SF Weekly Preparing New Attack on Housing ClinicRandy Shawbyline‚ Oct. 01‚ 2007The SF Weekly is not among my fans. Writer Matt Smith has described me as a “Skid Row feudal lord,” the “political ally of slumlords,” an “anti-development activist,” and a “skid-row kingpin.” He has described the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, the organization I head that publishes Beyond Chron, as having “fought with great success to preserve fleabag hotels.” Smith even claims that THC “depends upon the continued existence of slums for its survival.” Now Smith is planning a major attack piece targeting THC’s management of San Francisco’s largest SRO, the 248-room Mission Hotel. The Mission has improved dramatically since coming under THC management in 1999, but this fact has never interested Smith. Instead, he is focusing on the activities of a former manager and desk clerk, neither of whom has worked at the Mission since July. THC has had remarkably few problems in its hotels over the years, and when we discovered problems at the Mission Hotel this year, we acted promptly to protect our tenants and employees. In fact, the only reason Smith knows about what occurred is because THC filed a restraining order to keep our former employee away from the hotel. We are extremely proud of our management of the Mission over the years. Rather than wait for Smith to misinform the public, we’re setting the record straight. |