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Immigrants’ eviction part of Jew's track record
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(Cindy Chew/The Examiner)
Senait Afewerk, right, with her husband Abraham Kidane, says that she was forced out of her restaurant space on Ocean Avenue after making payments to Supervisor Ed Jew through his alleged relative Michael Hui. Last October, while running for supervisor on a promise that he’d advocate for small businesses, Ed Jew evicted an immigrant couple who had just purchased a hot dog shop in one of his buildings, due to a rent dispute with the previous tenant from whom they were subleasing. Senait Afewerk and Abraham Kidane are Eritrean immigrants who married in the United States 13 years ago. The couple have three children, ages 6 to 16, who attend a local Christian school. They own Wiley’s Liquors, near City College, where Kidane works. For the last several years, Afewerk has mostly done janitorial work, but said she had been putting money aside so she could someday run her own business. Last fall, Michael Hui, a man who frequently dropped by the store to buy cigarettes, told Afewerk that he was looking to sell his business, California Dog, located one block away at 1107 Ocean Ave. He claimed he was the cousin of the owner of the building, Jew, and that his lease could be passed on to her. Afewerk said she called Jew, who told her he was busy with his campaign. “He said, ‘If you want to work with Mike, under Mike you can work, but I’m not going to give you a lease,’” she said. Afewerk said she negotiated a price with Hui for the business: $30,000. Standing at the deli counter of Wiley’s, Afewerk shuffled through copies of all the transaction documents, including an addendum to the lease signed by Jew and a bill of sale listing all the equipment and inventory she purchased for $30,000. On October 16, just six days after being issued her Business Registation Certificate from The City, Afewerk received a notice from Jew’s lawyers that said she and Hui had to pay back-rent or leave. According to legal documents filed by Jew’s lawyers, Hui had not paid rent in the amount of $2,322,39 for the month of October, as Afewerk said he had promised to do. “I called [Hui] and he said, ‘I already talked to Ed Jew, so don’t worry about it, just keep open and work your business,’” she said. Then, on October 26, an eviction notice was filed against Hui; Afewerk is noted as a subtenant on the lease. Afewerk said she called Jew directly. “I said this is not right, he should do something, and he said, ‘No, no, I’ll call back tomorrow, I’m busy,’” she said. “After that, he never called me back.” By then, Afewerk and Kidane had already paid Hui $30,000 in four installments, she said, showing copies of the cancelled checks. Two days before Christmas, a San Francisco sheriff came into California Dog and handed Afewerk a Notice to Vacate. The couple moved some items into the back of Wiley’s, others they sold or gave away. Afewerk’s lawyer sent a letter of complaint to Hui, who has not yet responded. Hui’s mother, Erlene Hui, who is listed as a family contact on his lease agreement, said they are not related to Jew and she has not heard from her son in months. The Examiner called several phone numbers once linked to Hui, but all had been changed or disconnected. Jew is currently out of the country in China. His wife declined to comment for this story. Jew’s lawyer for the eviction proceedings, Scott Bassin, said the matter was a basic case of “nonpayment of rent.” Afewerk said she was surprised by Jew’s attitude toward her plight. “He’s a supervisor, or something,” she said. “He should stand up for me.” Get the latest news and updates about this controversy at Examiner.com's "Supervisor Ed Jew" page. Staff writer Joshua Sabatini contributed to this story. |
