Complaints Of Gangs, Bedbugs, Blight Lead To Promised Upgrades At Oakland's Hillside Complex
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Some help is on the way for tenants of an apartment complex considered a hotbed for crime and disrepair.
Hillside Apartments have been called the worst in Oakland. Neighbors have a nickname for the complex: Killside Prison.
Oakland's City Attorney, Barbara Parker, told KPIX 5 back in August that gangs were running the place and showed us this music video of men openly carrying guns at Hillside.
She blamed the owners for not maintaining the complex. "It appears to have become a magnet for crime."
Tenants also called it a magnet for blight and bedbug infestation.
Parker filed a lawsuit calling Hillside a public nuisance, and a drug nuisance. Hillside risked being shut down.
However, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Dennis Hayashi has removed a filing of pending litigation during a recent motion. In his decision, he said there was no evidence the men in that video even lived there or that any of the crimes mentioned in the lawsuit happened on the property.
Mark Epstein, an attorney for the owners, Alvernaz Partners LLC, called the judge's decision a victory
After the judge's ruling, Alvernaz LLC reached a settlement with the City of Oakland to make improvements by mid-February such as an armed guard security gates, 27 new security cameras, and increased lighting.
City attorney spokesman Alex Katz said the owners "finally got caught for being slumlords."
"It's a total, unmitigated loss for the owners, but good for the people who live at Hillside and for the city," said Katz. "The settlement...also requires a receiver to manage/fix up the property, a payment of $40,000 to the city and it's binding on anyone who buys the property."
When KPIX 5 visited at the end of the month, the security gate was out of service and open. Residents were still complaining of bedbugs. Some of the other security upgrades were underway.
