West Oakland

West Oakland landlords invest in city's most dangerous streets

Charlie Mintz — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:58:43 +0000

Mead Avenue is a single block in West Oakland in the triangle where San Pablo Avenue and Market Street meet. Like streets in a lot of low-income communities, Mead Avenue has seen poverty, gangs, gun violence, the crack epidemic. There’s also a church on the corner, a Boys and Girls Club across the street, and a non-profit dedicated to Men’s Health close by. None of those things may be as important to Mead Avenue’s future as that big thing our entire economy revolves around: real estate. Here’s Derek Suring, a real estate agent in Oakland.

The neighborhood that doubles as an industrial center

Julia Lundberg — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:45:01 +0000

West Oakland is a neighborhood in transition – more people are moving in, and developers have it in their sights as the next up-and-coming place to live. But the neighborhood’s air quality is some of the Bay Area’s worst. A recent report by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies found that new laws for trucks had dramatically reduced emissions – but there’s still a long way to go.

Margaret Gibson has lived on 10th street in West Oakland for all of her 52 years.

Credit union serves Oakland's "unbanked" population

Mazuri Colley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:20:18 +0000

The main room of the People's Federal Credit Union (PFCU) is across the street from the West Oakland BART station. It's about the size of a modest living room. A few bank tellers are behind thick glass. A big sign on the wall announces “4,000 Members” in green lettering. This is where Sayala Eisner-Mix, the Community Programs Coordinator of PFCU works. She's about to begin a credit report review, her third one today.