Occupiers Support ACCE at Savanna Jazz Club Benefit

Update: Check out this amazing video from Peter Menchini–


Dozens of Occupiers and other supporters, including Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters Jamila Mohamed, Carolyn Gage, Ross Rhodes, Archbishop Franzo King, Allen Stowers, and Thida Chan and San Francisco Supervisors John Avalos and David Chiu, attended a festive fundraiser for the San Francisco chapter of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) on the evening of December 13, 2012, at the Savanna Jazz Club in the Mission neighborhood.

Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Pascal Thiam, co-owner of the Savanna Club which is facing foreclosure, took to a stage bedecked with foreclosure fighter banners for some delightful jazz improvisations with Archbishop King. Thanks to the other musicians including Occupy organizer Elaine.

ACCE staff members Grace Martinez, Erin Franey, John Eller, and new executive director Christina Livingston were on hand with a bunch of volunteers who helped organize the event, including Gale Rosboro and Buck Bagot.

Occupy videographer Peter Menchini prepared a special video, which unfortunately didn’t get shown with proper audio speakers and will hopefully get broad exposure at another event soon.

Other notable attendees including Sister E, Julie Anderson, Hanson Lee, Jackson, Christie Hakim, Diane Ross, Becca Gourevich, Tim Poulson, Deborah Gerson, Kathy Lipscomb, Susan McDonough, Julien Ball, Judy Kurtz, Lisa Prochello, and many others who I didn’t catch or left before I arrived.

The event raised more than $10,000 for the organization, which has partnered effectively with Occupy Bernal, Occupy Noe, and other Occupiers to fight predatory foreclosures and evictions in San Francisco. Thanks to everyone who made it happen and to everyone who gave generously to save people’s homes!

ALERT: Save Archbishop Franzo King’s Home This Thursday (June 21)

Update: Wells Fargo finally got the trustee to postpone the auction of Archbishop King’s home to July 20, 2012.


Please show up to defend the Bayview home of Archbishop Franzo King and family at 1:30pm to prepare for the auction which starts promptly at 2:00pm at City Hall sidewalk, 400 Van Ness Ave., in San Francisco.

Although a Wells Fargo representative apparently told Archbishop Franzo King the bank was postponing the auction of his home, the trustee in charge of the auction still lists the bank auction for Thursday, June 21. A recent court ruling seemed to hold that verbal agreements from bank representatives aren’t worth anything, so that means we have to defend the home of Archbishop Franzo King and his family.

Archbishop King pastors the John Coltrane Church, located in the Western Addition community of San Francisco. He is a community leader and a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE).

Links: Profile of Archbishop King    San Francisco Bayview article (by Carol Harvey)

Occupy Bernal and ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters Join Forces

Occupy Bernal and ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters joined forces at a meeting on May 31, 2012, to plan strategies and tactics for stopping predatory foreclosures and related auctions and evictions.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Committee to Hear Foreclosure Moratorium

OCCUPY BERNAL AND OCCUPY SF HOUSING MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: Christie Hakim, +1 (415) 285-6899, press@occupybernal.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and Occupy SF Housing Support Board of Supervisors’ First in the Nation Major City Resolution on Unlawful Foreclosures and Moratorium on Foreclosures and Evictions to be heard in committee April 2, 2012

San Francisco, April 2, 2012 – Occupy Bernal, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and the Occupy SF Housing Coalition will speak out at the Land Use and Economic Development Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in support of resolutions calling for a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions in San Francisco, demanding an immediate moratorium on predatory bank evictions, fraudulent foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions by all city officials.

The organizations plan a rally on the Polk Street steps of City Hall at 1:30pm. Speakers at the rally include: San Francisco Supervisors John Avalos and David Campos, Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Ross Rhodes and ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighter Vivian Richardson.

After the rally, speakers and other moratorium supporters will attend the Committee meeting at City Hall to present testimony.

Members of several City Departments, including the Assessor-Recorder’s office and the Mayor’s office, will present testimony. A representative from State Attorney General Kamala Harris’s office is expected to attend to address her proposed foreclosure and eviction moratorium and Homeowners’ Bill of Rights currently pending in Sacramento. In addition, counselors who have been working with San Franciscans facing foreclosure and eviction will speak about remedies that will address proposed remedies to the problems their clients face. ACCE and Occupy organizers including FEFs will speak out about the problems they have faced in their attempts to save their homes from foreclosure by Wells Fargo Bank.

Occupy Bernal, ACCE, and the Occupy SF Housing coalition invite the press to hear from San Francisco residents as well as from officials of the City and County of San Francisco.

The recent deal between banks and the Attorneys General of 49 of 50 states is woefully inadequate and does little for the Californians hardest hit by the crisis era or earlier.

“We are fast losing residents from our communities – seniors, families, community leaders, city workers,” said ACCE Foreclosure Fighter Archbishop Franzo King. “The city must do all in its power to pause foreclosures and cease partnering with predatory banks so we can all hold the banks accountable for their crimes.”

“The banks have torn apart our communities and caused a financial and health crisis by unjustly foreclosing and evicting our neighbors from their homes,” commented Occupy Bernal organizer Christie Hakim. “We support those city officials who have joined with the state Attorney General in calling for an immediate halt to predatory and for-profit foreclosures and related auctions and evictions.”

An audit commissioned by San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting on nearly 400 San Francisco foreclosures over the past three years reveals that “fully 84 percent of the foreclosure files contained at least one clear legal violation and more than 66 percent of the files contained multiple violations”. This report confirms what many have suspected and provides the evidence required for issuing a moratorium on all predatory or for-profit evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions.

Both Occupy Bernal and ACCE have recently held successful protests that occupied the home of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on February 25, 2012, protested in front of Board of Directors member Lloyd Dean’s Dignity Health office on March 14, 2012, and shut down Wells Fargo headquarters on January 20, 2012 and Wells Fargo bank branches in the Bernal and Excelsior neighborhoods on January 5 and January 7 respectively.

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the actions, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press.

Organizations and Campaigns:

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) is raising up the voices of low income, immigrant and working families across California. Web: http://www.calorganize.org

Occupy SF Housing is a coalition which includes OccupySF, SF Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Eviction Defense Collaborative, ACCE, Homes Not Jails, Occupy Bernal, and other community groups and individuals. The coalition came together to stop banks from evicting tenants and homeowners through foreclosures or through their partnerships with real estate speculators. Web: http://www.occupysfhousing.org

Occupy the Auctions/Evictions is a campaign to halt for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and beyond. Web: http://www.occupytheauctions.org and http://www.occupyevictions.org

– 30 –

Tell Wells Fargo: Hands Off Our Neighbors! Call/Email Day Monday!

Despite recording record profits last year, Wells Fargo continues to drive tens of thousands of people out of their homes through foreclosure proceedings while devastating our communities. The good news is, we’re fighting back.

Occupy Bernal Heights formed to resist the foreclosure and eviction of our neighbors. Through public protest, we stopped the bank from immediately auctioning off the homes of Washington and Maria Davila and Alberto Del Rio, but the bank has merely rescheduled the auction dates. And despite meeting with six foreclosure fighters from the neighborhood and another from Bayview-Hunters Point, Wells Fargo executives have refused to allow any of them to refinance their homes or modify their loans, and have not stopped foreclosure proceedings against them.

Call and email Wells Fargo board of directors TODAY and demand that they grant a loan modification and fair deal to Alberto Del Rio; Maria and Washington Davila; Thomas German; Ernesto Viscara; Victor Granados; DeDe Martinez; Archbishop King; Eric Lundgren and Ross Rhodes. Tell them to stop evicting and foreclosing on our neighbors!

Note: We are trying to keep track of the number of emails sent. Please cc your email to action@occupybernal.org

Wells Fargo Phone numbers/emails:

John Stumpf (CEO): 866-878-5865  john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com

Board of Directors: BoardCommunications@wellsfargo.com

Members of the Board of Directors (with available contact info):

John D. Baker II: 877-704-1776 jmilton@patriottrans.com
Elaine L. Chao: 202-543-7063 staff@heritage.org Subject line: To Elaine Chao
John S. Chen: 591-883-6898
Lloyd H. Dean: 415-438-5500
Susan E. Engel: 914-730-0208
Enrique Hernandez, Jr. 626-535-2200
Donald M. James: 205-298-3000 jamesd@vmcmail.com
Federico F. Peña 303-292-6300
Alfredo Pedroza (Director CA Local Gov’t Relations): 415-396-0829 alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com

Sample Email:

To: john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com; boardcommunications@wellsfargo.com; jmilton@patriottrans.com; staff@heritage.org; jamesd@vmcmail.com; alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com;

Cc: action@occupybernal.org

Subject: WELLS FARGO: HANDS OFF OUR NEIGHBORS!

Message:

You control Wells Fargo either directly or on behalf of its borrowers and your stockholders. I demand that you cancel the auction of Alberto Del Rio (Loan #47339080) and Maria and Washington Davila’s family homes immediately. I also demand that you allow them, along with Thomas German (Loan #44751501); Ernesto Viscara (Loan # 46110532); Victor Granados (Loan #5000039031); DeDe Martinez (Loan #0046809208); Archbishop Franzo King; Eric Lundgren and Ross Rhodes, to modify their loans with you or refinance their homes. I call on you to stop evictions and foreclosures in San Francisco.

I also demand you direct Wells Fargo to meet with Occupy Bernal, SFHDC and ACCE to end and redress your predatory lending practices, and those of your purchased affiliates, by instituting a moratorium on foreclosures, and having your CEO meet with our neighbors who are in immediate risk of losing their homes as a result of Wells foreclosures. Stop evicting and foreclosing on our neighbors!

——–

Tweets:

Tell WellsFargoCEO John Stumpf to stop evicting & foreclosing our neighbors 866-878-5865 john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com #OSF #OccupyBernal #OWS

Tell WellsFargo stop evicting & foreclosing on our neighbors Call Alfredo Pedroza 415-396-0829 #OSF #OccupyBernal

Tell WellsFargo modify loans & grant fair deal to neighbors alfredo.pedroza@wellsfargo.com #OSF #OccupyBernal #OWS

Tell WellsFargo grant fair deal to Bernal Neighbors Del Rio; Davila; German; Viscara; Granados; Martinez; & Archbishop King #OccupyBernal #OSF

#OccupyBernal #OSF is working to stop foreclosures and evictions by WellsFargo. Mtg Mon 2/13 7p 515 CortlandSF housing@occupybernal.org

#DumptheBanks #OccupyValentinesDay -Meet at Bradley Manning Plaza 12pm & March to #WellsFargo #BofA #causajusta #occupybernal #OSF Housing
__________________________________________________________

Background:

Occupy Bernal has identified 84 homes in foreclosure proceedings in Bernal Heights alone. Of these, Wells Fargo owns the mortgage in at least 13 of these cases. Of the homes we have visited, a disproportionate number of the owners are African-American or Latino, reflecting the racist practices of the banks who are preying on communities.

While foreclosures in Bernal Heights represent just the tip of the iceberg in a city that has seen as many as 12,000 foreclosures in the past three years, Occupy Bernal is hopeful that a victory in our neighborhood could spark victories elsewhere in San Francisco.

Bios of Occupy Bernal foreclosure fighters:

Thomas German is a seventy-two year-old veteran and retired worker from the US Mint in SF.  Has lived in Bernal since 1967 and at his home at 248 Andover since 1974. Thomas is known and loved by all on his street. He was the first Bernal resident to step forward and join OB to battle to keep his home.

Melodie “ DeDe” Martinez is a third generation resident of 150 Elsie St. Her family was at the heart of the launching of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center(BHNC)  in 1976, when she was a child.  Her Grandmother Jean Hamer and mother Charlene Martinez were on the founding Board of Directors of the BHNC.

Alberto Del Rio is a father of three, who grew up in his home at 565 Banks St.  A strong but gentle and religious man, Alberto is an eloquent speaker on behalf of his family and other foreclosure fighters.

Victor Granados is a tenant at 4207 Folsom St. with his wife and family. He is a quiet but determined fighter against his and other foreclosures. When Occupy Bernal needs guidance and inspiration, he often has words of wisdom.

Ernesto Viscara is an owner and occupant of 249 Anderson, where he also rents to another family living on his 2nd floor. Ernesto has lived in Bernal for 30 years. He is also an accomplished public speaker, a veteran fighter for social justice and a participant in struggles against U.S. military intervention in Central America.

Maria and Washington Davila are a quiet couple with two beloved Yorkshire Terriers, the Davilas have rented their home at 4255 Folsom St. for 7 years. They have been the ideal tenants, and the inside of their home looks like a photo shoot from Home Beautiful.

Their landlord, who faces foreclosure, is ill and lives in Las Vegas.

Archbishop Franzo King pastors the John Coltrane Church, located in the Western Addition community of San Francisco.  He is a life-long resident of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.  He has owned his house for over 20 years.  He is a member of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE).

Eric Lundgren has lived in Bernal Heights for a long time and is active in Occupy Bernal.

Ross Rhodes lives in the house he grew up in and is a lifelong resident of Bernal Heights. He heard about Occupy Bernal on  a Monday, started working with Ed Donaldson with San Francisco Housing Development Corporation (SFHDC) on Wednesday, and by Thursday he was an active member of Occupy Bernal.