A Chinese family evicted from their San Francisco apartment of 34 years has finally found a new home.
Gum Gee Lee, 73; her husband, Poon Heung Lee, 79; and their disabled daughter, Shiu Man Lee, 48, were evicted from their longtime San Francisco apartment in October under the Ellis Act which allows landlords to evict tenants to sell the property or occupy it themselves. They have been living in a downtown hotel ever since.
The new apartment is smaller and more expensive than their $778-per-month former two-bedroom residence. Surprisingly, it was not found by the Mayor’s Office of Housing or the Chinatown Community Development Center, but by a community member who heard about the Lees’ story and informed the development center of a one-bedroom apartment that became available in Chinatown.
“It says something about the power of community, otherwise we would not have heard about it,” said Gen Fujioka, the development center’s policy director. “We feel very fortunate that there was that level of public awareness and support.”
The Lees have been told they will be able to rent their new apartment for as long they desire. Despite that, Fujioka asserts that Mrs. Lee will continue her fight against future evictions.
For more about the Lee family’s story, read the article from the SF Examiner.
