From: Estela Villagrana
To: City Clerk; Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer; Malia Vella; Tracy Jensen; Jennifer Ott Subject: [EXTERNAL] Steeltown Winery LLC closed session item 12-17-2024 public comment Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 3:06:55 PM
Hello City Council,
It is with great surprise and displeasure that I have to write and speak before you tonight in relation to the Building 43 closed session item :
1. It is a bad faith tactic to put my business on the AGENDA for tonight at the last minute and without talking to me about what it is you intend to do.
2. How can the City be thinking about initiating legal action against my business in any way, shape , or form? The City and the Mayor have been the aggressors in our relationship and have created a hostile environment for me to try and operate in.
3. The Mayor has maliciously linked my business, Building 43 Winery, to Tod's CEQA challenges against the City. The two have nothing to do with each other. I am Building 43 Winery, a Latina owned business. Tod has a legal right to lodge whatever CEQA legal challenges he wishes and they have nothing to do with me or Building 43 Winery. Why would the Mayor do this? There is ample evidence showing the Mayors offences against my Business, from the Alameda Post article to the Council meeting recordings.
4. The Mayor has left a significant evidence trail showing her giving orders to public citizens doing her bidding on how to attack my business. How is it that the mayor thinks she can do this to a long-term tenant and a small Latina owned business? City council members should not be talking nor saying anything about their tenants. The mayor is an attorney by trade and definitely knows better. Because of her I have received death threats, hundreds of 1 star yelp reviews, dozens of harassing phone calls and emails, and many other offenses.
5. So again, I ask how is it that the City is considering pursuing legal action against my business? I have been victimized by the mayor and the City of Alameda. I have additionally suffered fraudulent Inspection warrants by the City attorney and near constant threat of being shut down. I have lost the security of having my business and can no longer effectively plan for the future.
6. If this is about the rent set aside that I am claiming due to the harassment, retaliation, defamation, and other noted offenses: what else can I do? With the $50,000 in business, I lost in the last 2 months of this year and the constant threat of red tag and other offense, how can continue to pay the City as if they were keeping their end of the bargain?
7. And why has the City not reached out to me to offer some type of assistance or compromise like they have done with every other tenant in the past having trouble? And these past tenants troubles were not caused by the City as mine are, and yet the City still helped them. Project Burger: approximately $300,000 in back rent forgiven with a new better lease going forward. There are several more examples of the City helping and yet nothing for me? I'm just 1 month behind and the City is already considering legal action against me?
Respectfully,
Estela Villagrana
Managing Member
Building 43 Winery
2440 Monarch St.
Alameda, CA 94501
510-872-1701
925-421-7003