The owners of three single room occupancy buildings -– at 1449 Powell Street, 790 Vallejo Street, and 912 Jackson Street in Chinatown –- are being sued by the City of San Francisco over ignored health and safety violations.
The city says that it has tried for years to bring the buildings up to compliance, but that only modest progress has been made. Director of the Department of Building Inspection, Patrick O’Riordan, said: “The unsafe and, frankly, inhumane living conditions we’ve identified cannot be allowed to persist.”
Between the three properties, there are currently 21 outstanding notices from the city for issues of structural damage, health and safety violations, and work without permits. The buildings contain a combined 67 authorized SRO units and at least 14 other unauthorized rooms and dwelling units.
Malcolm Yeung of the Chinatown Community Development Center says the lawsuit “sends an important message that in every neighborhood of this city, low-income seniors and families are entitled to decent, safe, and sanitary conditions like everyone else.”
Additional complaints from residents, most of whom are immigrants, include instances of rodent infestation, exposed electrical wiring, and insufficient emergency exits.
