South San Jose residents voiced fears about parking, traffic and development during a Monday night community meeting on Opportunity Housing, a controversial initiative to increase the number of homes that can be built in single-family neighborhoods. “I don’t care who lives in my neighborhood,” resident Christina Ferrigno said. “What I do mind is if a...
Alum Rock schools face lingering encampments amid reopening
Alum Rock Union Elementary School District trustees set a tentative reopening date of Monday for its campuses across East San Jose. However, there remains no concrete solution for addressing the homeless encampments growing along some of the district’s schools. “With less eyes from the community and schools having been shut down, all of a sudden...
Homeless residents in San Jose cited, face arrest over tent encampments
Darlene Gladwell spent months cultivating a blooming garden of colorful plants and flowers outside the tent she calls home in San Jose’s Watson Park. A cluster of at least half a dozen other small homeless encampments surround her along Coyote Creek. But now Gladwell could go to jail, according to a citation she received, for...
How to find homeless services and shelter in San Jose
The past year has been a difficult one for many people in San Jose, especially those facing homelessness and housing insecurity. Finding information about shelter and housing can be a difficult and confusing process. Here’s a guide answering some of the most commonly asked questions from readers about finding housing, as well as some resources...
San Jose nonprofit serving homeless says city won’t clear RVs, trash
Just outside a San Jose nonprofit’s headquarters on Charles St., heaps of trash are overflowing and hazardous materials and human waste are piling up. Officials at CityTeam, a nonprofit that provides services and transitional housing to homeless residents, say they’ve appealed to the city to clean up the trash and move people who live in RVs...
Evictions in San Jose are down, but many tenants still don’t feel safe
The number of evictions in San Jose decreased in 2020 after pandemic-related protections were adopted, but many tenants lack the resources to protect themselves once eviction bans expire at the end of June. Landlord harassment, months of back rent and a struggling economy are just some of San Jose tenants’ concerns—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. “So many...
San Jose releases Google’s $200 million community benefits plan
Google is investing $200 million in San Jose as a part of its Downtown West development, dedicated to preventing resident displacement and creating more economic opportunity for locals critics say will be forced out by rising rents. San Jose and Google released their much-anticipated development agreement Tuesday, a nearly 500-page document outlining the legal obligations...
Lawmaker pushes for affordable housing in tech-heavy north San Jose
Tech heavyweights like PayPal and Cisco Systems call North San Jose home, along with Google’s San Jose offices and hundreds of smaller tech startups. But local leaders are saying another type of development—affordable housing—is missing in the white-collar heavy district. Councilmember David Cohen, who represents North San Jose, wants an increase in affordable housing in...
Why has building housing in San Jose become increasingly unaffordable?
When Justin Ponzio, assistant principal at Branham High School in San Jose, acquired an $800,000 single-family home with financial help through the county, he said it was a steal. “I got pretty lucky, to be honest, because there was a slight downturn,” Ponzio said. That, plus some friendly negotiations with his realtor landed him with...
San Jose homeless sweeps create a revolving door
Drivers plunge down freeway ramps until shooting past the entrance into an endless stream of vehicles, some undoubtedly pushing past speed limits. Freeway ramps were made to be launch pads for cars – but for Joe Martinez they’re a place to sleep when he’s looking for more privacy and security. He lived off Highway 87...