tv [untitled] June 23, 2014 12:00pm-12:31pm PDT
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grandma really needs to stay in the community that's where she spends most of her life and can't find someplace where there's an elevators so if the results for our community when the building has an elevator and so the elevator issue even though chinatown doesn't have that many elevator buildings it does effect our community and loss its a problem that we need to a look at a citywide problem >> thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> supervisors thank you for holding this meeting. i'm victor from the independent
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living research center. i thoroughly agree virtually everyone that everyone has said with other people i want to encourage the city to find funding be for direct grants or whatever to help the landlords of the hotels get the elevators needed repairs as is or upgraded i'll leave that to the dbi or osha to decide that. i'll a make a couple of points one is that as the lady said not everyone a on a residential hotel is there because of some kind of city or government program there are a number of city programs yes and federally funded programs like oh, shelter care by the way, there are a lot of people in residential hotels
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as was said that's their rent controlled home this is the one problem with saying let's put all the fellowship disabled people detain tlais because they've lose their rent control we need the basic funding for all the hotels, you know, for the elevator repair thank you very much >> next speaker. >> good afternoon supervisors. thank you very much supervisor kim supervisor wiener and supervisor cowen important holding those hearings. i'm figuring having flashbacks on the hearing for getting jack's in the s r o we were successful in that effective working with government agencies i think we'll be successful in this one although it's extremely
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complicated the s r o was built in 1906 a lot of them after the 1906 san francisco earthquake so that single men could come here from all over the country and repair san francisco. we had a chance when when we did the surveys to go into the s o r and i'm telling you you may have seen them their grim places so the idea comes to mind, of course, i hope this doesn't sound wrong those places have to, phased out they are upgraded but no one should live in a bad condition it's cool for people not to be able to get onto the elevator and get fresh air and go the corner store. the master lease one thing that
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impressed about the hearing the mart lease people are packing rent and some of the landlord own several of the building so i think you ought to examine how you can push them to do a much better job not only on elevators and if they don't they have to be penalized for that >> thank you very much. thank you. next speaker. . >> hi i'm allen i've met the heartland hotel this spring we had a problem with the elevator for 7 weeks people in cleerz and canes had it worse they went through hell and high water to get through that full pet there
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was not an elevator operating so anyone who sees a compensation people are going to have to expect certain things but people who get compensation should. >> thank you. next speaker. . >> good afternoon inspires. my name is don in i'm on staff of senior and disability action again, thank you for holding the hearing and the sense of urgency to deal with that and supervisor kim for challenging champing the issue. i'm going to read a short e-mail he writes on may 10th ever last year our elevator went out of
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service for a 7 to 8 month project. sf agency that manages our hotel offered to move residents to another hotel but all the hotels require 50 percent of the income rather than the thirty percent meaning my rent jumped 66 percent that i couldn't afford i was forced to stay in my room of the significant floor hotel the cost was to be slit between dish but there was a problem to get the issues to pay and then the elevators stopped working we were told it was to be done in december and march and june it's noting still not working.
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all groceries and included bottled water must be carried upstairs the runners are there and they're only desk folks even the water company won't deliver past the third floor and my visitor have to be able to climb. our project manager claims he is not responsible. we're still larger than in the dark >> can i ask i about the resident you're speaking for were they offered other housing. >> it so you would they were offered it but not at the same rate they pay they could have relocated but had to pay instead of 615 a most one - instead of
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one thousand a month. i know with one of the things we offer alternative housing it's not a real option if their >> that's not correct but illegal to do what was just read so i'm sorry i'm sure that the woman that wrote the letter had a reason to write the letter but this is our only heart building that's why the rent is different but it's at the law dedicating dictates if you place people bylaw because of renovations or whatever it needs to be at the same rate or we'll have to pay the difference so i don't know how that can about but it's
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illegal. >> maybe - >> she shouldn't have had to make a choice reason it. >> thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. . hello, i'm a tenant at the pier hotel. the elevator there is - i have not been to many s r organization with elevators but this one many particular the capacity the weight capacity is like 6 hundred pounds like a guy near my size getting on the elevator the elevator will not operate it will go very slow and stop at all floors you've got to stand in places in the elevator to make sure it works it's like a dumb water for a hotel of 80
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units. the buttons are a lot like a single call if you're in an elevator and someone presses the button before i basically the variety is so antiquated it should be some way to improve that elevator. i mean it's like a car, you know, like a you make improvements on our car your television you get a better television with a flat screen and get rid of the 5 foot tall television that was sold in the 30s. so i guess want to see something the owner spend make some type of investments in upgrading the elevator its ridiculous.
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if he can't with cal osha or whatever the mid-level management the staying city has to deal with it you know problems like that shouldn't happen in an elevator this is 2014 and i'm in an elevator that's within made in 1950 so thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon supervisor. senior disability action. 9 hundred though members statewide i live before in a single room apartment downtown during the 80's i was twice blocked for totally hours.
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during it was down it took 3 days from it was repaired it was very expensive. once your trapped it's hard to get in and people to ghetto out. your mental stabltsz are impaired what's happened before in our apartment the action should be fixed right now. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors bruce a property manager while i don't represent all the ownership groups i represent quite a few of the and all the owners and ownership groups are completely on board with upgrading or a raping but
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financially that's going to be really, really tough it's a million dollars for a complete replacement that's over the gross rents of most of the building so they'll be completely on board with a low cost program or loan forgivesness. thank you very much. next speaker. >> thank you, supervisors for holding this. i'm hoping something will come of this i've been to many of those in the past it's not begun too far but i understand this city like to progress so we'll roll along with this. i'm at the pier hotel i've been
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through nor going on 3 years pretty much i only been caught in the elevator 3 times and in my room 4 times and the liquor once. each time i get caught it takes three to four hours it's not two aboard considering what people have to go through they try to get people there as quickly as possible. we have a ramp to be able to get in and out for us in wheelchairs that's reapplicable by whoever happens to be on duty it's only a 2 inch lip to get into the hotel. the elevator is level with the floor once you get in, well that ramp is taken away. now with that ramp being taken
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away with the 26 you have to buy your own ram and say you're responsible if you fall off it and not them. and buying that ramp from 60 to $100. the company that sold me that chair is working often building a special portable ramp it's been - they say it's affordable. the 26th of the month if i don't have my rent i'm going to have to call the fire department to get back into the home doss because it takes 4 men to lift me and this chair because it's 5 hundred pounds. the ramp they have it there are
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isn't much of a ramp and at one time it was good but it's old and shattering slowly. >> thank you. >> we also have a problem here with moving. >> if you could wrap up. >> i'm going to wrap up now. we're being asked to move those of us who have cheers or stuck in cheers i don't know who else is involved besides myself but they're asking us to move >> thank you very much. next speaker. >> hi i'm deborah i live at the perry i can't remember hotel i really doorway david for coming
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his cheer has to be left in the liquor so he has to transport himself everyday in order to go up to his room his oxygen was shorten out of his electric wheelchair you live at the pier our elevator also breaks down autonomy do we have an antiquated elevator but my home lady won't get into the elevator. my associate worker from bay view connections woint won't take the elevator. my attorney takes the stair he's afraid to ride in the elevator those are professional help people that won't ride the
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elevator to come see me they're able bodies and my attorney and in home support people won't goat e gets on the elevator and in home support supervisor will not get open the elevator. also the other thing during emergencies not only does the elevator breakdown they used to keep our keys listened the desk so we had a fire david was pulled out a couple months ago to the fire escape which we sat there null the fire department came a lot of people ran out of their rooms they don't let us keep the key not only did we - we ran out of our rooms we had to pay $5 to sign a form because
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people ran out of their rooms we're locked out of our rooms the slayer is broke but in order to get in our rooms we have to sign a form to pay 5 to $25 back into our room everyone is neefg e nervous we're ripped off they utilized to keep our keys behind our desks so if there is an quart we can ask for a copy of the key but now we don't get a copy >> thank you very much. >> i have a question to the department that are repealed here. is that true a 5 there's fee was assessed? >> testifiers it was. i'm looking at a department ahead and the department of public health can someone comment
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>> thank you any public comment on that item? >> in our buildings we don't do that because our residents need a lot of help. >> is the bay one of our building. >> no, i know that the heartland is s r o. >> is the peer primarily owned. >> so it's cash. >> so i don't know what their policies are but it's h h a. >> is there a representative here today? supervisor kim were they invited to the hearing >> yes. they were. >> and they neglected to send someone. >> actually, i'm asking staff. >> okay. >> next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors madam clerk i'm tom a former s r
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o tenant. i wanted to thank supervisor kim and rosemary and the senior disability for taking this action. i know if we can build a tunnel from mission bay to chinatown it shouldn't be a problem to fix elevators that are denying seniors and disabled access to things we with enjoy. it optional requires pill will and political leadership to fix the elevators. i haven't seen the recommendations put in front of you so i can't speak to those but i have a couple of short time recommendations first i don't think that dph and h s a
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should be referring seniors or disabled to senior rose where is the elevators are not working. they need to referring seniors and disabled to s r os to premises where the elevators are working. that seems like short term and no cost to the city. thank you >> thank you very much. next speaker. >> betty trainer i was asked to read a letter that was part of the survey that we took on elevators. the elevator in the rivera hotel located on jones street is currently a working elevator, however, the management has suspended tenant from the use of
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the elevator 0 is the garbage maybe extort inside the elevator my sister has fallen down the stairs and manages can see throughout the building but refuse to call an ambulance my sisters health problems are severe and she has to take medication that makes her drowsycy she doesn't get a cheer because the she wasn't relished one. i fear for my sisters life. what happens if she falls down the stairs and breaks her neck. please help in possible. there's a second one from the heartland hotel i live on the 6th floor and suffer from yes, ma'am deceptively i have to have a breathing treatment because
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the elevator ways out of use. thank you. thank you very much >> is there any additional public comment, please come forward thank you committee members for convening this meeting he know with the site of elevators it's a very seer health issue and seer problem for many, many residents that s r os particularly seniors that can't afford market rate apartment in san francisco. it has become a bulk or a great number or a large amount of the housing sthok available hours that is available to seniors and people that disabled. now, it's been said in the shire that was read about the
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heartland hotel about a woman that lives on the significant floor we've heard stories of people that are strarntd in their s r o people that are strarntd for weeks and literally being carried up and down the stared i'm anable body person i know that going up 6 flights of stairs for me a hall i get winded but can you imagine for people that mobility issues. we've heard from the representatives from the owners that apparently says that the owners are on board we've heard from the dbi and the department of public health of the various issues and the different issues that each agency faces. i'll ask this committee to work with those bodies and you can
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much of this has to do with financing and low cost loans that gives the initiative but the initiative would be to improve the quality of life of people that are living in s r os that are paying a majority of their fund in rent >> thank you. i'm larry i want to show you a certificate on may hopefully, people will read the essential it's talks about the nonprofits how some of the s rorss are nonprofit but in 89 i got a thing on my angle i have a disability and walking up and
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down those stairs is terrible if you don't have an elevator this is even more harmful for us inform this is an occasion the 3 items it's pride month we need to make sure that s r o housing is humanity we're building up high-rise all over san francisco but people in the s r o are left out that's housing that i really wish our president would do something with hud is there a reason that the barriers its elevating us harassment and bullyinging we're the new immigrants that no one dealings deals with immigrants in this city it's time we really have more coming out and dealing with the s r o tenants they won't
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come here. but have the elevator moments to get things on the table. thank you >> is there any additional public comment? okay seeing none, public comment is closed supervisor kim >> thank you. i'll just make a couple of concluding remarks i appreciate all our tenants and advocates for come on here actually upper the ones that highlighted the issue and bring it to the forefront. i know this is something that's been going on for years we we hear about from individual residents it's frustrating and i want to appreciate our departments dbi and the dph and the mayor's office of the sdaths. i think it's clear from this
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meeting? a complicated issue unlike public housing we had jurisdiction and the authority to replace the elevators with this it's more mud he would we're not the owners but we contract up to one hundred percent of those buildings and use city funds to keep those buildings affordable for resident we place into housing. so i think there are a couple of layers that should make the city interested in finding solutions for this complicated issues. so looking forward to the recommendations is from dbi. and second interested in working with dbi to establish a financial vehicle for more thantion whether a loan or urging the master lease to have the owners pay the city back over time for the elevator replacements that's clearly
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needed now and second i'm interested in utilizing the feasibility studies that's something that came up from owners s r o hotel owners we've heard even though they know the elevator needs to be fixed they're not sure what the best way to do that so helping with the feasibility they'll, the costs and how they'll partner with the city would be something that's extremely helpful and finally with both dph and i know s h h is not here. working on including a provision in the future master leases around the owners establishing and funding a capital respectfully yours, reserve so in the future they have the capacity to deal with modernization and maintenance and
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