On December 6th in Oakland, as part of the National Day of Action, Gayla Newsome re-#occupied the house she once owned. Here's how the house looked a few hours after it was liberated:
(photo by allie123)
Now it appears that the landord and the Oakland Police are trying to repossess it, throwing her and her kids out onto the street one more time.
The call has gone out for people to come to the defense of Gayla and her house. Right how, according to tweets from allie123 (alyssa11968), about forty people have converged on 16th and Adeline in West Oakland:
As the tweets have unfolded.
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
FORECLOSURE DEFENSE! 3 cops and a locksmith at Gayla's house 16th and Adeline: COME NOW! #occupyoakland #occupycal #occupyberkeley
35 minutes ago
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland do far about 15 ppl here. Not sure what's going on. campl.us/g2Ub
14 minutes ago
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland on my way 2 16th and Adeline. anyone else?
29 minutes ago
susie_c Susie Cagle
Just got word that sheriffs are trying to unoccupy Gayla from her home in West O at 1536 Adeline right now. And they have a locksmith. #OO
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland about 40 ppl here campl.us/g2UF
2 minutes ago
alyssa011968 Alyssa
5102383367 call Keona Sutter (?) works for OPD & chief's # not working. Call and tell him call his police off, to protect 99%
1 minute ago
occupyoakland Occupy Oakland
Need support at Adeline+16th at foreclosed home we liberated for its previous tenant immediately. Locksmiths on the scene. COME HERE!
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland we r waiting. Quan shows she has sold out completely by sending OPD to illegaly evict women who was defrauded by bank
21 seconds ago
»
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland we r waiting. The house is in limbo and so they have no legal grounds to evict. Quan shows she has sold out completely
51 seconds ago
Anyone within the immediate area who can get down there is encouraged to do so ASAP.
Stay tuned for updates.
2:14 PM PT: This sounds good:
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland the landlord left but the police r still here and say not going anywhere but locksmith just left too.
2:16 PM PT: And even better!
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland police infrint left!! Because we the 99% showed up. Awesome
2:18 PM PT: You gotta love it!
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland mic check polce knocked on door. OPD said was there 4 bank. And asked leave we were putting up Xmas tree. Locksmith came
2:20 PM PT:
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland occupier said went back in house locked door called us. And they left cause we showed up!!! Beautiful.
58 seconds ago
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davidcolburn David Colburn
1536 Adeline foreclosure defense. 25 ppl outside, some inside. Bank rep left, & cops left. Ppl plan to stay for now, so come join party! #oo
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Retweeted by susie_c
2:24 PM PT:
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland we chant we r 99% this is what Democracy looks like. United we win. Grp here is extremely diverse. 1% loses 1 cuz we r united
1 minute ago
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jaspergregory Jasper Gregory
Just got to West Oakland reclaimed house at 1536 Adeline. The eviction was averted by timely arrival of Occupy ppl #OO #osf #OccupHomes
2:28 PM PT: Here's the real estate listing for the house, thanks to a tweet from Susie Cagle:
http://www.redfin.com/...
A key piece of information: REO/Bank Owned
2:30 PM PT: According to the listing, this house was sold at a foreclosure auction on July 9th, 2010 for $50,000. Now it is being offered at $205,000.
2:42 PM PT: Hmmm. I think they may have a hard time defending this description:
Fantastic Gated Community close to downtown, freeway, bart etc. Very nice with many upgrades, ready to move in condition.
2:56 PM PT: All is still copacetic, according to Allie123 down on site.
2:57 PM PT: Good to hear a lawyer is getting involved. Tie it up in court for years!
alyssa011968 Alyssa
#OccupyOakland waiting 4 lawyer says its civil matter and there's cloud on title we r sticking around signing up 4 shifts cuz may come bck
3:00 PM PT: Man Bulldozes his House Instead of Letting It Be Foreclosed On
http://networkedblogs.com/...
4:08 PM PT: Home defense makes the newspaper:
OAKLAND -- Police were summoned to a foreclosed home in 1500 block of Adeline Street this afternoon, where a property manager said people inside were trespassing and that one had been removed. But after an hour of negotiations to get people to leave, Oakland police left the scene.
The person who had once owned the home and been foreclosed on, Gayla Newsome, was not in the house when police got there at 1 p.m. She was at work, but when reached by telephone, said she that had moved back into the house. Authorities believe that supporters of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment are also living in the house.
When police arrived, people there called for additional supporters. About 30 showed up outside the residence but didn't attempt to enter.
About 2 p.m., the property management representative left, soon followed by Oakland police. It was not immediately clear why no attempt was made to remove the people from the house.
Newsome lost the property in July and has been trying to reclaim it.
She was formerly the executive director of a nonprofit organization, but lost her job and fell behind on a secondary mortgage.