Community Spotlight On Grace Wayne: “I Will Fight.”

Grace has survived three unsuccessful eviction attempts and is now facing a fourth. This courageous grandmother shares her story of standing up to her would-be evictor, in hopes of inspiring other tenants to do the same.

Longtime SoMa resident Grace Waye is a loving mom, grandma, and wife, a dedicated friend, and an active volunteer in the local community. In her free time, she accompanies seniors to their various errands and appointments. She is an avid fan of Korean soap operas and talks enthusiastically about her eldest grandson visiting from Boston this April to tour prospective colleges.

Grace immigrated from Pampanga, Philippines to Mississippi in 1976. Her husband, Jerry, is a member of the U.S. Air Force, and so their family would relocate from place to place, depending on where Jerry was stationed. In 1984, they settled in their present-day, one-bedroom apartment at 1084 Howard Street. Over the course of 34 years, Grace has witnessed firsthand the neighborhood’s gradual but monumental transformation from working class, immigrant, and largely industrial to affluent, chic, and commercial. And although she approves of some of the changes, she finds herself unable to fully enjoy them because of of her constant state of trauma and anxiety, unsure if her family will still have a roof over their heads the following month.

Their current landlord, only identified as "Sergio", took over ownership of their building in 2004. That’s when their housing issues first started.

 “My landlord is very mean,” shared Grace in a recent interview with Kapitbahay Times. “He gives me a lot of stress. One night, I was at home, recovering from surgery. It was just my mom and I. Without warning, Sergio suddenly entered our unit. I told him: “Why you didn’t you knock? I almost grabbed my baseball bat.” He responded: “Oh, somebody downstairs complained about a leak.” So I went downstairs and asked my neighbors: “Did you call about a leak?” “No,” they all replied.

 I couldn’t get that out of my system. Even though he technically owns the unit, he still has to knock or give us notice before entering, right? Up to now, I have trouble sleeping, even when my husband is around. It doesn’t matter how many times I change the lock on the door. I’m always paranoid that somebody will enter.”

 Camera phones were still uncommon at the time, so neither Grace nor her mom were able to video document the incident. They went to the police asking to file a report, but they refused, claiming that the owner was acting within his rights.

 Soon after, the power and the water would shut off periodically and without explanation. Sergio then had the stairs removed from the fire escape of their third floor apartment. In 2007, he blocked Grace’s unit from accessing the garbage disposal area. (“Where are we supposed to put the trash? We’re not allowed to leave it out in the hallway,” objected Grace.) Additionally, there have been multiple construction projects in the building initiated without proper notification of tenants or safeguards from dust and pollutants.

 So dire was their situation that Sergio went so far as taking them to court to try and evict them on three separate occasions. All three times he lost. “The third time, the judge granted us free rent for one month,” said Grace.

 Presently, Grace and her family are only one of two long-term tenants in their apartment complex. The other rent-controlled unit is occupied by another Filipino family who has been residing there since the 1970s. In 2016, a household of four people moved into the downstairs unit with a monthly rent of $8,000. (“All four are doctors,” Grace remarked.) The remaining unit is occupied by a commercial tenant paying $10,000 a month.

 Late last year, Sergio filed an Ellis Act eviction with the San Francisco Rent Board, and the court date is pending. Grace doubts that her landlord will actually go through with the process because of the exorbitantly high rent he is receiving from the newer tenants. Under the Ellis Act state law, all existing tenants must vacate the property and the landlord is not permitted to rent it out for a period of two years.

 The stress has taken a large toll on Grace’s physical and mental health. “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. It’s hard to enjoy myself. Like, if I want to go out of town, I can’t because knowing him, he’s gonna go in the house. I don’t have anything to lose, but you never know.” When Grace’s father passed away in 2005, she couldn’t go back to the Philippines due to an open eviction case. “My attorney advised me not to leave, because as soon as I come back, I might be locked out of the apartment.” She added: “In my mind, my dad is still alive because I never saw his body.”

 Grace’s case is not isolated. There are many families like hers experiencing harassment and abuse from landlords looking to turn over existing tenants for new transplants who can afford to pay market-rate rents or higher. (As of March 2018, the average monthly rent in San Francisco is $3,558.) The passage of Eviction Protections 2.0 by the Board of Supervisors in 2015 gave tenants temporary relief from “nuisance” evictions (examples of these so-called “nuisances” include hanging laundry outside the window, leaving shoes in the hallway, or having an additional roommate) but it doesn’t protect against “no-fault” evictions such as Ellis Act or Owner Move-In.

​Grace has been around the SoMa long enough to witness the once-thriving Filipino community dwindling over time. Said Grace: “Many of my former neighbors have already left. They would like to stay in San Francisco, but they cannot afford it anymore. Like my friend Myrna who used to live on Folsom Street. They were pressured by their landlord and moved to Vallejo. They didn’t even wait for a buyout. Now, she regrets it. She cannot find a place like where she was before.”

 With all the blatant violations and abuse that’s she’s endured, why does Grace persist in her fight to stay in her home? “Because it has sentimental value to me. My mom passed away in this apartment. Besides, I’m on disability. I couldn’t afford to move even if I wanted to.”

 Grace is careful to cross all her t’s and dot all her i’s. “Our general advice to anyone in that situation is: keep paying rent; avoid talking to the landlord; keep everything in writing; and don’t sign any documents,” said Raymond Castillo, SOMCAN’s Tenant Organizer. He added: “Seek help from a housing rights organization that could inform you of your rights and options, support you through the process, and potentially connect you to a pro-bono lawyer.”

 Grace recently attended the relaunch of SOMCAN’s Kapitbahay program, and hopes others will also get involved. The Kapitbahay program is aimed at educating, organizing and empowering Filipino tenants citywide to take collective action against the rampant evictions and displacement plaguing the community. Grace had some words of encouragement for her fellow renters: “We have to unite. Even though I’m scared, I’m going to fight.” She added: “I just pray nothing bad’s going to happen to us.”