San Pablo seniors gathered in their walkers and wheelchairs in the rain Wednesday to protest the closure of Brookdale Senior Living Facility, saying workers knew since March that they weren’t renewing their lease but waited until now to let them know.
“This is my family being disrupted and they’re telling me I’ve got to go,” said 73-year-old Vince Dunn. He said that staff told the tight knit community just before Thanksgiving that they have until the end of January to move out.
“They threw us under the bus,” said Dunn. “Shot us to the curb.”
Toni Gardner, 95, thought she’d spend the rest of her life at Brookdale but her family is now rushing to move her out. They managed to get the last spot at another facility for $1,500 more a month.
“We all have to find a place for our parents to go our family members to go there are limited facility in the Bay Area so this lead to a rush of people running around,” said Garder’s family member.
Brookdale is pointing fingers at the building owners. They’ve filed a lawsuit claiming the owners refused to find a new operator and are the ones forcing the residents to leave.
The owners however, say Brookdale didn’t want to renew their lease, even at a lower rent and didn’t want to buy the building. They claim they couldn’t find another operator willing go take-over so they’re selling the property.
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“Hell no, we won’t go,” said Dunn, who pledged to stay put despite the impending closure. He said seniors shouldn’t be treated like throw-aways. “They should treat us better than this. We’re old folks. We’ve all contributed to society in many ways.”
