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San Francisco

Harvey Milk protegee leaving Castro after landlord doubles rent

Cleve Jones’ rent jumped to $5,200 from $2,393.

Cleve Jones in front of the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco (Pax Ahimsa Gethen, CC BY-SA 4.0 - via Wikimedia Commons, Jamezcd, CC BY-SA 3.0 - via Wikimedia Commons/Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal)
Cleve Jones in front of the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco (Pax Ahimsa Gethen, CC BY-SA 4.0 - via Wikimedia Commons, Jamezcd, CC BY-SA 3.0 - via Wikimedia Commons/Illustration by Steven Dilakian for The Real Deal)

A protege of Harvey Milk, the first gay politician elected to office in California, is leaving his rent-controlled apartment after his landlord, a 30-year old investor who previously worked as a janitor and farm worker, more than doubled his Casto rent.

Cleve Jones, 67, who founded the Names Project that’s behind the AIDS Memorial Quilt, is leaving after building owner Lily Pao Kue raised his rent to $5,200 from $2,393, saying it wasn’t his primary residence, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Kue, who is from Thailand, bought the duplex for $1.6 million.

Kue invoked a Costa-Hawkins petition, the 1995 state law that allows landlords to raise rent after a tenant moves out. Jones said that while he still lives there, he doesn’t have the fight left for a protracted lengthy legal battle. He and his roommate, Brenden Chadwick, will be moving out this weekend, forfeiting any relocation payments were Kue to lose in court.

“Even during those times when I was away from the city, I was never really away,” Jones said. “I was always coming back. That’s my hood.”

Kue said she’s waiting for the San Francisco Rent Board’s response to her petition. She told the Chronicle that she wants Jones to remain that she’ll be “gracious and accepting of law.”

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Jones, who is HIV-positive, said that during the pandemic he did spend some time at his “fairly primitive” cabin he owns in Guerneville. He said he kept his belongings at the apartment and stayed there as well.

Kue has called the duplex her dream home. She began construction and has also installed security cameras. She said she’s been harassed online and filed a police report after seeing comments on Jones’ Facebook post about his situation.

Jones will participate in a rally Sunday at the Harvey Milk Plazato to support others who are facing similar problems in Castro. Last year, the Chronicle found there had been 614 no-fault evictions in District Eight.

“The fact that he is a community icon, organizer, and AIDS activist underscores that this can happen to any of us,” Tina Aguirre, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District manager, told the Chronicle.

[San Francisco Chronicle] — Gabriel Poblete

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PoliticsSan Francisco