Lily's Diary
by Lily
December 7
My tenant Reba has just sent me a note decorated with small forest
creatures reminding me that I said I would go in halves on new
bedroom carpeting after she had lived there a year. I have no
recollection of it, but I’m sure I scribbled it down somewhere.
She’s honest and, in spite of showing small but undeniable signs
of too many goddess workshops, is basically a reasonable person,
so I have no reason to doubt her. The problem is her taste, which
goes to the vivid and dramatic. I hate to quibble over carpet
samples, but there’s a commercial-quality carpet at Carpeteria
in a shade that goes perfectly with the Kelly-Moore “Bone” walls
and I’d like to keep it that way. But for that I’ll probably
have to pay for the whole darn thing myself.
December 13
It finally happened today at the Land Use Committee. Those property
owners in condo pool “A” (the 100 buildings longest in the lottery)
will now be chosen by seniority, not lottery draw. Whew. It’s a
testimony to the perseverance of a single person, Scott Hall, along
with negotiating skills of Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who carried
the legislation. Less skillful was Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval
who, at an earlier hearing, blurted that the reform in lottery
selection “might deprive tenant activists of a bargaining chip
in future discussions on rent control.” I could see Ted Gullicksen
of the San Francisco Tenants Union, who had just spoken against
the measure, flinch, because of course that was the precise reason
for the objection by the Tenants Union. There could be no other.
They thought maybe we’d be dumb enough to think it was an actual
victory for our side; hence we would “owe them one.” The truth
is that it had nothing to do with the interests of tenants; it
was a needed adjustment to a regulation that had become unfair
because of changing circumstances.
December 14
Maggie and I were back at San Francisco City Hall again today to
see Supervisor Chris Daly’s two pieces of legislation tightening
the screws on condo conversion get their first hearings. One
measure requires disclosure of any history of the eviction of
protected tenants. The other requires that each application for
conversion be brought before the Planning Commission for approval.
Our sainted comrades-in-arms, most of them senior, small-property
owners such as myself, testified their hearts out. And the panel,
made up of Supervisors Sophie Maxwell, Sandoval and Jake McGoldrick,
turned a blind eye and sent it to the full board with their recommendation:
death by a thousand cuts.
December 18
My friend Rebecca, who owns a two-unit building in the Richmond,
insisted we meet for a drink at Trax last night. I wanted to watch
Jon Stewart but could sense a kind of hopelessness in her voice.
As she poured out her story, I could understand the reason. In
short, it was the case of a simple exterior-paint job gone awry.
She had hired a company with solid recommendations, particularly
with regard to lead suppression techniques—the latter being of
special interest because there was a two-month-old infant in the
building. The work only took eight days but included extensive
scraping of encrusted enamel. Soon after, the parents had their
child tested for lead poisoning. Lead toxicity clocked in at 18
micrograms per deciliter (5 is the threshold for acceptability
in SF). The horrified parents vacated immediately and have sued
Rebecca. She has had to hire an attorney to defend her and, at
the same time, is suing the painter. What can we learn from this
calamity? Infants have an incredibly low tolerance for air-born
lead particles and there is potential for big trouble when you
paint any building in which they reside.
December 20
Faithful readers will recall that my pal Maggie and I took the
emergency-response training offered by the fire Department (NERT)
and, frankly, we felt a little smug about it. But recently we got
a much bigger picture of disaster in our beloved city. Laurence
Kornfield, the city’s chief building inspector (who, by the way,
is a mature woman’s idea of beefcake), explained that emergency
response, which gets the most publicity, is of less importance
than the things that come before and after the disaster: reinforcement
of older buildings and long-range planning for reconstructing infrastructure.
I went away with the knowledge that even an investment of $1,000
in reinforcing ground floor space could have a tremendous payoff
in an earthquake. We’re talking basic bracing here. For the first
time, I actually thought that a cash-strapped owner like myself
might be able to afford to do something other than make novenas
to St. Jude.
January 4
My tenant, Michael, in apartment 2, is the kind of a guy who has
no shame about asking for favors. To his credit, he will grant
favors back (particularly those you haven’t asked for and don’t
want). I believe “ingratiation” is the best word to describe it.
With this behavior comes a kind of implied intimacy: “People like
us understand each other and reciprocate in this way, don’t we?”
“Noblesse oblige” would be an accurate description. This morning
he wanted to use my fax machine. I had just started this diary
entry when I heard his voice on the intercom—with that attitude
of intimacy again—saying it was only one page and he’d just be
a minute. But his number was busy so he lingered, resending the
letter over and over. He is, in fact, standing across the room
right now and here I am, wondering how this relationship happened.
I’m no pushover, and yet I have a tenant in my office when I want
to be alone. I believe “patsy” is the operative word here.
January
6
I just can’t suppress my compulsion at the start of a new year
to take stock and give thanks. Today I am feeling particularly
thankful for all those stalwarts (like Scott Hall) and organizations
(like SFAA) that have fought for the dwindling rights of San Francisco’s
rental property owners. I also thank those supervisors who have,
in varying degrees, supported us (Michela Alioto-Pier, Bevan Dufty,
Sean Elsbernd and Fiona Ma). On the more personal side, I am thankful
for things that make my life as a rental property owner easier:
my power screwdriver; laser level; lightweight power sander; Howard’s
refinisher; OxiClean stain remover; Goof-Off; the two, annual,
free pick-ups from Sunset Scavenger; and Craigslist. As far as
resolutions go, I’m determined to get Supervisor Dufty re-elected
in District 8 and find a moderate candidate to replace Daly in
District 6. In the meantime, I’m adopting a philosophy of “mind
over matter”: if I don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. “Lily’s Diary” is written by a longtime rental property owner who reserves the right to remain anonymous on the grounds that her tenants might gang up on her. Comments, corrections or ideas are welcome at lilysdiary@aol.com. Copyright © 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.