Residents and advocates at Board of Supervisors hearing describe collapsing conditions in HUD properties; call for mayoral oversight

Numerous residents, tenant leaders and advocates used public comment at the April 22 Board of Supervisors meeting to describe persistent, dangerous conditions at HUD-subsidized housing across the city and to demand prompt action from city leadership.

Speakers from Alice Griffith, Plaza East, Thomas Paine and Hunters Point described recurring building failures — mold, rodent infestations, broken elevators that prevent seniors and people with disabilities from leaving their units, water leaks, and ceiling collapses. Several speakers said promises of repairs have moved slowly or been implemented with low-quality materials.

Malik Sineffaroo, speaking for the Alice Griffith community, said an older resident was injured when a ceiling collapsed during a youth art event and described long-standing leaks and infestations. Micah Pinkston, a Bayview resident, told the board he witnessed the incident and urged the city to provide accountability and return oversight to residents. "What is happening at Alice Griffith is not an isolated incident," Pinkston said, and he asked Mayor Lurie to walk the community and see conditions firsthand.

Resident leaders at Plaza East reported dozens of vacant units and stalled repairs. Kelvin Sadeen, who said he serves on Plaza East's tenant council, and Martha Hollins of the Plaza East resident council described mold in senior units, broken floors, pests and a backlog of repairs; Hollins said 29 units there remained vacant after renovations and contested the quality of work performed.

Thomas Paine tenants and organizers told similar stories of mold, pests, asbestos concerns and elevator outages that leave seniors effectively housebound. Several speakers urged immediate visits from the mayor and city oversight to ensure repairs are completed to acceptable standards and to prevent displacement as renovations proceed.

Several speakers asked for stronger local hiring and Section 3 employment commitments as renovations and redevelopment proceed, saying residents are not seeing promised job opportunities. Others asked the city to pause payments to management entities until safe living conditions are verified.

Why it matters: HUD-subsidized and related properties house low-income and often elderly or disabled residents; long-running maintenance failures raise health, safety and civil-rights concerns and can accelerate displacement of longstanding residents.

Next steps: Speakers asked the Board and the mayor to perform walk-throughs, to make the public-health and housing authorities enforce repairs, to negotiate return-to-home protections and to sign letters of agreement (LOAs) documenting residents' rights and protections. Several requested that the mayor visit sites in the coming weeks.

Provenance: topicintro — public comment announcement and first Alice Griffith speaker (transcript block starting at 3643.335 seconds and 4250.47 seconds): "At this time, the board welcomes your public comment..." and "Greetings. My name is Malik Sineffaroo. I'm here on behalf of the Alice Griffith community..."; topfinish — last speakers from the group (transcript block starting at 6421.445 seconds): "And we're setting the timer for 2 minutes..."