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San Francisco luxury apartment residents catch contractor stealing on camera

Daniel Dahan, a resident of 33 Tehama, attempts to retrieve a package from the building. Residents of 33 Tehama were supposed to move back in after flooding, but the building has closed again and residents are unable to access their belongings. | Juliana Yamada/The Standard

Residents of the luxury SoMa highrise 33 Tehama have caught a contractor stealing from their home on camera.

Developer Hines said in an email it was their "utmost priority" to keep resident’s belongings safe and the contractor who was caught stealing was immediately fired.

“It has come to our attention that on Aug. 15, a contractor who was making repairs in one of the units at 33 Tehama was recorded taking items from the unit. This contractor was terminated immediately,” a Hines spokesperson said in a statement.

It comes as other allegations of theft surfaced on social media, including claims of stolen bikes.

Hines said they have removed contractors’ access to resident’s homes as they form a plan on increasing security measures, including installation of video cameras to watch contractors working in apartments.

“There are very few allegations of other issues with security in the units,” Hines spokesperson said. “While we haven’t confirmed the validity of these allegations yet, we have temporarily removed all contractor access to resident units while we work on a solution to increase security measures.”

The building is currently undergoing repairs after it flooded for a second time since June on Aug, 10, forcing residents into hotels and seeing their access to mail and their homes blocked by Hines while repairs are carried out.

Building management say residents may not be able to move back into the 35-floor tower until 2023 due to the repairs associated with the repeat flooding incidents.

Hines says the repairs include electrical systems, elevators, safety, communications systems, walls, corridors, lighting, ceilings and flooring throughout homes and common areas. The full extent and cost of the damage is unknown.

Garrett Leahy can be reached at garrett@sfstandard.com