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Residents and advocates accuse manager of rent diversion, call for halting Potrero evictions
Summary
Tenant advocates and residents said approximately 40 Potrero Hill households face eviction, alleged that Eugene Berger Management Corporation staff ‘pocketed’ rent payments, and urged the housing authority to pause evictions and provide relocation assistance.
Multiple residents, tenant advocates and attorneys used the Housing Authority’s Sept. 13 public-comment period to press the commission to stop what they described as mass evictions at the Potrero Hill Terrace Annex and to hold management accountable.
Jessica Santillo, a senior litigation attorney at the Eviction Defense Collaborative, said the collaborative represents Potrero Hill residents facing eviction and reported a surge of about 40 eviction lawsuits. Santillo said many tenants “are reportedly the victims of fraud from the Eugene Berger Management Corporation staff who pocketed their rent money” and asked why the Housing Authority had not fired Eugene Berger as the property manager.
Other speakers corroborated the urgency of the situation. Tuesday Rose Thornton (Eviction Defense Collaborative) said the housing authority continued filing lawsuits and used sheriff removals that have left residents homeless. Kelsey Hechsberg described a mediation agreement that had promised a first payment within three days but had not been received nearly two weeks later, complicating deadlines for moving.
Advocates asked the commission to prioritize portable vouchers, meet with residents, reverse recent evictions where possible and provide transitional or temporary housing. The commission and CEO Tanya Lehi said the Authority acted to remove an individual implicated in fraud and that staff were reviewing a letter submitted by advocates. Lehi and staff committed to further engagement and to report back to the commission.
Status and next steps: The allegations of rent diversion and the request to fire Eugene Berger Management Corporation were raised in public comment and acknowledged by staff; the commission did not take immediate punitive action against the management company during the meeting and said follow-up and investigation would continue.
