Anyone who is interested in understanding why West Oakland is in such disrepair need only follow this story. It appears to me that the system of building inspection is wholly corrupt. Take this property and its owner Steven James Brandeberry who is a sworn City official and carries the title of Specialty Combination Inspector.

Brandeberry oversaw the conversion of 1117 Peralta St but never required public notice for the house being lifted as required by city code. He signed off on the project without a garage door being installed and completion of the outside hot water tank enclosure. This property has never been landscaped. In short this property is a dump and Brandeberry apparently thinks that's just fine. When the homeowners association tried to communicate with him during construction he was openly hostile. When all this was brought tot he attention to Assistant City Administrator Fred Blackwell via certified letter with 15-attachments, all we got was silence.

Look at Brandeberry's property today, besides the TV that sits in pieces on the sidewalk, there are phone books rotting on the porch and garbage cans in full view.

West Oakland is not a victim of poverty, it is a victim of apparently corrupt City officials.

The status of this property has not changed. The TV is still in pieces at the front gate and rotting phone books are still in plain view on the porch. And now there is a trash bin sitting in the middle of the sidewalk -- see attached photo.

The definition of a slumlord is pulling money out of a property while ignoring regular maintenance to maximize profit at the expense of the neighborhood.