What we are tracking in Emeryville

Street lights residents say have been out for two years on the east side of Adeline Street

Emeryville · Adeline Street, with Yerba Buena and nearby side streets · raised since August 2023

SeeClickFix is the website and app residents use to report problems to the City of Emeryville. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 28 March 2025, filed for 3908 Adeline Street, the writer said that "all of the street lights on this block of Adeline, and onto the side streets of Yerba Buena and 37th St, have been completely out for" two years, and that "there have been multiple reports made over this period".

Other residents describe the same stretch. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 8 November 2024, opened with the words "This is a re-report of an issue reported in August 2023 which has still not yet been resolved", and pointed to the earlier report from August 2023. It went on to say that "All of the street lights on the east side of Adeline from 39th St to Yerba [Buena]" were affected. Then, in a resident's SeeClickFix report, 26 April 2025, a neighbor wrote:

"All of the street lights on this block of Adeline, as well as along the side streets on Yerba Buena and 39th Street, have all been non-functional for over 2 years. This issue has been reported many times"

A resident of Adeline Street, in a SeeClickFix report to the City of Emeryville, 26 April 2025

That makes four reports on this stretch between August 2023 and April 2025. Two years is the residents' own account.

For scale, residents filed 59 street light reports with the city between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026, in a city of about 13,000 people. According to SeeClickFix's public data, 21 of the 59 (36%) were listed as open on 1 October 2026, and the open ones had a median age of 220 days. A median is the middle value, so half were older and half newer. The status open is the city's own label and does not say whether anyone visited. In SeeClickFix, acknowledged means the city marked the report as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

Thirty-eight of the 59 street light reports (64%) were not open, and when the city closes one it does so in a median of 20 days. That is why the Adeline Street reports stand out: they describe a block that, in residents' words, did not follow the usual pattern. The reports do not say who owns or maintains these lights, whether the city, a utility company or another agency. Ownership is one of the first things worth learning. Whether the lights are on now is not known, since the open label does not say.

Worth tracking

Movement would look like the four Adeline Street reports being closed with a note about what was done, the owner of the lights being named, and the share of street light reports still open falling below 36%. It would be stuck if the same block is reported a fifth time.

Replacing lights on one stretch of street is usually a local repair, and no cost has been published for this one. If the fix turns out to be part of a larger lighting project, a direct appropriation request could cover part or all of the cost, depending on the price. That is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, called Community Project Funding. Street lighting can also be part of safety work under Safe Streets and Roads for All, an existing federal grant program for street safety, and a congressional office can help a city apply. A congressional office can also do casework, meaning it can ask the responsible agency for a status on behalf of a resident, and it could pass these reports along.

Which repairs come first is a decision for the city and its residents. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live on or near Adeline Street, or have reported a light that stayed dark, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report 18657129, 28 March 2025, SeeClickFix report 17851928, 8 November 2024, SeeClickFix report 15160759, August 2023, SeeClickFix report 18856167, 26 April 2025, SeeClickFix public data for Emeryville, U.S. Department of Transportation, Safe Streets and Roads for All

Traffic signals residents say are mistimed or not working at Shellmound, 67th and Hollis, and Horton and 53rd

Emeryville · Shellmound Street, 67th and Hollis Streets, Horton and 53rd Streets · raised since October 2024

On 6 November 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about the crossing at 67th Street and Hollis Street asked for more time to get across. SeeClickFix is the website and app residents use to report problems to the City of Emeryville. The report read:

"We need better pedestrian timing to cross the street. I have almost got hit by a car every day."

A resident, in a SeeClickFix report to the City of Emeryville, 67th Street and Hollis Street, 6 November 2025

Other reports describe signals that do not work at all or do not work together. On 20 September 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report said that the traffic lights at Shellmound Street and Shellmound Way, and at Shellmound Way and Christie Avenue, "are not working" and that "It has become extremely dangerous to drive through those areas". A resident's SeeClickFix report, 4 October 2024, said "the pedestrian signals for 65th St on the south side of the road at Shellmound and Overland are not coordinated correctly".

At Horton Street and 53rd Street, a resident's SeeClickFix report, 11 October 2024, asked the city to change the signal "back to all-way flashing red, with the walk lights off and bagged", which means a red light that blinks for every direction and works like a stop sign. The writer added that "There is not nearly enough car traffic here yet to justify the signal". The proposed Sutter Health hospital campus on Horton, 53rd and Hollis Streets, which would add traffic to those same streets, has its own entry.

Crossing time has also come up in person. At the City Council on 20 January 2026, as The E'ville Eye reported, Paul Matzner, a retired wheelchair user, described crossing while "traffic is whizzing past", and residents of the 1440 By The Bay retirement community said crossing signals give wheelchair users about half the time they need. The 40th Street entry tells that in full.

For scale, residents filed 104 traffic signal reports between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026, in a city of about 13,000 people. According to SeeClickFix's public data, 27 of them (26%) were listed as open on 1 October 2026, with a median age of 174 days. The other 77 were not open. Signal reports take a median of 38 days to close, the longest of the major request types. The status open is the city's own label and does not say whether anyone visited. In SeeClickFix, acknowledged means the city marked the report as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

Signals are harder to fix than a pile of litter. A timing change at one corner can affect the corner next to it, and signals on some roads are run by the county or the state rather than the city. The reports do not say who runs these particular signals. Whether the Shellmound outage is ongoing is not known.

Worth tracking

Movement would look like the open signal reports being closed with a description of the change, a published answer on the Horton and 53rd request, and the 38-day median coming down toward the other types. It would be stuck if the Shellmound and 67th and Hollis reports stay open another winter.

Signal timing and repair are local work and usually cost little, though the cost for these corners has not been published. Pedestrian signal upgrades can be part of Safe Streets and Roads for All, an existing federal grant program for street safety, and a congressional office can help a city apply. A direct appropriation request could cover part or all of a larger upgrade, depending on cost. That is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, called Community Project Funding. Where a signal belongs to the state, an office can ask the state transportation department for a status.

Which corner to fix first is a decision for the city and its residents. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you cross one of these intersections, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report 20365866, 6 November 2025, SeeClickFix report 20041462, 20 September 2025, SeeClickFix report 17638700, 4 October 2024, SeeClickFix report 17690088, 11 October 2024, The E'ville Eye, January 2026 council updates, SeeClickFix public data for Emeryville, U.S. Department of Transportation, Safe Streets and Roads for All

The rut at 45th Street and San Pablo Avenue and the street cuts left behind

Emeryville · 45th Street and San Pablo Avenue, Beaudry Street · raised since March 2025

On 22 March 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report described what happened at the corner of 45th Street and San Pablo Avenue. SeeClickFix is the website and app residents use to report problems to the City of Emeryville. The report read:

"There is a rut in the pavement where it meets this metal covering. An elderly woman was thrown onto the pavement when her mobility scooter overturned when trying to get over. She was unable to get up by herself"

A resident, in a SeeClickFix report to the City of Emeryville, 45th Street and San Pablo Avenue, 22 March 2025

A second resident wrote about a different kind of damage. On 19 August 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about 5951 Beaudry Street said: "PG&E was here more than a month ago, dug up the street and drilled a bunch of holes in the pavement. Temporary patches of street cuts, open drill holes, spray paint markings, traffic barricades left behind." PG&E is Pacific Gas and Electric, the gas and electric utility. A street cut is a trench dug through the pavement to reach pipes or wires, and it is usually patched afterward.

For scale, residents filed 50 pothole and street pavement reports between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2026, in a city of about 13,000 people. According to SeeClickFix's public data, 13 of them (26%) were listed as open on 1 October 2026, with a median age of 170 days. A median is the middle value, so half were older and half newer. The oldest open one is the 45th Street and San Pablo Avenue report from 22 March 2025. The status open is the city's own label and does not say whether anyone visited. In SeeClickFix, acknowledged means the city marked the report as received, and the descriptions are written by residents.

The city is quick on most of these. Thirty-seven of the 50 pavement reports (74%) were not open, and the city closes them in a median of 7 days. The rut at 45th Street is the oldest open report of the group.

Part of the answer may be who owns the road. San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville is State Route 123, a state highway, so repairs to it may fall to the state transportation department rather than the city. The report does not say who owns the metal covering, and we have not confirmed who is responsible. The present status of the report has not been checked beyond the 1 October 2026 listing, and open does not say whether the rut is still there. The Beaudry Street report involves work by a utility, so the question there may be who is responsible for finishing the repair, which the report does not say.

Worth tracking

Movement would look like the 45th Street report being closed with a note saying who repaired it, the Beaudry Street cuts being permanently patched, and the share of pavement reports still open falling below 26%. It would be stuck if the rut is still reported a year after the first report.

A rut and a set of patches are small repairs that a city or a state road agency usually handles from its own budget, and no cost has been published for either. Where a state highway is involved, a congressional office can ask the state transportation department for a status and can help a resident reach the right office through casework. Federal highway money reaches state routes through the state, so a question about the repair schedule on San Pablo Avenue is one the office could put on the record. If a larger rebuild of the corridor is ever proposed, a direct appropriation request could cover part or all of the cost, depending on the price. That is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, called Community Project Funding. The office could pass the Beaudry Street report along to the city and the utility.

What gets repaired first is a decision for the city, the state and residents who use these streets. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you travel by scooter, wheelchair, bike or on foot and have met a rut or a patch like these, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report 18619196, 22 March 2025, SeeClickFix report 19794946, 19 August 2025, SeeClickFix public data for Emeryville

Storm grates, a bent utility cover and hard-to-see curbs in Emeryville's protected bike lanes

Emeryville · Hollis Street at 67th Street, Christie Avenue south of Powell Street, Horton Street and 53rd Street · raised since October 2024

On 1 October 2024 a resident filed a report on SeeClickFix, the website and app where people in Emeryville report problems to the city. It described two storm grates, the metal drain covers set into the pavement, at Hollis Street and 67th Street. They wrote:

"Two storm grates near the corner of Hollis and 67th present a hazard to bicyclists. This is the third time I have reported this issue. Please find a permanent fix for this before someone gets hurt."

a resident's SeeClickFix report, 1 October 2024

Six months later another resident described a different hazard. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 15 April 2025, said that on Christie Avenue south of Powell Street "a utility cover in the cycletrack is bent downwards creating a lip which could cause a bike crash or trip/fall". A cycletrack is a bike lane separated from car traffic by a physical barrier. The resident added that "this has been reported multiple times". As of 1 October 2026, SeeClickFix lists the Christie Avenue report as open, and it no longer lists the Hollis and 67th report as open.

Residents have also written to say what is working. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 11 October 2024, a resident called "the new car diverters and plaza on Horton north of 53rd St" "great". A car diverter is a barrier that stops cars from driving through while people on bikes and on foot can pass. Streetsblog San Francisco, a transportation news site, described the full diverter at 53rd and Horton as "pretty awesome". The resident asked for "paint and reflectors" on the concrete curbs, because "the concrete isn't super visible in low light". A resident's SeeClickFix report, 9 May 2026, began "thanks for replacing the green bike box here". A green bike box is a painted area where people on bicycles wait ahead of cars at a light. The report added that the new one "is not as far forward as the previous one."

These reports sit inside a larger group. SeeClickFix's public data lists 129 sidewalk, curb and gutter requests to the City of Emeryville, a city of about 13,000 residents, filed from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026. Of those, 43 (33%) are open. The open ones have a median age of 217 days, meaning half have waited longer. Requests the city closes take a median of 10 days. The group covers every sidewalk and curb problem, not only bike lanes. The status "open" is the city's own label, it does not say whether anyone has visited, and the descriptions are written by residents.

Protected bike lanes are a recent addition to these streets. The city's Sustainable Streetscapes project, a yearly program of street repair and maintenance, lists concrete bus pads, bulb-outs (curb extensions that shorten the crossing distance) and a protected bikeway between 62nd and 65th Streets among its work. The reports do not say who owns the grates or the cover. Not every reader is comfortable with the new layouts. On 19 May 2026 an anonymous reader commenting on an E'ville Eye article, a local news site, called the striping and bulb-outs "an obstacle course that pits drivers against peds", short for pedestrians.

Where things stand: the green bike box was replaced, and the Christie Avenue cover and the Horton curb request are listed as open with no sign in the data of a response.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the Christie Avenue cover repaired, paint or reflectors on the Horton curbs, no fourth report about the Hollis and 67th grates, and a decision on whether the green bike box at 53rd and Hollis moves forward.

The cost of fixing two grates and a cover is not public. A larger redesign could be covered in part or whole by a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project (called Community Project Funding), depending on the cost. The office could also ask the city for a written answer on the open reports, and help it apply to federal street-safety programs such as Safe Streets and Roads for All, run by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Which repairs come first is Emeryville's call, made with the people who ride and walk these streets. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you ride or walk one of these blocks, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, SeeClickFix report, Hollis and 67th, 1 October 2024, SeeClickFix report, Christie Avenue, 15 April 2025, SeeClickFix report, Horton Street, 11 October 2024, SeeClickFix report, 53rd Street, 9 May 2026, Streetsblog San Francisco, Horton Street, November 2024, City of Emeryville, Sustainable Streetscapes project, E'ville Eye, Sutter hospital article, comment of 19 May 2026

A protected bike lane on Shellmound Street with no loading zones or accessible parking, and a Doyle Street driveway a resident calls unsafe to exit

Emeryville · Shellmound Street between 65th and 64th Streets, 6200 Doyle Street · raised since November 2024

On 18 February 2025 a resident filed a report on SeeClickFix, the website and app where people in Emeryville report problems to the city, about one block of Shellmound Street at 6438 Shellmound. The resident asked the city to mark the curb for loading and for people with disabilities, and wrote:

"southbound Shellmound from 65th to 64th Streets - please add official yellow curb loading zones and blue curb accessible parking spots on this block the bike facility as built does not provide any access"

a resident's SeeClickFix report, 18 February 2025

In California a curb painted yellow marks a place for short loading stops, and a curb painted blue marks parking reserved for people with disabilities.

The city built this bike lane. Streetsblog San Francisco, a transportation news site, reported in October 2023 that the city was building "concrete curb-protected" bike lanes on Shellmound from 65th Street to Ashby Avenue as a relatively quick project, and that a planned extension south from 65th to 62nd Street would take "the place of existing curbside car parking". The city's Sustainable Streetscapes project page lists Shellmound Street improvements among its completed work and a protected bikeway between 62nd and 65th Streets. Design documents on how loading and accessible parking were handled on this block have not turned up in what we have tracked so far.

A second report points to a similar problem on another street. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 November 2024, about a location at 6200 Doyle Street, said:

"Unsafe driveway exit. Red curb removed and not adjusted after adding pedestrian/bike side of the street. Cars park too close to driveway"

a resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 November 2024

A red curb is a place where parking is not allowed, so the report says that a no-parking section next to the driveway was taken out when the street changed, and that cars now park close enough to make leaving the driveway unsafe.

Two reports in two years of requests are a small number, and they are described here because they are alike: in each, a curb was changed for people on bikes and on foot, and the resident says the change left something out. As of 1 October 2026, SeeClickFix lists both reports as open, about 19 months and about 22 months after they were filed, respectively. The status "open" is the city's own label and does not say whether anyone has visited, and whether the city has replied is not shown. Across all SeeClickFix sidewalk, curb and gutter requests, 43 of 129 filed in Emeryville since October 2024 (33%) are open, and the ones the city closes take a median of 10 days.

This is a hard kind of change. A protected lane takes space that used to be parking, and one curb is asked to serve people on bikes, delivery drivers and people who need to park close to a door.

Where things stand: both requests are open in the city's system, and nothing we have tracked shows a decision on either.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: yellow and blue curb markings appearing on the Shellmound block between 65th and 64th Streets, a changed red curb or a clear sight line at the 6200 Doyle Street driveway, and either report moving out of open status.

Marking a curb is a low-cost local decision and not mainly a question of money. The office could still ask the city for a written answer on both reports, and could ask whether accessible parking and loading were checked when the bike lane was designed. If the city is applying for federal street-safety funds for this corridor, such as the Safe Streets and Roads for All program run by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the office could help with that application. A larger fix, if one were chosen, could be covered in part or whole by a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project (called Community Project Funding), depending on the cost.

How a curb is shared is Emeryville's call, made with the people who use it. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live, work or park on Shellmound or Doyle Street, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, SeeClickFix report, Shellmound Street, 18 February 2025, SeeClickFix report, Doyle Street, 25 November 2024, Streetsblog San Francisco, Shellmound Street, October 2023, City of Emeryville, Sustainable Streetscapes project

Sidewalks narrowed by overgrown bushes, trip hazards and standing water

Emeryville · Vallejo Street, Hollis Street, Powell Street, Christie Avenue · raised since October 2024

On 15 January 2026 a resident filed a report on SeeClickFix, the website and app where people in Emeryville report problems to the city, about Vallejo Street between 61st and 62nd Streets. The resident cited the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal civil rights law that covers access for people with disabilities, and wrote:

"bushes are overgrowing and blocking up to half of the available sidewalk width, leaving even less than the ADA-required 3 feet of clearance in places"

a resident's SeeClickFix report, 15 January 2026

The clearance figure is the resident's. The report does not say who owns the bushes.

Other reports describe sidewalks that are hard to use for different reasons. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 5 March 2026, about the blocks from 5021 to 5211 Hollis Street, said "Trip's hazards. I've seen many people in one senior fall as a result of these hazards." The report does not say where along those blocks the hazards are. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 13 February 2026, about 1303 Powell Street, said "Standing water here all winter long, it has no way to run off." The same resident wrote that the crew that built a sidewalk crosswalk there "didn't even connect it to sewer drain."

The oldest open sidewalk request is from 6 October 2024 at 5701 Christie Avenue. It is a report of a person blocking the sidewalk, and it is one of several reports about encampments in Emeryville.

The city does move quickly on many kinds of request. In the same SeeClickFix public data, which covers 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026 in a city of about 13,000 residents, the city closes weed and brush removal requests in a median of 8 days, with 5 of 45 still open. It closes flooding and drainage requests in a median of 4 days, with 7 of 64 still open. A resident's report of weeds and leaves on Christie Avenue, filed 17 July 2026, is not listed as open. Litter and dumping reports are closed in a median of 4 days, and 24 of 559 (4%) are open.

Sidewalk requests look different. Of 129 sidewalk, curb and gutter requests, 43 (33%) are open, compared with 4% for dumping. The open sidewalk requests have a median age of 217 days, meaning half have waited longer, and the ones the city closes take a median of 10 days. "Open" is the city's own status label, and it does not say whether anyone has visited. In SeeClickFix, "open" means the city has not marked the report as received, and "acknowledged" means it has. The descriptions are written by residents.

Where things stand: as of 1 October 2026 SeeClickFix lists the Vallejo Street, Hollis Street and Powell Street reports as open. Whether the city has visited any of them is not shown.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: trimmed bushes on Vallejo Street, repairs to the Hollis Street walkway, a drain connection at the Powell Street crosswalk, and the share of open sidewalk requests moving down from 33% toward the 4% seen for dumping.

Sidewalk safety for people with disabilities is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, so there is a federal angle. The office could ask the city whether it has a published plan for fixing sidewalk barriers, and could press the federal agencies that oversee the law for technical help. Sidewalk repair is also a question of money. The cost for these blocks is not public, and a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project (called Community Project Funding), could cover part or all of a repair program depending on the cost.

Which sidewalks come first is Emeryville's call, made with the people who walk and roll on them. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you use one of these blocks, or another one with a barrier, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix public data, SeeClickFix report, Vallejo Street, 15 January 2026, SeeClickFix report, Hollis Street, 5 March 2026, SeeClickFix report, Powell Street, 13 February 2026, SeeClickFix report, Christie Avenue, 6 October 2024, SeeClickFix report, Christie Avenue, 17 July 2026

Hollis and Horton Street construction that kept running past its end date, and a $1.13M overrun

Emeryville · Hollis Street, Horton Street and nearby junctions · raised since September 2025

On 17 September 2025 the E'ville Eye, a local news site, reported on growing frustration with road construction in Emeryville. The city's Hollis Street Sustainable Streetscapes project had begun in March 2025, with completion expected in late October 2025. Horton Street had seen construction on and off for nearly four years before. The Eye quoted a resident, Michelle T., from Instagram:

"The never-ending construction on Hollis and Horton is beyond frustrating. Every day, I try to find a different route just to avoid it"

Michelle T., Emeryville resident, on Instagram, as quoted by The E'ville Eye, 17 September 2025

On Facebook, Nick M. wrote that "the Emery-Go-Round buses can't actually make turns if there's traffic in the opposing lane due to all the construction intrusion into the junctions." Douglas Smith, owner of Rudy's Can't Fail, wrote in a comment dated 1 October 2025 that "The never ending construction has been difficult for our customers and staff and has cost us business." An anonymous commenter wrote that "That street has been under construction for a decade and will probably still be in another ten years."

The schedule did move. The Eye reported in late 2025 that completion was pushed from late October to 31 December 2025, with paving on Hollis to begin the week of 17 November 2025, because of weather and coordination with utility and telecommunications providers. We have not found the date the work finished.

The cost moved too. In July 2026 the council unanimously approved a $1.13M amendment to the paving contract, bringing the project to about $10.96M, roughly a tenth of the project's total. Staff named unmapped utility lines, state-required green infrastructure (plantings that absorb stormwater), a sinkhole under 53rd Street, utility coordination, tree-root conflicts and poor soil, much of it hard to see until a street is open. Mayor Kaur asked for earlier cost reporting. Staff promised dashboards and quarterly reports, which we have not found yet. The city's general fund, which pays for day-to-day services, already faces an $8.8M structural deficit, a gap that recurs yearly.

The city has acted on related concerns. On 7 April 2026 the council voted 4-0 to adopt 15 mph limits on bike boulevards, where bicycles have priority, and on streets near parks and schools, plus 20 mph in business districts. It covers 20 street segments under AB 43, the state law that lets cities set lower limits. Signs went up in August 2026, and a proposed 12 mph limit on the Emeryville Greenway was deferred for outreach and a survey. On 9 May 2026 a resident thanked the city for replacing the green bike box at 53rd and Hollis Streets, while noting it "is not as far forward as the previous one".

Where things stand: partly addressed, with the work past its first end date and the cost up.

Worth tracking

Three things are pending: the Greenway decision on a 12 mph limit, which waits on outreach and the resident survey; the dashboards and quarterly cost reports; and the Ashby Avenue bicycle and pedestrian overcrossing of I-80, a long-sought Bay Trail connection and a 2026-28 city priority, advancing under a phased plan with construction years away. A survey date and a first cost report would show movement.

The speed limits were adopted under state law, the Greenway decision awaits local outreach, and the overrun and the dashboards are municipal procurement and reporting. A federal office has no role in any of them, though it could still listen to what residents and business owners say about the construction. No federal money is reported in the Streetscapes project. If there were some, the overrun would become a grant-compliance question and not only a local one.

The Ashby overcrossing does have a federal address. A bicycle and pedestrian bridge next to an interstate is eligible for Safe Streets and Roads for All, a federal grant program for road safety projects, and for the Transportation Alternatives set-aside, federal money for walking and biking projects. The construction phase could also be a Community Project Funding request, which is how a member of Congress asks for money for a specific local project. It would not touch the overrun. Which of these matters most is a call for Emeryville and its residents to make, and a federal office would work with the city rather than arrive with its own list. If there is something you would put first, please tell us.

Sources: Eye, construction frustration, Eye newswire, October 2025, Eye, July 2026 recap, Eye, April 2026 recap, Eye, August 2026 newswire, SeeClickFix 21670397, Eye, Ashby overcrossing

People sleeping on the greenway benches between Ocean Avenue and 65th Street, and tents at Hollis Street and 61st Street

Emeryville · the Emeryville Greenway at Peabody Lane, Hollis Street and 61st Street, and Christie Avenue · raised since October 2024

On 1 October 2024, a resident used SeeClickFix, the app and website where Emeryville residents report problems to the city, to write about the benches beside the bocce courts. The benches are on the Emeryville Greenway, a 1.3 mile walking and biking path built along a former railroad line through North Emeryville. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 1 October 2024, the resident wrote:

"A guy has been camping out all day and sleeping for the past few weeks on the benches next to the bocce courts, at the greenway between Ocean and 65th St."

A resident's SeeClickFix report, 1269 Peabody Lane, 1 October 2024

Another resident wrote about the same bench on 6 December 2024. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 6 December 2024, the resident described someone sleeping on a bench near the bocce court "all day, nearly every day." Five days later, in a resident's SeeClickFix report, 11 December 2024, a resident wrote in full: "Tent encampment on Hollis and 61st st." On 6 October 2024, a resident reported that the sidewalk at 5701 Christie Avenue had been blocked for more than two months.

Until 2026, Emeryville's SeeClickFix list had no category for these reports, and the four above were filed before the city added one. The city now has a separate Homeless Concerns type. In the SeeClickFix requests filed from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, 2,963 in all for a city of about 13,000 residents, 41 are in Homeless Concerns and 16 of those are open, which is 39%. Open ones have a median age of 29 days, and the ones the city has closed took a median of 8 days. "Open" here is the city's own status label for a report that has not been closed. It includes reports the city has marked as received, which SeeClickFix calls acknowledged, and it does not say whether anyone visited. The descriptions are written by residents. The census marks the two Peabody Lane reports and the Christie Avenue report as open and does not list the Hollis Street report as open.

The city has put a process in place. Its page on supporting unhoused residents directs residents to report an encampment through SeeClickFix and says the outreach organization Operation Dignity provides street outreach and field engagement. It also says that, "Prior to the City scheduling an encampment cleanup, Operation Dignity will engage unhoused residents on multiple occasions, when possible." The 8-day median to close is the city's pace on the 2026 category. The people sleeping on a bench are Emeryville's neighbors too, and the benches are shared space for residents who want to use the path. The city's January 2026 count found 34 unhoused people, compared with 178 in 2019 and 38 in 2024. The Nellie Hannon Gateway building opened on 25 March 2026 with 90 units, 39 of them for people leaving homelessness.

Where things stand: residents have reported the same bench and the same corner for a long time, and from the figures we have tracked, we cannot say whether any of these four places is still in the condition residents described.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the status of the Peabody Lane and Hollis Street reports, whether the share of Homeless Concerns reports still open drops below 39%, and whether the January 2027 count moves from 34.

On the federal side, shelter and outreach money reaches Alameda County mostly through two programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: the Continuum of Care, which funds local homelessness programs, and Emergency Solutions Grants, which fund emergency shelter. A local coalition called EveryOne Home ranks and awards those projects. A congressional office cannot direct where the money goes. It can ask the coalition and the department in writing what outreach and shelter capacity exists for Emeryville, and it can help a resident or the city with a casework request. If the question turns out to be one of cost, a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part or all of it depending on the price. A price has not been made public.

What comes first belongs to Emeryville and its residents, including the people who sleep outdoors. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you use the greenway, live near Hollis Street and 61st Street, or have slept outdoors in Emeryville, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: A resident's SeeClickFix report, 1 October 2024, A resident's SeeClickFix report, 6 December 2024, A resident's SeeClickFix report, 11 December 2024, A resident's SeeClickFix report, 6 October 2024, SeeClickFix public data, Emeryville requests, Emeryville Historical Society, Emeryville Greenway tour, City of Emeryville, unhoused resident support, The E'ville Eye, 2026 count of unhoused people, The E'ville Eye, March 16-31 newswire

Tents, trash and needles under the Powell Street bridge, at the Amtrak footbridge and at 1088 48th Street

Emeryville · Powell Street bridge, the Amtrak station footbridge, and 48th Street · raised since November 2024

On 20 December 2024, a resident used SeeClickFix, the app and website where Emeryville residents report problems to the city, to write about the sidewalk under the Powell Street bridge. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 20 December 2024, filed for 1470 to 1498 Powell Street, the resident wrote:

"Tents, trash, needles and human waste blocking sidewalk under Powell st bridge."

A resident's SeeClickFix report, 1470-1498 Powell Street, 20 December 2024

Residents have written about two other places as well. On 7 November 2024, a resident's SeeClickFix report said, "There is a dilapidated tent tied to the pedestrian bridge at the Amtrak station." A second report about the same footbridge, a resident's SeeClickFix report, mentioned "a broken glass bottle on the stairs of the pedestrian bridge by the Amtrak station for months." On 4 November 2024, a resident's SeeClickFix report about 1088 48th Street said, "Blight at this location has persisted for months." The same address was reported again on 1 June 2026 under the city's newer Homeless Concerns category.

The city closes most litter reports quickly. Of 559 litter and dumping reports in the SeeClickFix requests filed from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, the city closed them in a median of 4 days, and 4% are open. In this data, "open" is the city's own status label and includes reports the city has marked as received, which SeeClickFix calls acknowledged. It does not say whether anyone visited, and the descriptions are written by residents. The census marks all four reports here as open. The oldest open litter and dumping request in the whole data set is dated 4 November 2024 at 1088 48th Street, so this site is an exception to the city's usual pace.

Who is responsible for a place matters here, and the sources do not settle it for each one. A public reference lists the Emeryville station as owned by the City of Emeryville and describes a footbridge opened in 1997 that connects the station with the west side of the tracks, but it does not say who maintains the footbridge itself. Who owns the Powell Street bridge and the land beneath it is not stated in the sources we have read.

The city has described its approach. Its page on supporting unhoused residents says that Operation Dignity, an outreach organization, provides street outreach, and that before the city schedules an encampment cleanup the organization will try to engage the people living there more than once. The January 2026 count found 34 unhoused people in Emeryville, a city of about 13,000 residents, compared with 38 in 2024 and 178 in 2019.

Where things stand: from the data we have tracked, we cannot say whether any of these places looks different today.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the status of the four reports, a named owner for the Powell Street bridge sidewalk and the Amtrak footbridge, and the dumping request at 1088 48th Street closing.

On the federal side, one lever depends on the owner. If the footbridge or the bridge turns out to belong to a state or rail agency, the office could put the residents' question to that agency in writing. Shelter and outreach funding comes through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in programs called the Continuum of Care and Emergency Solutions Grants, which a local coalition called EveryOne Home ranks and awards. The office cannot direct that money, but it can ask the coalition what outreach is available for Emeryville. If the problem turns out to be one of cost, a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part or all of it depending on the price. A price has not been made public.

What comes first belongs to Emeryville and its residents, including the people who live outdoors. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you walk past one of these places, or have lived near one, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: A resident's SeeClickFix report, 20 December 2024, A resident's SeeClickFix report, 7 November 2024, A resident's SeeClickFix report, Amtrak footbridge, A resident's SeeClickFix report, 4 November 2024, SeeClickFix public data, Emeryville requests, Wikipedia, Emeryville station, City of Emeryville, unhoused resident support, The E'ville Eye, 2026 count of unhoused people

Unhoused residents' protest at Mandela House, and an Emeryville count of 34 that has held since 2024

Emeryville · Mandela House on the Oakland border, Nellie Hannon Gateway, the Emeryville Greenway · raised since April 2026

Residents of Mandela House, a transitional housing program in an old Extended Stay America hotel in Oakland near the Emeryville border, began protesting in public this spring. CBS San Francisco reported on 1 April 2026 that residents said the program, run by the Housing Consortium of the East Bay, had not given them the services and housing help they were promised. The E'ville Eye reported on 23 May 2026 that residents allege "that systemic failures in case management are threatening to push them back onto the street." KALW reported on 4 May 2026 that the program was always set to close on 29 May for renovation into 125 units of permanent supportive housing, with 12 of its first 136 residents housed and 25 more matched but not yet moved in.

The same Eye story gave the latest headcount. Emeryville's 2026 count of unhoused people found 34. It is a point-in-time count, a one-night headcount taken in January. That compares with 178 in 2019, 91 in 2022 and 38 in 2024, a fall of more than 80% since 2019 in a city of about 13,000 residents, and it is essentially unchanged from 2024. Alameda County's total is 8,201.

The city has housing to point to. The $91.5M Nellie Hannon Gateway opened with a ribbon-cutting on 25 March 2026. It has 90 apartments, and the state Strategic Growth Council, which helped fund it, describes half of them as permanent supportive housing for formerly unhoused people. The Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program food pantry is in the building. Those 90 units are most of the 150 homes approved so far in the current Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle, the period covered by the state's housing target for the city. The January count came before the ribbon-cutting, so it cannot show what the building did.

Residents also report camps to the city directly. Since 2026 the city has had a request type called Homeless Concerns: 41 requests, 16 open (39%), a median of 8 days to close, and a median age of 29 days among the open ones. Most earlier reports sit in the catch-all Other Issue/Concern category, 549 requests since October 2024 with 167 open. Specific places are covered in separate entries on the greenway and on encampments near structures. On SeeClickFix, where residents report problems to the city, "open" is the city's own status label (it includes reports marked received) and does not say whether anyone visited. Descriptions are written by residents.

Officials read smaller, less visible encampments as evidence that enforcement worked. Critics read the same picture as people being scattered rather than helped.

Worth tracking

Two things will show whether this is moving. The first is what happens when Mandela House reopens as permanent supportive housing, and where its former residents end up. The second is the next count. If 34 holds, the decline has leveled off. If it rises, the earlier fall may have been movement rather than housing.

Federal money helps pay for shelter and housing, but Congress does not choose where it lands. Interim shelter can be paid for through two programs run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): the Continuum of Care, which funds local homelessness programs, and Emergency Solutions Grants, which fund emergency shelter. That money goes to Alameda County's EveryOne Home continuum, the local coalition that ranks and awards projects, not to Emeryville directly. A congressional office can work to protect those programs but cannot direct where the money goes. It can ask the continuum, in writing, whether it already tracks individuals across years, since a one-night count cannot show where people went. Where to put local shelter and housing money first is a decision for Emeryville and its residents, and the office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you have a view on what should come first, we would like to hear it.

What could make the difference

Funding for case management and housing placements could help Mandela House residents move into permanent homes. The next one-night count in January could show whether the fall in the number of unhoused residents has leveled off, and what the new housing has done.

We are still collecting feedback. If you feel strongly about this issue, please reach out to team@jamiejoyce.com to discuss further.

Sources: Eye, homelessness count, CBS San Francisco, Mandela House, KALW, Mandela House closure, Eye, March newswire, Strategic Growth Council, opening, Eye, ECAP

Graffiti on the state's San Pablo Avenue and Powell Street structures, where a resident asked who is responsible

Emeryville · San Pablo Avenue, the Powell Street columns at Horton Street, and 40th Street · raised since October 2024

On 25 August 2025, a resident used SeeClickFix, the app and website where Emeryville residents report problems to the city, to write about the columns that hold up Powell Street where it crosses over Horton Street. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 August 2025, filed for 5757 Horton Street, the resident asked a question that the report does not answer:

"Graffiti all over the supporting columns of Powell going over Horton is Emeryville responsible for this or are they referring it to someone else has been there for years"

A resident's SeeClickFix report, 5757 Horton Street, 25 August 2025

The city is quick on most graffiti. Of 2,963 requests in the SeeClickFix requests filed from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, 863 are about graffiti, which is 29% of everything residents reported. The city closed them in a median of 6 days, and only 60, or 7%, are open. On 40th Street, residents filed 29 graffiti reports out of 32 in all, and none is open. In a resident's SeeClickFix report, 31 December 2024 about 1333 Park Avenue, a resident wrote, "Graffiti was addressed earlier today but missed all of this," which describes a cleanup that was partial. In this data, "open" is the city's own status label and includes reports the city has marked as received, which SeeClickFix calls acknowledged. It does not say whether anyone visited, and the descriptions are written by residents.

The slower reports cluster along a state road. San Pablo Avenue is State Route 123, which a public reference lists as maintained by Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation. In the census, the stretch of State Route 123 from mile 0.2 to 0.8 has 182 reports in two years, 139 of them about graffiti, and 20 are open. Another 28 reports are filed under San Pablo Avenue without a route number, 25 of them about graffiti and 3 open. Open graffiti reports have a median age of 361 days, and the oldest is dated 8 October 2024 at 6400 Shellmound Street.

Caltrans lists graffiti among the problems the public can report through its own customer service request system. A Caltrans maintenance manual chapter from 2014 says that, apart from graffiti that is a safety concern or obscene, "Other graffiti should be removed within ten (10) working days upon notification." The sources we have read do not say who owns the Powell Street overpass, whether the city forwards these reports to Caltrans, or how often Caltrans cleans these structures.

Where things stand: for most of the city, graffiti reports close within about a week. For the San Pablo Avenue corridor and the Powell Street columns, the resident's question about who is responsible has no answer in the sources we have tracked, and 20 reports on the corridor are open.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the reports on the San Pablo Avenue corridor closing, the median age of open graffiti reports falling from 361 days, and a named owner for the Powell Street columns.

On the federal side, this may be a question for a state agency, and the office has more than money to offer. It can write to Caltrans on behalf of residents to ask who is responsible for each structure and when each was last cleaned, and it can convene the city and Caltrans to agree on how reports move between them. If the question turns out to be one of cost, a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part or all of it depending on the price. A price has not been made public.

Which structures to clean first belongs to the city, the state and the residents who walk beneath them. The office would work with them rather than arrive with a list. If you pass under one of these structures, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: A resident's SeeClickFix report, 25 August 2025, A resident's SeeClickFix report, 31 December 2024, SeeClickFix public data, Emeryville requests, Wikipedia, California State Route 123, Caltrans, maintenance programs, Caltrans maintenance manual, litter, debris and graffiti chapter, 2014

A dog park with no grass, rats near a trash bin, and the same park addresses reported again and again

Emeryville · Christie Park, 6150 Christie Avenue, 1002 47th Street, Hollis Street · raised since October 2024

SeeClickFix is the website and phone app where Emeryville residents send repair and cleanup reports to the city. On 5 October 2024, a resident used it to describe the dog park at Christie Park, a neighborhood park in Emeryville. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 5 October 2024, said:

"Christie Park has a very small dog park that doesn't have grass in it. Due to this, most dog owners in the neighborhood don't use it"

a resident's SeeClickFix report, Christie Park, 5 October 2024

Residents have kept writing since then. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 3 December 2024, about a location at 6150 Christie Avenue, reads "Rats in the trash bin and mice in the greeneries". On 28 May 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about a location on Hollis Street asked "Please install anti-skateboarding guards/studs, and clean the black marks off of the park benches".

In the two years from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, residents filed 169 reports in the City Park Issue category, as counted in SeeClickFix's public data for requests that belong to the City of Emeryville. Of those, 30 (18%) are still open. The open ones have a median age of 92 days, meaning half are older. In this data, "open" is the city's own status label. It covers reports the city has marked as received and reports it has not, and it does not say whether anyone visited. The descriptions are written by residents.

A few addresses come up repeatedly. A location at 1002 47th Street has 30 reports, 8 in the park category and 9 about litter and dumping. A location at 1379 62nd Street has 20, 8 of them park issues. Hubbard Street has 25, 8 about parks and 8 about litter. A repeat count can mean one problem reported many times or many neighbors each reporting once. The data does not say which.

The city closes park reports quickly when it closes them. The median time to close a park report is 6 days. The Parks and Recreation Committee, a group of residents that advises the city, reported 17 individual park tours in which members identified maintenance needs, such as hazardous pavement drops on the Greenway. The same report says the committee plans a Volunteer Cleanup Series for 2026 and a campaign encouraging residents to report problems on SeeClickFix. The Commission on Aging, another resident advisory group, installed 42 benches with backs around the city, starting at the Marina.

The cleanup series follows the Love Your Parks event at Joseph Emery Skate Park on 14 February 2026. The E'ville Eye reported that more than 30 volunteers collected over 15 gallons of trash, recycling and compost, and that the park has struggled with "illegal dumping and occasional encampments".

Where things stand: the tours produced a list of maintenance needs, and we have not found a budget set aside to pay for the items on it. We also have not found whether grass was added to the dog park.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the dog park report closing, a budget line for the tour list, dates for the Volunteer Cleanup Series, and fewer repeat reports at the addresses above.

Park upkeep is mainly a local responsibility, and money is one way a federal office could help. If the city puts a cost on the tour list, a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part or all of it depending on the cost. Costs are not public yet. The office could also help the city look at existing federal park programs, such as the National Park Service's Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, which funds urban parks, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which reaches local parks through the state.

Which park repairs come first is Emeryville's call, made with the people who use the parks. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you use one of these parks, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report 17645735, SeeClickFix report 17983017, SeeClickFix report 19106866, SeeClickFix public data, The E'ville Eye, 7 April 2026 council recap, The E'ville Eye, February 2026 newswire

Animal control reports: rodents around a neighbor's garden and a dog left outside

Emeryville · 1039 43rd Street, 6200 Doyle Street, 3908 Adeline Street · raised since October 2024

On 22 October 2024, a resident used SeeClickFix, the website and phone app where Emeryville residents send reports to the city, to describe a problem with rodents on 43rd Street. A resident's SeeClickFix report, 22 October 2024, about a location at 1039 43rd Street, said:

"This address needs to manage its front home vegetable garden along with weeds/grass as it is causing the neighboring three houses to be overrun with rodents"

a resident's SeeClickFix report, 1039 43rd Street, 22 October 2024

The same category holds reports about animals people live with. On 20 October 2025, a resident's SeeClickFix report about a location at 6200 Doyle Street said "Dog barks all day and night. Often left out in cold and rain." That report is still open.

Residents filed 43 reports in the Animal Control category in the two years from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, as counted in SeeClickFix's public data for requests that belong to the City of Emeryville. That is a small number next to the 863 graffiti reports or the 559 litter and dumping reports in the same period, so it is a small pattern and not a large one. Of the 43, 20 (47%) are open. That is the highest share open of any request type with at least 40 reports. The open ones have a median age of 96 days, meaning half are older than that, and the oldest open report is dated 6 December 2024 at 3908 Adeline Street.

For comparison, the animal control reports that do get closed take a median of 34 days. The city closes litter and dumping reports in a median of 4 days and graffiti in 6, so animal reports move on a different schedule from the quick cleanups. We do not know why. Animal problems can take longer to resolve than removing a mattress from a sidewalk, and some may involve another agency.

In this data, "open" is the city's own status label. It covers reports the city has marked as received, which SeeClickFix calls acknowledged, and reports it has not, and it does not say whether anyone visited. The descriptions are written by residents. The data also does not show who responds to an animal control call, whether the city or Alameda County, and we have not confirmed that. A resident who files a report may not know either.

Where things stand: the count is small, 20 reports are open, and the data tells us when reports were filed and whether they were marked open, not what happened at the address afterward. A rodent complaint about a neighbor's property and a complaint about a dog left outside in bad weather both involve a household that residents say is affecting neighbors, and in both cases the person who wrote did so to ask the city to act.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the 20 open animal control reports getting a status that says someone received them, the median age of open reports falling below 96 days, and a clear public answer to the question of which agency takes these calls.

This is not mainly a question of federal money, and animal control is run locally. The office could still ask the city and the county which agency answers these calls and put the answer on the record, so residents know where to send a report. If a resident's problem involves a federal agency, for example a concern tied to federal housing or a federal property, the office can help through casework, which means helping an individual reach the right agency and get an answer.

How the city handles animal calls is for Emeryville and its residents to decide. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you have filed one of these reports, or wanted to and did not know where to send it, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report 17754591, 22 October 2024, SeeClickFix report 20249497, 20 October 2025, SeeClickFix public data

Standing water on Powell Street and a redesign of the street that the council has put off

Emeryville · Powell Street, Powell and Christie, the Watergate complex · raised since October 2025

On 22 October 2025 Fran Coachella, a resident of the Watergate complex and a member of two city committees, spoke during public comment at the Emeryville City Council meeting about the Powell Street redesign. She urged immediate fixes for chronic flooding, soil instability under the marina boardwalks and a rodent problem under the public boardwalk. On parking she said "Parallel parking is much safer than angled parking," and she asked the city not to shift "noise, lighting and emissions to the residential side of Powell Street".

Staff said they would consider the concerns in ongoing planning. The city had shown alternatives at an October 2025 open house, including a protected two-way cycle track, meaning a bike lane separated from traffic. Other commenters raised two-way bike lanes past fire and police driveways and a sewer project that conflicts with the redesign.

On 13 February 2026 a resident reported the flooding to the city:

"Standing water here all winter long, it has no way to run off."

A resident, report to the city on SeeClickFix, 1303 Powell Street, 13 February 2026

The report adds that the crew that built a sidewalk crosswalk "didn't even connect it to sewer drain" and it is still listed as open. Citywide, flooding and drainage requests close quickly: 64 were filed between October 2024 and September 2026, closing in a median of 4 days, with 7 open. On SeeClickFix, where residents report problems to the city, "open" is the city's own status label (it includes reports marked received) and does not say whether anyone visited. Descriptions are written by residents.

On 19 May 2026 an anonymous reader commenting on an Eye article described the Hollis Street changes as an "obstacle course that pits drivers against peds" (peds being short for pedestrians).

On 7 July 2026 the council did not vote on the design. Mayor Kaur moved to continue the item, meaning put it off, and the motion passed 4-0, for at least 21 days. The mayor, a Watergate resident, had consulted the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which oversees ethics rules for officials, about a possible conflict of interest, and said an advice letter could take about 21 working days. Watergate residents objected to the short notice of an item posted on a holiday weekend, though the agenda met the 72-hour rule of California's open meetings law.

The case for moving ahead is a serious one. The Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee named safety at Powell and Christie a 2026 priority, and in February 2026 a big rig fire at the MacArthur Maze interchange pushed traffic through the corridor. We have not found a date when the redesign returns to the council.

Worth tracking

The item waits on the Fair Political Practices Commission letter. It moves when the letter arrives and the redesign returns to the council, and it is stuck if it returns without answers on emergency access and the sewer project.

The stall is a local outreach dispute and a state advice letter. Congress has no role in whether an official steps aside or how an agenda is posted, though a congressional office can still listen to what residents want.

One part of this issue connects to a federal program: the flooding. Work to increase stormwater capacity, meaning the ability of drains to carry heavy rain, is financed through the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federal loan program for water projects. A drainage segment can also be a Community Project Funding request, the way a member of Congress asks for money for a specific local project. That would pay for drainage only. Which of these matters most is a call for Emeryville and its residents to make, and a federal office would work with the city rather than arrive with its own list. If there is something you would put first, please tell us.

What could make the difference

Funding for drainage repairs could address the standing water on Powell Street. Clear answers on emergency access and the sewer project could let the street redesign move forward in a way that reflects what residents and businesses on Powell Street have said.

We are still collecting feedback. If you feel strongly about this issue, please reach out to team@jamiejoyce.com to discuss further.

Sources: Citizen Portal, Watergate resident, Eye, redesign options, SeeClickFix 21010411, Eye, reader comments, Eye, 7 July 2026 recap, Eye, MacArthur Maze fire

Sutter Health's proposed Emeryville hospital and the traffic and safety commitments residents want first

Emeryville · Horton, 53rd and Hollis Streets, the former BioMed Realty campus · raised since May 2026

At the 21 July 2026 council meeting, Brandon Soublet, a resident and council candidate, spoke about Sutter Health's proposed hospital and called it a choice for the city. The E'ville Eye recorded his words:

"We can decide if we want to continue to be a bike- and pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented city, or we can become a hospital town."

Brandon Soublet, resident and council candidate, public comment at the Emeryville City Council meeting, 21 July 2026

The council was holding a study session, a meeting to hear a plan before any decision. The campus would stand about 330 feet, or 17 stories, with a 325-bed hospital of 785,000 square feet on the former BioMed site, and would relocate women's and infant services from Berkeley. The Planning Commission held its first study session on 25 June. On 21 July more than 20 people spoke for about 45 minutes.

Residents raised pedestrian safety near schools, helicopter noise, emergency access, lost tax revenue from a nonprofit owner, and conflict with the General Plan, the city's long-range guide to what gets built where. They asked how the city could handle an estimated 20,000 additional daily vehicle trips. City staff and Hexagon Transportation Consultants had estimated roughly 20,000 daily trips, and Sutter's own scoping, the early stage of environmental review, may produce a different figure. On 19 May 2026 an Eye reader, Sayhey, commented that "traffic is honestly terrible now".

The corner has drawn reports before. On 11 October 2024 a resident asked for the Horton and 53rd Street signal to go back to all-way flashing red, writing there was "not nearly enough car traffic here yet to justify the signal". The same day another resident wrote that "the new car diverters and plaza on Horton north of 53rd St are great". The Eye reports that Sutter plans to remove the Horton Street traffic diverter, which bike advocates like, though we have not confirmed it is the same one.

Residents' ask is specific: the traffic, pedestrian-safety and fiscal mitigations, the steps meant to reduce a project's effects, written as firm commitments before the city certifies the environmental document, the formal study of a project's effects. They also want construction trucks and ambulances kept off streets where children walk to school.

There is support as well. The Building Trades Council, a group of construction unions, backs a community benefits agreement, a contract in which a developer commits to provide things the community wants, and the jobs a campus this size brings. SEIU healthcare workers raised staffing concerns, which no traffic mitigation answers. Councilmember Mourra recused himself because his wife works for a Sutter division. On 8 September 2026 the Emeryville Tattler, a local blog, reported under the headline "Sutter Hospital Says NO Community Benefits Agreement For Their Emeryville Project" that Sutter does not plan to take part in one.

Worth tracking

The council asked for further analysis on transportation, fiscal impact, community benefits and safe routes to school. Environmental scoping was scheduled for the 27 August 2026 Planning Commission meeting, and we have not found a record of it. Movement would look like a trip figure from Sutter's scoping and the named mitigations appearing as written conditions before certification. If they stay promises alongside the document, this is stuck.

Siting, height, size and environmental scoping are Emeryville's decisions, and no federal agency reviews where a private nonprofit builds a hospital. One federal lever does fit the safety work: a congressional office can help the city apply for Safe Streets and Roads for All or the Transportation Alternatives set-aside, two existing federal funding sources that cover 53rd Street pedestrian work and safe-routes-to-school improvements. What to put first is a decision for the city and its residents, and an office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you have a view on what should come first, we would like to hear it.

What could make the difference

The environmental review, a formal study of the hospital's effects, could produce traffic figures that residents and Sutter Health can both check. Decisions that follow those figures and the commitments residents have asked for could come once that review is complete.

We are still collecting feedback. If you feel strongly about this issue, please reach out to team@jamiejoyce.com to discuss further.

Sources: Eye, July 2026 recap, Eye, Sutter's pitch, Eye, Planning Commission, Emeryville Tattler, 8 September 2026, SeeClickFix 17690088, SeeClickFix 17690109

Tenants describe demolition dust and lead in occupied apartments

Emeryville · Second Street and a second apartment building · raised since June 2025

At the Emeryville City Council meeting on 3 June 2025, Sarah Chestnut Fry, a tenant at a Wareham Development property, spoke during public comment, the part of a meeting when residents address the council. According to a summary of the meeting on Citizen Portal, the property is a former cable-turning factory on Second Street, built in 1920 and used as live-work space with 42 residential units. She told the council that demolition began in January, that her unit and others had tested positive for lead dust, and that much of the work appeared to be performed without permits or full city oversight. The summary reports these as her account. Lead dust is a fine powder containing lead, a metal that is harmful to health, especially for children. The summary says 14 of the 42 units remained occupied. She said:

"Everything we own now must be professionally cleaned."

Sarah Chestnut Fry, tenant at a Wareham Development property on Second Street, council public comment, 3 June 2025

A city official answered, "I trust city staff will follow-up with you." The summary does not name who said it. It records that the council took no immediate formal action and that no ordinance, emergency order, inspection report or relocation payment was recorded that night.

The same concern came back three months later. At the 3 September 2025 meeting, a second summary on Citizen Portal says three residents spoke about dust from demolition and displacement from their homes. Bruce Bollinger, an architect and longtime resident, said the cleanup "is not a cleanup". James Elleker, a resident who told the council his family had been displaced since July, said "No family should ever be forced to choose between their health and their housing". The summary spells his name both Elleker and Elliker. It says residents asked for stronger tenant protections during construction, clearer cleanup rules, developer accountability and more city oversight and openness about testing results. It reports that independent testing and the developer's own testing both indicated dangerous lead levels. Asbestos, a mineral fiber once common in building materials that can harm the lungs when disturbed, also came up. Mr. Bollinger raised it in his remarks.

The two summaries do not say whether the September speakers lived in the same building as Ms. Chestnut Fry. We have not found a permit record, a testing report or a later council item for either building.

Credit goes first to the speakers, who came to two meetings. The September summary says council members acknowledged the seriousness of what residents described and asked staff to follow up on possible conversations with the building owner and developer about enforcement. That is a step, though the summaries do not record what followed. This is also a hard area for a small city, because construction in an occupied building involves private owners, state and regional rules, and testing by several parties.

Where things stand: the tenants raised the problem at two meetings, the council heard it, and staff follow-up was promised. We have not found a recorded outcome.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: a public report of the testing results, a record of permits for the demolition work, a statement of who inspected the building, and a council or staff item on how tenants are protected when construction happens around them.

Federal rules do touch this. The Environmental Protection Agency sets rules for lead-safe renovation in homes built before 1978, and for how asbestos is handled when buildings are renovated or demolished. We understand that locally those rules are often applied through state and regional agencies, and that should be checked for this case. The office could ask the Environmental Protection Agency whether its rules applied to this work and put the question on the record, and it could help residents reach the right agency through casework, which means helping an individual get an answer. Money is a smaller part of this. If testing or temporary housing costs matter, a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part of them depending on the cost.

What the city does about this is for Emeryville and its residents to decide. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you live in a building with construction going on, or were one of the speakers, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: Citizen Portal, summary of the Emeryville City Council meeting, 3 June 2025, Citizen Portal, summary of the Emeryville City Council meeting, 3 September 2025

ECAP meal demand nearly doubled in Emeryville, on an aging unpaid volunteer base

Emeryville · reported November 2025

In November 2025, Bobby Miller, the operations manager of the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program (ECAP), a local nonprofit that runs food and meal programs, talked with the E'ville Eye about what the work is for. He said, "I want people to understand what 'service' really is. The payoff is knowing some families that didn't have anything will have dinner on their table that night."

ECAP's directors reported in November 2025 that demand for its food and meal programs has nearly doubled against pre-pandemic levels. Nearly twice the demand is a lot to ask of a volunteer base that is unpaid, aging and changes often. Those volunteers are what has kept the programs going.

ECAP's coordinators have asked for paid staff positions. No funding decision has been reported.

The request is for paid positions rather than for more volunteers, which would add a cost that someone would have to pay each year. Councilmembers who watch the budget closely would have to weigh that cost against the city's other spending. Some residents may ask why a program that has historically run for free now needs a payroll. No one has been reported arguing against the need itself.

Sources: The E'ville Eye, ECAP back home in Emeryville for the holidays

More than 20 cluster mailbox break-ins at Emeryville apartment complexes in 14 months

Emeryville · multi-family complexes citywide

Connie Zheng, a resident, brought a problem to the Emeryville City Council that people in apartment buildings had been living with for more than a year. Zheng told the council on 19 May 2026 that there had been more than 20 cluster mailbox break-ins at residential complexes over 14 months. Cluster mailboxes are the shared banks of locked boxes where every household in a building gets its mail. She asked the city to pursue high-security electronic locks for the shared mailboxes. The Postal Service installs these locks under a program called Project Safe Delivery. She said:

Emeryville has the opportunity to take the proactive lead on public safety around this issue in the East Bay

Connie Zheng, a resident who brought the mailbox break-ins to the Emeryville City Council, as quoted in an E'ville Eye report of the meeting, 19 May 2026

The city responded promptly. The council asked the police for a report on mail security. The city followed with public reporting on its efforts against cluster mailbox theft in July 2026. The count of break-ins is Zheng's own, from a single presentation, and it describes repeated thefts at the same kind of building over fourteen months.

No report of locks being replaced has surfaced. No objection to pursuing the upgrades has been documented either. In a case like this, where no one has objected, the silence may reflect limited time and staff rather than disagreement. Mail theft competes for attention with other police work, and the police department is heading toward a 40% vacancy rate, meaning about 40% of its officer positions would be unfilled.

Sources: The E'ville Eye, Emeryville moves to combat cluster mailbox theft, The E'ville Eye, 19 May 2026 City Council recap

Promoted Bay Street takeovers and reckless driving in the Emeryville school drop-off zone

Emeryville · Bay Street Shopping Center and the school zone at the Emeryville Center of Community Life

In early April 2026 a driver performing donuts during school drop-off was arrested after a pursuit through an Emeryville school zone. Donuts are a stunt in which a driver spins a car in tight circles. A witness who watched from a bus described to the E'ville Eye what they saw:

[He was] making u-turns and driving on the sidewalk when kids are heading into school

A witness who watched from a bus, quoted in an E'ville Eye report on an arrest after a pursuit through an Emeryville school zone, 3 April 2026

Parents at the Emeryville Center of Community Life, the school campus, had already been raising concerns about reckless driving around the school, so the arrest followed worries that parents had already voiced. The city moved quickly. The council adopted 15 mph school-zone limits that same week.

A different event was promoted online before it happened. In early July 2026 an anonymous Instagram account promoted an unpermitted "Bay Street Takeover" for 5 July. It was described as a sideshow-style gathering, meaning a crowd watching drivers perform stunts in cars, at the Bay Street shopping center, advertised with fireworks, cars and music. The city issued an advisory, and Chief Jeff Jennings said the police department and regional partners would enforce zero tolerance on fireworks, alcohol and loud music, with vehicle impoundment and prosecution. Three cruisers staffed the entrances to Bay Street, and no sideshow materialized. A comparable takeover at an Alameda beach the same season ended in fights and a double shooting.

A prevented event and an arrest are both real outcomes, and they matter to the families at drop-off and the people who live and shop near Bay Street. Neither adds up to a standing plan, meaning a written approach the city would follow the next time. Whether the police presence is why nothing happened at Bay Street has not been measured, and the department relied on regional partners for the evening while short of officers. That is a hard position for a small department: one evening of extra coverage can be arranged, while a lasting plan depends on staffing. No resident has been reported objecting that the response was heavy-handed for a social gathering, and the only account of the event so far comes from the police.

Sources: The E'ville Eye, Emeryville works to avert a Bay Street takeover, The E'ville Eye, reckless driver arrested after pursuit through school zone, The E'ville Eye, 7 April 2026 City Council recap

Complaint-driven permitting in Emeryville and the live-work rule nobody could read first

Emeryville · Sherwin Avenue at The Emery; 1483 67th Street and Shellmound

On 5 November 2025, Empress Kehinde Koyejo, owner of Choc'late Mama Cookie Co., went to the Emeryville City Council after neighbors in her building had repeatedly complained about her business. Supporters came to speak up for the shop, and she asked for the chance to tell her side. She said, "I am asking for partnership, for the opportunity to share my story, clear the record."

Koyejo opened Choc'late Mama Cookie Co. at The Emery apartments on Sherwin Avenue in August 2025 and put about $35,000 into it. She closed it that December, about four months in, after two separate problems. Alameda County health inspectors found no food permit. The city also said that live-work zoning, which lets people both live and run a business in the same unit, bars a full food establishment.

On 17 March 2026 she told the council that complaint-driven enforcement, meaning enforcement that starts when someone complains, undermines uses that the zoning allows. Her case raises a plain question: can a would-be operator find out, before spending the money, what a zoning designation allows?

City officials also have discretion, meaning the freedom to decide case by case, and it shows up in unrelated cases. The Planning Commission, the city board that reviews proposed projects, rejected a proposed Tesla Collision Center in 2025, and the applicant withdrew. It approved a Rivian service center. In June 2026 the council unanimously granted Rivian a three-day noise ordinance waiver, a permission to go beyond the city's noise limits, for evening mural work.

The neighbors' side of the live-work question is separate from the permitting question, and it deserves to be heard on its own terms. Brooks Jessop, a live-work tenant and housing committee member, described the building's "limitations — ventilation, trash access and lack of outdoor space," at a council meeting in October 2025. Anzhi Chiu, an artist and live-work resident, described "a constant barrage of loud music, parties, and pop ups". Those are the kind of complaints that complaint-driven enforcement responds to, and a published rule would not make them go away.

Sources: The E'ville Eye, Choc'late Mama proprietor seeking relief, Citizen Portal, artists and tenants urge council to protect live-work spaces, Citizen Portal, neighbors and artists defend Choc'late Mama Cookie Co., The E'ville Eye, 17 March 2026 council meeting recap, The E'ville Eye, 16 June 2026 City Council recap, evilleeye.com

Reports residents filed that the city never marked as received, most of them in the catch-all category

Emeryville · 3603-3611 Peralta Street, 6401 Shellmound Street, 5759-5799 Doyle Street, 5890 Christie Avenue · raised since October 2024

SeeClickFix is the website and phone app where Emeryville residents send reports to the city. Each report gets a status, and a status of Open means the city has not yet marked the report as received. On 9 April 2026, a resident's SeeClickFix report about an apartment complex at 3603-3611 Peralta Street described trouble with the building's manager and said:

"She consistently ignores requests and refuses to address problems"

a resident's SeeClickFix report, 3603-3611 Peralta Street, 9 April 2026

That report is still marked open. So is a resident's SeeClickFix report, 5 May 2026, from 6401 Shellmound Street, which asked "One of the trash emptying trucks came by Artistry (6401 Shellmound) this morning again (05/05/2026) at 5:20am, and started emptying dumpsters. Is this allowed so early in the morning?" Neither tells us whether anyone looked into the problem.

Across the two years from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2026, residents filed 2,963 requests, as counted in SeeClickFix's public data for requests that belong to the City of Emeryville. Of those, 210 are marked Open and were never marked received, 256 are marked Acknowledged, 2,469 are marked Archived and 28 are marked Closed. Altogether 167 requests have been open for more than 300 days.

The census notes that most of the 210 never-acknowledged reports sit in a catch-all category called Other Issue/Concern, where residents put problems that fit nowhere else. That category received 549 reports. Of them, 167 (30%) are open, with a median age of 222 days, meaning half are older than that, and the oldest open one is dated 1 October 2024 at 1269 Peabody Lane. Other examples in the data include a resident's SeeClickFix report, 14 November 2024, about 5759-5799 Doyle Street, which said "After many complaints over many months this building is still not putting bins away." There is also a resident's SeeClickFix report, 17 July 2026, about 5890 Christie Avenue, which said "Years of weeds, leaves at 5890 Christie Ave, in front of derelict Premier Cru building". Residents use words like "for months", "again", "for years" and "every day" in 104 of the 2,963 descriptions.

In this data, "open" is the city's own status label. It covers reports marked Open and reports marked Acknowledged, which means the city marked the report as received. It does not say whether anyone visited. The descriptions are written by residents.

The city moves fast on the problems it can answer with a crew. Graffiti, the largest category at 863 reports, closes in a median of 6 days. Litter and dumping, with 559 reports, closes in a median of 4 days and only 4% of those are open. Reports in the catch-all category that do get closed take a median of 7 days. So most requests move quickly, and a smaller set sits unmarked. We do not know the reason for any individual report.

Where things stand: 466 reports, about 16% of the total, are open or acknowledged, and we have not found a public explanation of how the city decides which catch-all reports to answer.

Worth tracking

What would show movement: the 210 never-acknowledged reports getting a status, the 167 requests older than 300 days being closed or explained, and the median age of catch-all reports falling below 222 days.

Marking a report as received is a local task and not mainly a question of federal money. If staff time is the obstacle, which we do not know, a direct appropriation request, which is how a member of Congress asks Congress to fund a named local project, could cover part or all of the cost. The office could also ask the city, in a public letter, how it handles reports that fit no category. Some problems in the data involve other governments, such as State Route 123 along San Pablo Avenue, which is a state highway, and the office can help residents find the right agency through casework.

How the city sorts its reports is Emeryville's call, made with the people who file them. The office would work with the city rather than arrive with a list. If you filed a report and never heard back, tell us what you would put first.

Sources: SeeClickFix report 21431375, 9 April 2026, SeeClickFix report 21636198, 5 May 2026, SeeClickFix report 17889693, 14 November 2024, SeeClickFix report 22271056, 17 July 2026, SeeClickFix public data