Chinatown tenants form union as evictions loom on Jackson Street

Six eviction notices pushed 1120 Jackson Street tenants to form a union against Nabob Hill LLC, the owner of the 16-unit building on the border of Chinatown and Nob Hill, as longtime Chinese immigrant renters fought a bid to clear the property for higher rents. On Monday, June 22, residents announced the union and urged the landlord to drop the cases, with tenant Kin Wong calling on the owner to “stop this kind of harassment and eviction.”

Nabob Hill LLC bought the Jackson Street building in July 2025 from a Chinese family that had owned it for decades. Of the 16 apartments, 13 are occupied by long-term renters who have lived there up to 45 years, many of them low-income seniors.

Since the sale, tenants say the new ownership has escalated the pressure with inspections, photos, rent increase warnings and nuisance notices tied to clutter, trash, hoarding and other alleged violations. One complaint cited a washing machine installed “without permission,” while another resident said inspectors came and went without explaining why they were there. In one unit, the rent jumped from $628 a month to $2,820 starting in December.

Many of the tenants are monolingual Chinese speakers, and Shelby Nacino, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, said the lack of clear communication has left residents unsure how to respond. “It’s not normal to have six nuisance evictions in one building,” Nacino said, adding that the notices all use similar language to describe tenants as too messy or unsafe. Kit Ying Mak said she had received “no communication, no information” even as inspections continued.

Laura Chiera, executive director of Legal Assistance for the Elderly, said landlords can evict for excessive clutter, but the legal threshold is high, and seeing “too many bags” is not enough. A Chinatown Community Development Center citywide report showed eviction notices have climbed by more than 140 percent since 2024.