Newsom's wind shifts Obamaward?This morning I attended the grand opening ceremony of the pretty incredible-looking Hotel Essex, an 84-unit rehab completed by Community Housing Partnership and Mercy Housing that now houses 84 formerly homeless people in their own apartments (complete with kitchenettes!), with on-site counselling, recovery, and job-training services available. (Full disclosure: My bf works for CHP and helped put this all together.)
The Essex was rehabbed with $22+ million dollars of city, state, and federal grants and loans -- $1.1 million of which was federal, and very grudgingly contributed by an eviscerated HUD at the behest of Nancy Pelosi, who apparently can actually get some things done. Good for her!
This is the first homeless housing project completed under Mayor Gavin Newsom's administration (stuff takes time, folks) and naturally Newsie was there himself to make some remarks. I must say, despite his odious record on homelessness, Gavin was actually quite gracious to all involved and even acknowledged that he had been on the wrong side of many of the disagreements he'd with the progenitors of the project. But, of course, he's charming like that.
And then came a very weird moment. With cautious enunciation and in the wake the whole Obama-elitism-San Francisco-oh my! panic, Newsom, a supposedly staunch Hillary supporter, said:
"We're turning this problem around -- or, as Barack Obama says: We're turning the page, bringing real change -- on homelessness."
Hmm. Quoting Obama, really? Right now? Either this was a very misguided attempt to pull a Hillary and tar Obama with any reference to scandal possible -- keeping the smear ball in play, as it were -- or perhaps Mr. Newsom knows something we don't about the way the superdelegate winds are blowing, and is waving around a little penance. Either way, many confused looks were shot across the room.
Back to the actual issue at hand: Darryl, one of the Essex's residents, who unfortunately spoke last, well after Newsom had slipped out the back, was the most eloquent speaker, talking about how the Essex was giving him and others a chance at real community and about the power of a little faith and empowerment to help change lives.
C.W. Nevius was not present.
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Comments (4)
So that's what's up with the Hotel Essex. I drive by it every day on the way home to my street (covered with crackheads openly hitting their pipes, needles, people sleeping on the street, and cops ignoring the whole shebang.) It's really looking nice. The Hotel Essex, that is.
I don't know if it's a good thing or not. I was a supporter of homeless rights when I moved into this neighboorhood 5 years ago. Then the apartment building across the street burned and it became a one stop crack and smack shop.
Now I just see the same violent, burned out assholes hassling people day in and day out. I'm 7 months pregnant and I am afraid to walk the block from my garage to my apt door in the middle of the day without an escort - because I can't run or kick the way I once could. I've been physically assaulted more than once, and sexually harassed dozens of times - including one sunny Sunday afternoon with my husband.
How about before job training and counseling, we offer (nay, require) drug treatment? The vast majority of our homeless in the tenderloin are panhandling and robbing and breaking into cars and prostituting themselves to support the crack and heroin dealers that somehow never get arrested in the style to which they've become accustomed. Let's get that under control before we give them another building to burn down while they're nodding out.
Posted by gribblet | April 18, 2008 09:19 AM
I'm sure Newsom IS a Hillary supporter. For some odd reason (atonement for guilt?), a number of Hillary's high-profile male supporters are also high-profile philanderers. Newsom fits right in with that ol' boys' club.
Posted by marie burns | April 18, 2008 10:43 AM
Mark, Sen. Obama is widely regarded as an eloquent orator and he is--in case you haven't noticed--much in the news lately, so I don't find it completely bizarre for Gavin Newsom to quote him, even given that Newsom supports Sen. Clinton's candidacy for president.
Your jumping on a minor off-the-cuff remark seems stranger to me than the remark itself. Also, please jump off the conspiracy bandwagon--how in any possible way would it be an attempt to "tar" Sen. Obama "with any reference to scandal possible" by using one of his inspirational quotes to celebrate the successful opening of a housing complex serving the (now formerly) homeless?? Your thought-process is bizarre, to say the least.
The opening of the Essex was not about Gavin Newsom, Hilary Clinton, or Barack Obama. It was about the successful culmination of a tremendous cooperative effort to provide housing and supportive services to homeless residents of our city. Turn off the yellow journalism switch and treat the Guardian readers--and your boyfriend for Pete's sake!--with a bit of respect and focus on what was truly important about this morning.
Posted by Chris | April 18, 2008 01:23 PM
Well! You told me, Chris! My only admittedly cynical defense is: I wish we lived in a cyberworld where more people would click on a post titled "84 formerly homeless people now housed through stellar cooperative effort" than anything with Newsom and Obama in it. You've called me out on my fabulously basic bait-and-switch blogging strategy. I call it "a spoonful of celebrity helps the actual news get read." Transparency!
Posted by Marke B. | April 18, 2008 04:46 PM