Can't have anyone raising the notion that unused buildings could be used as homes for people living on the street. Wouldn't be prudent.
People from a group called Homes Not Jails hang banners from the windows of a vacant home
to draw attention to their cause Sunday in San Francisco.
to draw attention to their cause Sunday in San Francisco.
Protesting Squatters Removed From SF Mission District Home
On Monday afternoon, San Francisco police kicked out squatters who occupied a home in the city's Mission District over the weekend.
The activists are angry because they claim there are too many people living on the street given the abundance of housing in SF.
By Monday evening, there was little sign of the standoff at the home in the Mission that took place a few hours before. The homeowner had cleaned up the property, leaving very little evidence of the squatters who occupied the home here for nearly 24 hours.
Earlier Monday afternoon, San Francisco police made their way into the two-bedroom home on San Jose Street. Protesters had occupied the duplex since Sunday afternoon.
The incident started with a tenant's rights march through the Mission District Sunday. Protesters were angry over the eviction of an elderly tenant from the home 18 months ago.
The home has stood vacant since the eviction.
On Monday, the squatters said they occupied the home to make the statement that the eviction was unconscionable, especially after the owner subsequently left the home empty.
"Buildings are sitting vacant, people are … dying on the streets and for some reason the property owners are allowed to keep these buildings vacant and leave people on the streets," said protester Tim Maschok. "And we have an issue with that."
Monday afternoon, the home's owner Ara Tehlirian showed up-- and asked police to clear the squatters out of his duplex.
"There is this very small, vocal group of people that do the sort of tactics they've done now," said Tehlirian. "They're not representative of the majority of the tenants that live here in San Francisco or elsewhere."
The protesters cooperated with police and left the building, but they said this wasn't the end of their protest.
"I think as long as there's 15,000 people sleeping on the streets in the city … you can expect more people to take over houses," said protester Aaron Buchbinder.
The protesters were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and are due in court on May 8.
The activists are angry because they claim there are too many people living on the street given the abundance of housing in SF.
By Monday evening, there was little sign of the standoff at the home in the Mission that took place a few hours before. The homeowner had cleaned up the property, leaving very little evidence of the squatters who occupied the home here for nearly 24 hours.
Earlier Monday afternoon, San Francisco police made their way into the two-bedroom home on San Jose Street. Protesters had occupied the duplex since Sunday afternoon.
The incident started with a tenant's rights march through the Mission District Sunday. Protesters were angry over the eviction of an elderly tenant from the home 18 months ago.
The home has stood vacant since the eviction.
On Monday, the squatters said they occupied the home to make the statement that the eviction was unconscionable, especially after the owner subsequently left the home empty.
"Buildings are sitting vacant, people are … dying on the streets and for some reason the property owners are allowed to keep these buildings vacant and leave people on the streets," said protester Tim Maschok. "And we have an issue with that."
Monday afternoon, the home's owner Ara Tehlirian showed up-- and asked police to clear the squatters out of his duplex.
"There is this very small, vocal group of people that do the sort of tactics they've done now," said Tehlirian. "They're not representative of the majority of the tenants that live here in San Francisco or elsewhere."
The protesters cooperated with police and left the building, but they said this wasn't the end of their protest.
"I think as long as there's 15,000 people sleeping on the streets in the city … you can expect more people to take over houses," said protester Aaron Buchbinder.
The protesters were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and are due in court on May 8.
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