The Bonifacio Family: Working All Together
Boy Bonifacio’s Filipino-American migration story is a familiar one. He worked at the canneries in Alaska for six years before moving to San Francisco in 1976. With only his wife and partner Dolores, they lived in the Tenderloin and Boy found a job at the Hilton Hotel on Kearny Street. In 1987, Boy and Dolores moved to Minna Street in the South of Market and Dolores held a job at fashion retail store Jessica Mc Clintock (a job she held on for 21 years). Their daughter Dianne was born in 1989. Shortly after, in 1993, the family found another home on Natoma Street and since then their blue-collar jobs provided for their family's needs for three generations.
Now, Diane is 27 years old. Born and raised in the SoMa, she has become the mediator and translator for the family. She is bilingual and fluent with a perfect grasp of both English and Tagalog. Like most SoMa youth, she went to Bessie Carmichael, a bilingual school important to the immigrant community of the South of Market with a legacy of having parents and other community members fight for it’s longevity all these years.
Diane was to become the point person to speak to SOMCAN’s tenant organizer, Raymond Castillo, on her family’s behalf. It was last year in 2016 at the height of the hyper-tech development of SoMa when after living in their home in Natoma Street for twenty-three years, their family received an eviction notice from their landlord. But this did not come out right away through the proper channels. They confronted harassment and illegal notices before finally getting an Ellis Act Eviction notification. Last year, the problems started, initiated by the building manager’s sister.
Diane recalls, “One day, I could hear our neighbor Uncle Pablito and my father from the backyard talking and arguing with a woman’s voice, I could hear my father and Uncle Pablito’s voices and they were very distinct because my father’s and neighbor Pablito’s English were not so good, and the woman was saying something about calling her lawyer and posting a notice because we had some boxes in the backyard. I went out right away and asked her who she was and what gave her and her lawyer the right to post a notice?” The woman corrected herself and said, “I mean, the landlord is gonna post a notice, I’m a tenant here.” It turns out that the woman was just speaking on the landlord’s behalf, she was the sister of the manager, and the manager was the wife of the landlord. The woman also mentioned, “If there weren’t so many people down here, it wouldn’t be like a Third World country.” These were her exact words. Diane rushed right away to meet with SOMCAN’s tenant organizer, Raymond Castillo, and from him they found out that the woman had no right to threaten them about putting out notices on behalf of their landlord. All notices must be in written form as a printed document. This was clearly an intimidation tactic to rattle the kind of security they had within their domestic parameters. The harassment did not stop there; her mother also encountered confrontations with the same person about loud music coming from her brother's room, clearing the back and the middle rooms, and storage of their grandmother’s wheelchair which the woman threw out.
Today, the second unit in their building was already turned into an Airbnb, which clearly gives away the kind of priorities the landlord has for the building, the way it is molding itself to be part of the gentrification all over the neighborhood. After the harassment incident, the family was given two notices at the same time. They were given a “Buyout” notice and an “Ellis Eviction” notice. Raymond explains that this is not the correct process. According to Raymond, “Giving two notices is actually illegal. It’s only one or the other. And giving two notices is a scare tactic. It’s like saying: either you accept this buy-out now, or we will evict you. This is illegal and it’s an intimidation case. The landlord also needs to file with the Rent Board about the type of eviction they are trying to do. There is a proper form that you have to fill out and submit before sending to your tenants.” It seems the landlord has bypassed the proper process of eviction notices.
Raymond introduced the Bonifacio family to a lawyer from Asian-Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, and through attorney Jason Truong's help, they were able to act accordingly in terms of the recommended next steps. It has been a year now since they have been fighting to stay in their home. Raymond also introduced the family to Tony Robles, who is a community artist and poet, but also a case manager for seniors and people with disabilities. Diane expressed that she is concerned with the fact that her parents are getting old, and are becoming fragile, “My mother is the weakest among all of us; she is our main concern. She gets nervous and has high blood pressure.” Through Tony’s help, they were able to consult with a doctor, who assessed Dolores health and then produced a medical document stating that the harassment just has to stop because of her stress and anxiety. Not to mention, Dolores is also the primary caregiver for Diane’s brother, who has a disability. According to Diane, “the letter helped a lot, it came during the eviction notices, and shortly after, the harassment stopped.”
Raymond mentions, “The family was really hard on putting their feet down that they are not moving out because nobody can replace their time in their family home. This made the case very strong.” Diane mentions, “Kuya Ray (Brother Ray) has been a great support system for us. Whenever we have a problem and we get notices, we get scared. When this happens, we call Kuya Ray and then he comes here. And when he says it’s okay, then we become okay.”
Diane further adds, “The Buyout and Ellis Act eviction notices were sent around December 2016, and then they sent another Ellis Act notice again in March 2017, but it was incorrect, according to our lawyer, so they had to do it for the third time.” Raymond remarks, “The landlord clearly does not know what he is doing.”
Raymond's next move was to present the families with options and potential strategies to keep them in their homes and keep rent affordable in perpetuity. This way, the scare of eviction can be confronted head-on. Boy comments, "That would be good... there's still hope." Raymond further says, "Let's schedule a meeting so we can understand their process. And we have to act now." Diane encouragingly tells everyone, "This is really good because we are working all together, ALL OF US."
A Background on SOMCAN’s Kapitbahay (Tenant) Program:
In 2000, SOMCAN was born as a response to the gentrification and displacement of SoMa residents, business and nonprofits. It combines direct services and organizing in its approach to tenant rights, among other areas of focus. One of its long-running campaigns is to advocate for affordable housing policies and the preservation of buildings. Its housing victories include the cases of the Trinity Tenants, Tenant Protection 2.0, the acquisition of buildings, and the protection of families from evictions. SOMCAN (South of Market Community Action Network) is a multi-racial, community organization whose mission is to educate, empower and organize the low-income immigrant youth and families in SoMa and greater San Francisco to take collective action to advocate for improvements to their quality of life and to achieve social and economic justice for all.
Some Basic Information on Tenant Rights:
All tenants gain all rights to rent control for buildings built before June 1979.
A person becomes a tenant by living in a place for 30 days and paying rent. No actual written lease is needed in order to be a tenant.
All notices received by tenants (repair issues or any requests by landlord or management) should be in printed writing. Verbal exchanges, texting, or emails are not proper forms of notice.
When an eviction notice is given, you are not obligated to pack up and leave at that moment. Instead, seek immediate help from a community-based organization.
Document everything. Keep a log of every encounter with your landlord or building management. Keep receipts of rent payment. Keep records of the details if you feel you are being harassed or not getting timely services.
A group of tenants working together to solve a problem is much more effective than one tenant working alone.
For further information, contact SOMCAN’s Tenant Organizer, Raymond Castillo at tenantorganizer@somcan.org. Services are available in English, Tagalog, and Spanish.
