Help elderly Holocaust survivor avoid eviction by greedy out-of-state landlords!
SUMMARY:
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87-year-old Holocaust survivor Musiy Rishin of Alameda, California is being evicted by Margaret and Spencer Tam of Arizona because the Tams have decided to cash-in on California's sky-high rental opportunities and want more than the $2,540 a month Rishin is paying them through a Section 8 housing voucher.
THE BACKSTORY:
=============
If anyone understands the unfairness of forced eviction, it's Musiy Rishin.
In 1941, at the age of nine, Rishin had to leave his home in the Ukraine behind to escape the Nazis. Those of his family who made it out of the occupied zone settled in a neighboring country and lived there for many years in cramped, impoverished conditions, scratching out a living. Rishin was lucky to score a job working first with an attorney, then later as an attorney himself. It was in this new country he met the love of his life as well and married her. They had two children together.
Then, in 1998, he and his family again had to flee civil unrest and it was then Rishin made the hard choice to hike across the globe with his two children (his wife had died years earlier) to legally immigrate to the United States because he saw it as a land welcoming of good, hard-working people. The three settled in California. "What beautiful people have greeted us,” he said of the move to California. “We’ve been treated very warmly in this country.” [1]
In 2002, Rishin moved into a "modest second-story, two-bedroom apartment is located on a quiet street near the shore on the island of Alameda, a city in the bay between San Francisco and Oakland."[1] There, he has lived for the last 17 years, intending to live and die in the only stable home he's known.
Unfortunately, tragedy seems to burden Mr. Rishin.
First, in 2018, Rishin's only son was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He moved back in with his father so Rishin could care for him during his final months. Rishin's daughter shared in that effort as well, although she had moved into an apartment of her own years earlier.
Not long after that, in August, 2018, the landlords of Rishin's rental unit, the Tams, decided that their property commanded a higher rate than what their renters were then paying. To match the inflated California rental market's prices, they demanded Mr. Rishin pay an additional $700 a month in rent, bringing his total up to $3,200 a month.
Then, before Rishin could even dispute the increase, the landlords came back with a much more terrifying letter two weeks later: they had decided to evict him and his terminally-ill son, and they had 90 days to leave.
Never mind Mr. Rishin had never once been late on a payment or that he'd well-maintained the apartment; those attributes meant nothing to the Tams, apparently. “I’m not a monster,” said Tam, who is based in Arizona. “I’m not a greedy landlord, but I do want to make money when I’m legally able to.” Asked why she pursued the eviction while Yaroslav was dying, she responded, “Because somebody’s sick, do you get free rent? We have to do what we have to do.”[3]
While worrying about being evicted in an area of the country known for its housing crisis and overblown rental rates, Rishin's son finally succumbed to his illness and died in April 2019. Rishin was heartbroken.
The Tams, however, showed no compassion for Rishin's situation and refused to let up. They continued to demand Rishin pay up or get out.
Unfortunately, the city of Alameda is one of the few in California that has an exemption that allows Section 8 tenants to be evicted without cause [2], and the Tams have leaned on that exemption as legal justification for their cruel ousting of Rishin.
Fortunately, Rishin has a compassionate public on his side (a pro-rent control group is holding a rally outside Rishin’s Alameda apartment complex to support him on Saturday, Aug. 24 [3]), as well as an attorney. The city of Alameda has been convinced to convene a hearing on the subject of their rental policies, especially in regards to how low-income renters can avoid predatory lending tactics by rental property owners.
Please sign this petition, which will be presented to the Alameda City Council to let them know that cruel, no-cause evictions of the elderly and disabled (people like Mr. Rishin) needs to stop!
Sources:
[1] - https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/18/holocaust-survivor-eviction-alameda-california
[2] - https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/22/holocaust-survivor-other-elderly-facing-eviction-in-alameda/
[3] - https://www.jweekly.com/2019/08/22/holocaust-survivor-russian-immigrant-faces-eviction-in-alameda/
Sign PetitionSign Petition=========
87-year-old Holocaust survivor Musiy Rishin of Alameda, California is being evicted by Margaret and Spencer Tam of Arizona because the Tams have decided to cash-in on California's sky-high rental opportunities and want more than the $2,540 a month Rishin is paying them through a Section 8 housing voucher.
THE BACKSTORY:
=============
If anyone understands the unfairness of forced eviction, it's Musiy Rishin.
In 1941, at the age of nine, Rishin had to leave his home in the Ukraine behind to escape the Nazis. Those of his family who made it out of the occupied zone settled in a neighboring country and lived there for many years in cramped, impoverished conditions, scratching out a living. Rishin was lucky to score a job working first with an attorney, then later as an attorney himself. It was in this new country he met the love of his life as well and married her. They had two children together.
Then, in 1998, he and his family again had to flee civil unrest and it was then Rishin made the hard choice to hike across the globe with his two children (his wife had died years earlier) to legally immigrate to the United States because he saw it as a land welcoming of good, hard-working people. The three settled in California. "What beautiful people have greeted us,” he said of the move to California. “We’ve been treated very warmly in this country.” [1]
In 2002, Rishin moved into a "modest second-story, two-bedroom apartment is located on a quiet street near the shore on the island of Alameda, a city in the bay between San Francisco and Oakland."[1] There, he has lived for the last 17 years, intending to live and die in the only stable home he's known.
Unfortunately, tragedy seems to burden Mr. Rishin.
First, in 2018, Rishin's only son was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He moved back in with his father so Rishin could care for him during his final months. Rishin's daughter shared in that effort as well, although she had moved into an apartment of her own years earlier.
Not long after that, in August, 2018, the landlords of Rishin's rental unit, the Tams, decided that their property commanded a higher rate than what their renters were then paying. To match the inflated California rental market's prices, they demanded Mr. Rishin pay an additional $700 a month in rent, bringing his total up to $3,200 a month.
Then, before Rishin could even dispute the increase, the landlords came back with a much more terrifying letter two weeks later: they had decided to evict him and his terminally-ill son, and they had 90 days to leave.
Never mind Mr. Rishin had never once been late on a payment or that he'd well-maintained the apartment; those attributes meant nothing to the Tams, apparently. “I’m not a monster,” said Tam, who is based in Arizona. “I’m not a greedy landlord, but I do want to make money when I’m legally able to.” Asked why she pursued the eviction while Yaroslav was dying, she responded, “Because somebody’s sick, do you get free rent? We have to do what we have to do.”[3]
While worrying about being evicted in an area of the country known for its housing crisis and overblown rental rates, Rishin's son finally succumbed to his illness and died in April 2019. Rishin was heartbroken.
The Tams, however, showed no compassion for Rishin's situation and refused to let up. They continued to demand Rishin pay up or get out.
Unfortunately, the city of Alameda is one of the few in California that has an exemption that allows Section 8 tenants to be evicted without cause [2], and the Tams have leaned on that exemption as legal justification for their cruel ousting of Rishin.
Fortunately, Rishin has a compassionate public on his side (a pro-rent control group is holding a rally outside Rishin’s Alameda apartment complex to support him on Saturday, Aug. 24 [3]), as well as an attorney. The city of Alameda has been convinced to convene a hearing on the subject of their rental policies, especially in regards to how low-income renters can avoid predatory lending tactics by rental property owners.
Please sign this petition, which will be presented to the Alameda City Council to let them know that cruel, no-cause evictions of the elderly and disabled (people like Mr. Rishin) needs to stop!
Sources:
[1] - https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/18/holocaust-survivor-eviction-alameda-california
[2] - https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/08/22/holocaust-survivor-other-elderly-facing-eviction-in-alameda/
[3] - https://www.jweekly.com/2019/08/22/holocaust-survivor-russian-immigrant-faces-eviction-in-alameda/
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