The historic train station was a portal into Oakland for countless people, and a civil rights organizing hub. Preservationists want a housing developer to bring it back to life.
Author Archives: Natalie Orenstein
Natalie Orenstein covers housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. She was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where her extensive reporting on the legacy of school desegregation received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal and the Education Writers Association. Natalie’s reporting has also appeared in The J Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere, and she’s written about public policy for a number of research institutes and think tanks. Natalie lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley, and has only left her beloved East Bay once, to attend Pomona College.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Applications are open for Alameda County homebuyer assistance
AC Boost provides loans of up to $210,000 to help with down payments for people who live or work in the county.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Should Oakland require developers to include affordable apartments in their buildings?
The city is beginning to explore an “inclusionary zoning” policy instead of the “impact fees” that developers currently pay.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Home repair service for seniors closing after 35 years
Rebuilding Together Oakland-East Bay and its hordes of volunteers have repaired roofs, added handrails, and repainted houses for over 4,000 low-income residents.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Former Black Panther Elaine Brown’s economic development org gets millions
At a buzzy birthday party for Brown, government officials and foundations cut hefty checks for her housing and commercial development in West Oakland.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
A win-win? Free service links up older homeowners with lower-income renters
Operating in Alameda County and beyond, Home Match tries to ease the housing crisis and the epidemic of loneliness.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland asks Caltrans for help closing homeless encampments
The state agency will first assist with the closure of an RV camp off Hegenberger Road, but what its exact role will be is unclear.
Posted inCity Hall
A fight for the identity of the local Democratic Party was won—or lost—by everyone
The race for seats on the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee Assembly District 18 heated up this year.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
What Nate Miley’s likely reelection could mean for Alameda County renters and landlords
The outcome of a years-long saga around tenant protections for parts of the county hinges largely on one race that includes East Oakland.
Posted inCity Hall
Prominent activist charged with battery one year after confrontation at homeless camp
Accusations have flown back and forth after an incident involving Tur-Ha Ak, Vincent Ray Williams, and Councilmember Carroll Fife, reflecting ongoing political tensions.
Posted inCity Hall
Still need to vote in the primary election in Oakland? Here’s how
The last day to vote is March 5, but with more voting centers opening up Saturday, there’s still plenty of time and ways to cast your ballot.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland Home Histories: The 10 ‘French-style’ houses of Highland Terrace
This story is part of the Oakland Home Histories series, which explores residential buildings and the people who’ve lived in them. Want us to feature your home? Let us know. It takes a couple blinks of the eye to notice that 10 of the houses around E. 23rd Street and 19th Avenue in East Oakland […]
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Vacant East Oakland land to become homeless senior housing
The latest Homekey award from the state will create 40 units of housing on city-owned land.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland is considering new labor standards for affordable housing projects
As the city hands out funding for development, officials discussed how to improve working conditions on projects without slowing down housing construction.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Eastmont affordable housing and food hall project one step closer to reality
One official praised the Liberation Park plan as “reparations” for East Oakland, as the city considers leasing and selling the land to the Black Cultural Zone.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Supreme Court case could impact how Oakland sweeps homeless camps
Cities in California and beyond are closely following the case on encampments and shelter requirements.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Hundreds of homes could replace California College of the Arts campus in Rockridge
The project, years in the making, has supporters and critics in a neighborhood that’s become a focal point of Oakland’s housing debate.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland has few three-bedroom rentals. Families are feeling the squeeze
Multi-generational households are left with few choices when it comes to size and price. Why isn’t larger housing getting built?
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Emergency homeless shelters opening Wednesday in Oakland before storm
For one night, the shelters at the Jack London Square Aquatic Center and the East Oakland Sports Center are accepting anyone who needs refuge from the weather.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland gets $20M to turn another hotel into supportive housing
East Oakland’s Quality Inn will be the eighth supportive housing site opened in Oakland through the Homekey program.
