According to an opinion piece in The San Francisco Examiner, “Kinokuniya Bookstores of America has refused to respond to any of its tenants’ attempts to negotiate rent.” Rafu notes that day-to-day management of all Kinokuniya Bookstore properties was taken over by Davis Property Management in 2018. Meanwhile, due to communication breakdowns with one of the two Japan Center landlords - Kinokuniya Bookstores - business owners are still unable to contact them. themselves hampered by mortgage and other loan repayments - to avail themselves of hardship protections.” Rafu reports that Supervisor Dean Preston of District 5 (including Chinatown) and Supervisor Aaron Peskin of District 3 (including Japantown) are “calling for longer-term relief small businesses until Decemto make good on back rent. But the severe decline in business due to COVID-19 have increasingly forced business owners to scale back operation hours and employment.
The 60-day extension allows many of these businesses to breathe a temporary sigh of relief, as rent payments are deferred once again. The executive order gives local governments authority to “continue banning commercial evictions of tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic until the end of March 2021.”Īccording to KQED, “Mayor London Breed has now extended the until November 30, 2020.” This follows an updated report of the original moratorium which was set to expire at the end of September.
The SF Chronicle reports that Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on September 23rd in an attempt to aid California’s small businesses. Merchants in Japan Center, the indoor mall built in the 1960s adjacent to the iconic Peace Pagoda, are among some of the most worried over their businesses’ longevity. Several San Francisco Japantown businesses are in dire need of help to avoid being evicted for inability to pay rent, Rafu Shimpo reports. Japan Center Mall Photo by Dan Ryan via Flickr Creative Commons