and investigate Amazon’s rapid expansion of its last-mile delivery operations in the city.

If passed, the legislation would be the first of its kind in a major metropolitan area in the United States to put a moratorium on Amazon warehouses, and lay a foundation for other cities looking to have a say in how Amazon operates in their communities. The bill is expected to pass unanimously, according to those familiar with the legislation.

“Cities are saying we have to push back against companies like Amazon,” said Shamann Walton, the president of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors whose district is the site of several new Amazon warehouse developments. “My hope is that with this legislation we’re able to make Amazon be a responsible employer and make them have conversations with the community. If that doesn’t happen then they won’t get the opportunity to do business here in San Francisco.”

The bill would impose “zoning controls” on the approval of all new parcel delivery service facilities to “allow time for” an investigation on how these facilities impact the communities they operate in, and to establish regulations “to encourage development which provides substantial net benefits and minimize undesirable consequences.”

In particular, the legislation is intended to give communities in San Francisco the chance to push back against low-paying jobs, pollution, and traffic congestion that Amazon brings into the city. Activists who are worried about Amazon’s expansion say that land being used to build more Amazon warehouses could be better used for green space or affordable housing in cities like San Francisco, which are suffering from a decades-long housing crisis and that new jobs should pay workers high enough wages to be able to live in the city.

Although Amazon’s name does not appear in the legislation or resolution, the bill’s proponents told Motherboard it is specifically designed to force Amazon to slow down its expansion into the city.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We want Amazon to pause and have a dialogue with the community, not just try to buy off groups,” said Jim Araby, the strategic campaigns director at UFCW Local 5, which represents 30,000 grocery store workers in northern California and has pushed for the bill. “If the bill passes, like any big project, the planning department will recommend mitigations for a job to be approved and Amazon will have to show the city how it will mitigate impacts, for example, by committing to all electric vehicles. That process, unlike the current one, will take two years instead of three to six months.”

Many of these fights, including the new push for legislation in San Francisco, are being led by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which launched a coordinated national effort, known as the Amazon Project, in May to unionize the e-commerce giant which it argues is dragging down working conditions across the logistics industry. In small towns and cities across the country, the Teamsters alongside other activists have been declaring victories in struggles to block Amazon warehouse plans and tax breaks. The moratorium bill would be a similar victory that they hope would have widespread impact.

Temporary moratoriums on warehouse facilities have passed in other, smaller California cities—and the bill’s backers—a group of laboratorycommunity, and environmental activists, expect the bill to pass unanimously in San Francisco.

“There’s concern from the board of supervisors about what happens when package delivery companies come in and pay $21 an hour with no retirement benefits, and flood the neighborhood with cars and trucks,” said Doug Bloch, the political director of Teamsters Joint Council 7, which represents UPS drivers in northern California.

UPS drivers, who are Teamsters union members in San Francisco, earn more $100,000 a year with pensions and healthcare benefits, Bloch noted. According to a town hall meeting led by Amazon in November, Amazon pledges to pay its San Francisco delivery drivers $21 an hour, and warehouse associates $17.25 an hour—less than a dollar more than San Francisco’s minimum wage of $16.32 an hour.

“As blue collar workers, we need to support each other, we need to raise standards. Amazon’s delivery drivers are getting paid far less than we do doing the same job,” said Javier Philip, a 32-year UPS employee who works and lives in San Francisco and earns $39.97 an hour. “I can still afford to live in this city I love because I have a union job.”

“We’re not against Amazon’s growth,” Bloch said, noting that Amazon packages fuel job growth for UPS drivers who are unionized. “But why should Teamsters make two times as much doing the same work for the same company as an Amazon subcontracted delivery driver? It’s about setting standards for a company that can afford to do the right thing for workers and communities and climate.”

During the pandemic, Amazon has rapidly expanded its last mile delivery station network in the United States in order to fulfill same-day and next-day deliveries. Delivery stations are Amazon’s smallest style warehouse and are often located in cities and suburbs, allowing the company to decrease the time it takes to deliver packages to areas with a high-density of Prime customers. Amazon already has three delivery stations in the city of San Francisco, and labor activists have tallied at least 28 Amazon delivery stations in the Bay Area.

There is also controversy over the San Francisco mayor’s office’s quiet agreement with Amazon to begin negotiating the terms of an Amazon delivery station in September at the site of a waste-management company formerly unionized with the Teamsters that could have been used to build 1,000 units of housing. The new legislation is accompanied by a resolution to put a hold on the planning for this Amazon project.

Walton, the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city’s top legislative body, says that with this deal and others, Amazon so far “hasn’t shown respect to their neighbors” in the city. “If you bring in a big business and employ a lot of people who aren’t part of that community, you start pushing people out because you take over the area,” said Walton. “Where do these folks have to go? You move out people who are already in the area.”

The legislation was brought to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors by the San Francisco Southeast Alliance, a group of residents, environmental groups, and labor unions. The alliance formed in September to advocate against the pernicious effects of Amazon facilities moving into San Francisco.

“I believe this law will send a message to Amazon in general that San Francisco is a labor city,” said Joel Gonzales, a produce clerk at Andronico’s supermarket in San Francisco and a member of UFCW local 648. “If you’re going to come here and build your warehouses, you must respect your workers and unions that respect their workers.”

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WASHINGTON (AP / CBS SF) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enacted a new eviction moratorium that would last until October 3 as the Biden government tried to quell mounting criticism from progressives that at-risk tenants were while of a pandemic.

The ban announced on Tuesday could help keep millions in their homes as the delta variant of the coronavirus has spread and states are slow to release federal rental subsidies. It would temporarily halt evictions in counties with “significant and high levels” of virus transmission and cover areas home to 90% of the US population.

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The announcement was a reversal for the Biden administration, which let an earlier moratorium expire over the weekend after a Supreme Court ruling prevented an extension. This tore open a dramatic split between the White House and progressive Democrats, who insisted that the government do more to prevent some 3.6 million Americans from losing their homes during the COVID-19 crisis.

In a speech at the White House on Tuesday, Biden said he was urging the CDC to reconsider its options. However, he still seemed hesitant about whether the new moratorium could withstand complaints about its constitutionality, and said he had sought expert opinions on whether the Supreme Court would approve the measure.

“Most of the constitutional research says it likely won’t pass constitutional pattern,” Biden said. “But there are some important scientists who think that it is possible and that it is worth the effort.”

The president added that the moratorium – even if challenged in court – will “likely give states and cities a little more time” to free up billions of dollars in federal aid to tenants.

Politically, the extension could help close a rift between liberal democratic lawmakers, who urged the president to take executive action to keep tenants in their homes. The government had spent the past few days reassuring Democrats and the country that they could find a way to limit the damage from possible evictions through the use of federal aid.

However, the pressure increased as key lawmakers said this was not enough.

Leading Democratic leaders joined MP Cori Bush, D-Mo., Who has been camping outside the US Capitol for several days. The new congresswoman once lived in her car as a young mother and referred to the experience to urge the White House to prevent widespread evictions.

When she wiped her eyes in front of a crowd in the Capitol following the CDC announcement, Bush said she shed “happy tears.”

“My God, I don’t think we did that,” she said. “We just did the job just by loving people to keep millions in their homes.”

House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said it was a day of “extraordinary relief.”

“The looming fear of eviction and exposure to the streets has been removed for countless families across America. Help is here! ”Pelosi said in a statement.

Government officials had previously stated that a Supreme Court ruling had prevented them from imposing a new moratorium without the support of Congress. When the court upheld the eviction ban by 5 to 4 votes until the end of July, a majority judge, Brett Kavanaugh, wrote that Congress must act to extend it further.

But on Tuesday, the CDC cited the slow pace of state and local governments in paying housing subsidies as a justification for the new moratorium.

Aside from the moratorium, Biden has insisted that federal funds – about $ 47 billion previously approved during the pandemic – must leave the door to help tenants and landlords.

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“The money is there,” said Biden.

The White House has said that state and local governments have been slow to pull out federal money and are pushing them to do it quickly.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen briefed Democrats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday of work in progress to ensure federal housing aid reaches tenants and landlords. She provided data so lawmakers could see how their districts and states were doing in distributing aid, according to one person who answered the call.

The Treasury Secretary tried to encourage Democrats to work together, despite lawmakers saying Biden should act alone to extend the eviction moratorium, according to someone in the private call who insisted on anonymity to discuss the contents.

According to this person, on the call, Yellen said that she agreed that “we must use all resources” and that she appreciates the efforts of the Democrats and “does not want to leave a stone unturned”.

The CDC imposed the initial eviction ban as part of the COVID-19 response as jobs shifted and many workers lost their incomes. The ban was intended to curb the spread of the virus among people who took to the streets and were taken to emergency shelters, but also penalized landlords who lost income as a result.

National Apartment Association President and CEO Bob Pinnegar said the organization has “always taken the same position – the eviction moratorium is an unfunded government mandate that forces housing providers to provide costly service without compensation and places insurmountable debt on tenants” .

Democratic lawmakers said they were surprised by Biden’s initial decision to end the moratorium, despite the fact that the CDC hinted in late June that it was unlikely to extend the eviction ban beyond the end of July.

MP Maxine Waters, the powerful chair of the financial services committee, has been speaking privately to Yellen for days, urging the finance minister to use her leverage to get states to push the money out the door. However, Waters also urged the CDC to act independently.

Following the CDC’s announcement on Tuesday, Waters released a statement thanking Biden for “listening and encouraging the CDC to act! This extension of the moratorium is the lifeline that millions of families have been waiting for. “

On Monday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, joined the Choir of Voices, which has been growing since the eviction moratorium expired, the White House and Centers for Disease Control on Sunday in extending it.

“The pandemic is not over yet,” Lee said in a press release released from her office on Sunday evening. “With the dangerous delta variant becoming widespread, there is still a risk that low-income communities – especially black and brown communities – lose their homes and end up on the streets. Consistent with the executive powers granted during a public health crisis, the White House and CDC should immediately extend the eviction moratorium.

Lee, co-chair of the Majority Leader’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity, said her district and California were at the epicenter of the country’s housing crisis. By the time the moratorium expires, an estimated 11 million Americans could be thrown onto the streets as COVID-19 rises again across the country.

“This is more important now than ever as evictions not only leave families without a roof over their heads, but also have the potential to worsen the spread of COVID-19,” she said. “Individual states shouldn’t have to look after themselves. The Biden administration and the CDC can fix this with the stroke of a pen by extending the moratorium.

This latest moratorium will remain in effect until October 3, which may give some tenants more time to apply for emergency funds and assistance.

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© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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CBS San Francisco Employee Report

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – With a surge in coronavirus cases, the information you need to know comes fast and furious. Here is a recap of the COVID stories we’ve published over the past 24 hours.

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California Lifts Restrictive COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order; ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’
SAN FRANCISCO – Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California would lift a restrictive stay at home order for all five regions of California on Monday, paving the way for a return to limited dining, religious services and other activities. The state is now returning to the enforcement system, with most of the counties initially on the purple plain. State officials also lifted a curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sectors reopened include outdoor restaurants, gyms, places of worship, and wineries. Indoor retail stores can be 25% busy, along with personal care services like hair and nail salons. After the stay at home order was canceled, some shuttered stores did not take long to resume operations. Continue reading

Project House: Eviction Moratorium A lifeline for struggling tenants in the Bay Area, but it’s too late for some
SANTA ROSA – Legislators are running out of time to extend California’s eviction moratorium. If lawmakers don’t pass law this week, one in five Californians could lose their home. “I’m like really desperate so as you can see I cry a lot,” said Ofelia Camacho. The nationwide eviction moratorium is the only thing keeping Camacho’s parents and family of seven off the streets. “I feel like my parents helped the community a lot. We’ve spent a lot and we feel like the community doesn’t have their backs, ”said Camacho. Despite the moratorium, her landlord tried three times to evict her this year, mainly because there are allegedly too many people living in one house. Camacho’s father used to work in a local vineyard, but suffered nerve damage in his legs when heavy machinery fell on him. Even so, they managed to pay rent, sell items at the flea market, and take out loans from other family members. She is concerned that the generosity may run out soon. Continue reading

Marin County officials reveal what will reopen under Purple Tier
SAN RAFAEL – Hours after state health officials lifted a restrictive home stay order, Marin County’s health director released a list of businesses allowed to reopen in the county under the Purple Tier. After repealing the state at home, the state is now returning to the enforcement system, with most of the counties initially on the purple plain. “Everyone has sacrificed to get this surge under control and it is paying off,” said Dr. Marin County’s health officer Matt Willis in a press release. “When we return to the purple level, it is important to remember that the virus is still very active in our community. We could easily fall behind if we let go of our guard. “The county-by-county tier system uses various metrics to determine the risk of community transmission and applies a color code – purple, red, orange, or yellow – that corresponds to widespread, substantial, moderate, or minimal, respectively. Continue reading

The risk of triggering another surge is for business owners and nurses
SAN FRANCISCO – With the home stay order cleared, some wonder if it’s too early and if a relapse into the rising COVID-19 cases and hospital stays is inevitable. “It’s a calculated one, I’m not sure if ‘gambling’ is the right word, but there is an element of uncertainty,” said Dr. Kind of pure gold from UC Berkeley of the bed capacity in the intensive care unit and the like. “Counties are returning to color-coded plains, most of them purple and all of them in the Bay Area. In some counties, alfresco dining has already started, as has haircuts. Arthur Sebastian, owner of the Arthur Sebastian Salon in Cow Hollow, spoke to KPIX in May. Then he showed Plexiglas partitions and social distancing measures. Continue reading

Santa Clara Co. Hospital under fire because school workers were “cut” to the top of the line
SAN JOSE – A Bay Area hospital has come under fire after a group gained access to coronavirus vaccine at the head of the line. Santa Clara County suspended the distribution of vaccines to Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose after it became known that the hospital vaccinated school district employees who were not health care providers. The hospital currently only offers vaccines to first responders and health care workers, a group known as Tier 1A. Last Thursday, Los Gatos Union school district superintendent Paul Johnson emailed staff saying the Good Samaritan is offering vaccinations to school district staff. Program. Those who register for vaccination should register as if they were health care workers. Continue reading

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California’s Secretary of Labor says criminal rings have looted at least $ 11 billion in unemployment benefits
SACRAMNETO – Sophisticated hackers, identity thieves, and overseas criminal rings stole over $ 11 billion in unemployment benefits in California last year, but the scale of the fraud could be far greater: billions more payments are being investigated. California Labor Secretary Julie Su told reporters on a conference call Monday that of the $ 114 billion the state paid for unemployment claims, about 10% – or $ 11.4 billion – has been confirmed fraudulent. Almost $ 20 billion more – another 17% – is viewed as suspicious, and much of that could be viewed as fraud, she said. “There is no such thing as a sugar coating in reality,” said Su. “California did not have adequate security measures to prevent this level of fraud, and criminals took advantage of the situation.” Continue reading

Santa Clara County Lifts Prohibition of Team Sports; Sharks return to the SAP center
SAN JOSE – Santa Clara County health officials announced changes to current COVID restrictions on Monday after the state lifted the home stay order, including an end to the ban on all team sports. All sports, including college and professional, are allowed to resume, according to county officials. The San Jose Sharks were supposed to be playing their home games in Arizona but could now host games at the SAP Center in San Jose if they followed proper protocols. “To ensure that all of these athletes and their staff limit exposure to the broader community and basically stay in their households or participate in their activities, there is clearly no social distancing in close contact sports,” said James, county counsel by Santa Clara R. Williams. Continue reading

San Francisco will offer al fresco dining and personal services starting Thursday
SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor London Breed announced Monday that the state’s repeal of the stay-at-home ordinance would allow San Francisco to ease COVID restrictions starting this Thursday. The mayor first briefed her on the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic since state health officials lifted the home stay order on Monday morning. The mayor said the city’s case rate fell from 372 cases per day to 261 new cases per day on Monday. There are currently 194 people hospitalized in the city with COVID, and the infection rate (R-effective) has dropped below one. The city’s ICU capacity is currently stabilized at around 26%, Breed said.
“The good news is that we are in a better place than we have been in a long time,” she said after showing the latest figures. Continue reading

Safari Park Gorillas Recover from Contagious COVID-19 Strain; The San Diego Zoo receives a vaccine for animals
SAN DIEGO – The gorillas at San Diego Zoo Safari Park are on their way to a full recovery after being diagnosed with COVID-19, zoo officials said Monday. San Diego Zoo officials say the eight-person troop eat, drink, and interact normally after several members’ feces tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The troops were infected with the B.1.429 variant of the coronavirus, which is on the rise in California and, according to official information, is more contagious than other strains. The troop was tested after some of the gorillas showed symptoms, including a slight cough, constipation, nasal discharge, and intermittent lethargy. Officials at the zoo took the troop’s silverback, Winston, an extra step due to his advanced age and concern for his underlying medical conditions. Continue reading

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine works on variants but plans a booster for South African strain
SAN FRANCICSO – Moderna said new research shows its COVID-19 vaccine is effective against variants of the virus from the UK and South Africa. “Out of caution”, however, the company in Cambridge will develop a booster shot for the South African variety. “We are encouraged by this new data, which increases our confidence that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine should protect against these newly discovered variants,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement on Monday. “Out of caution and using the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are bringing a new variant booster candidate against the variant identified for the first time in the Republic of South Africa to the clinic in order to determine whether it is more effective to increase the titre against this and possibly future variants. “Both the South African and British variants are spreading faster and are more infectious forms of the virus. Continue reading

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California extends eviction moratorium to June 30th
SACRAMENTO – California officials announced Monday that the state plans to extend the current eviction moratorium through June 30 for those struggling to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal, which must be approved by state lawmakers, would extend a state law slated to expire in late January, preventing landlords from evicting renters who were unable to pay their rent between March and August because of the coronavirus pandemic. To be eligible, renters must pay at least 25% of their rent due between September 1st and January 31st. Governor Gavin Newsom issued a joint statement with Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Spokesperson Anthony Rendon to extend the eviction moratorium, which aims to protect Californians affected by COVID-19. “COVID-19 continues to devastate communities in our state, and too many Californians are one paycheck away from losing their homes or homes. These families now need protection and relief, ”the statement said. Continue reading

The post Keep-At-Residence Order Lifted, Companies Reopening; Hire Moratorium Too Late For Some; $11B Looted From Jobless Funds – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

CONCORD (KPIX) – Contra Costa County’s housing lawyers warn property owners are using loopholes in the state’s eviction moratorium to force tenants out of their homes.

“It’s a myth that there is full protection and that there are no evictions,” says Kristi Laughlin, who works for the charitable path to living.

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The organization held a march and rally in support of Manuel Caballero and his family, who moved out of their Concord apartment on Friday evening.

“It’s very hard. My kids cried yesterday because we were moving. They said where are my clothes? Where are my stuff?” says Caballero, who worked as a wedding and event photographer until the pandemic.

Caballero says when his photo business dried up, he slipped back on his rent in August last year. He and his wife have four children between 12 and four months.

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The state’s eviction moratorium should have protected him from being forced out of his home for not paying rent. State lawmakers drafted the eviction moratorium to protect tenants from the financial consequences of the pandemic.

However, Caballero said the owners of his apartment had told him they were removing the property from the rental market, essentially depriving him of the protection of the state moratorium.

A lawyer representing the owners tells KPIX 5 that its clients have negotiated a settlement in which Caballero and his family agreed to leave the apartment by April 30th. The attorney says his clients are small mom and pop owners and Caballero’s inability to pay his rent jeopardizes their ability to pay their mortgage.

Caballero says he hasn’t found a new apartment for his family. Housing lawyers have raised money to temporarily stay in a hotel room.

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“You grew up there. My children were there for ten years, ”said Caballero.

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