Comments

1
not a dick. make those snots Pay
2
Next up he will sue cats for hissing at him and babies for crying when he steals their candy.

Seriously, it's a student newspaper and he thinks suing will stop people from telling the truth?

When my son went there those places were known drug houses.

Still are.
3
@2,

How many posts per day are you up to? Does the Stranger pay you per troll?
4
So funny. Those two slumlords have blighted our neighborhood for decades and one of them has the nerve to sue the students who have to look at that blight day in and day out?

I don't see the libel because the first statement "Drake has been accused of racist renting policies" says "has been", the next "Drake has a bad reputation among local and city officials" is true and "the Roosevelt area properties which are crack shacks and ghetto houses are properties owned by the Sisley brothers" - okay, that one is half-right but I'd like to see a real list of who owns what.

Oh, and it wasn't a crack house - they were using heroin. That I know to be true because I was asked - by the police - to walk through the squatter house by police the day they came to pick up a squatter who OD'ed.

5
Do they own that hardware store across the street and the houses with the beige-painted particle board walls? It's like a little slice of Winter's Bone in the heart of North Seattle.
6
Drake Sisley, meet the Streisand Effect.
7
If only we had ordinances to stop slum lords from ruining our city. But who could we get to pass such laws?
8
Blighting whole city blocks is form of urban warfare. Streisand effect, please.
9
Truth is always a great defense to a libel action. Seems to me the school district has a lot on its side.
10
The homes they own around the school are blighted and dangerous. I hate that my kid has to walk in the area. It seems like the kids are doing just the right thing by calling a slum lord a slum lord.
11
I remember when I called George W. Bush "the worst President in US history" in a column in my high school paper and my older brother was scared I'd get sued. I laughed at him. Not only was it protected free speech, no one is despicable enough to sue a school newspaper, I thought.
12
Drake is on record as acknowledging that well known racist felon gunrunner Keith Gilbert (google "gilbert drake sisley" for a real horror show) had managed his properties, and the school article seems to be talking about the same places Gilbert was managing. Case closed. The Sisley brothers are well known as regarding litigation as an amusing hobby, this is just another in a long line of frivolous suits.
13
He's run for office? Public figure! Please show actual malice.
14
@5: yeppers, Drake owns the hardware store across 15th from Roosevelt High.

My former landlord for several years and a true piece of work.
15
Yes, they do own R&R Hardware.
16
Wow, a Stranger writer cited an article in the SW w/ no snide comments; even did it in a positive light.

Riya must be a newbie.
17
I used to rent (indirectly, via Keith Gilbert) from Hugh in the early 90's. What lowlife they are.
A friend of mine rented in a different house (again, via Keith) years later. When Hugh saw my friend doing yard work, Hugh asked him "what are you trying to do, raise my property taxes?"
As far as them being racist? I can't speak for the Sisley's, but during my experiences with the properties Keith "managed", I can say his racism did not prevent him from taking anyones money. I have seen him rent to Blacks and Asians.
All that said, they are terrible landlords.
Oh, and that RR Hardware store: how the fuck do they make any money off it when the aisles are usually too full of crap to walk through the store?
18
Listen to Annie @13. He doesn't have a prayer of winning; to win a libel suit you have to prove that the material is false, that the writer knew it to be false, and that the intent was to harm. It's damn near impossible. This is a nuisance lawsuit, pure and simple, to try to bleed the school district.

To be fair, that sample paragraph you're quoting from the lawsuit is completely garbled; the formatting in the legal document is messed up. The doc is written in English; that paragraph is not.
19
Correction: the formatting in the legal document is NOT messed up, as the paragraph in this piece is.
20
Also, by claiming that Sisley doesn't own the properties in question, the lawsuit belongs in the trash. A simple stroll through the King County Parcel Viewer says otherwise: Hugh Sisley owns almost every building along that portion of 65th, 66th, and 15th, including the hardware store (which the city is on the verge of condemning) and all those boarded-up houses.

I think it's time to exercise eminent domain and confiscate the whole pile and put Mr. Sisley out of the property business altogether. His buildings are a blight for sure, but nothing like the blight of his own existence.
21
This guys a fucking clown, suing an already underbudget school district for his crack houses that these fucks plan on turning the slums into a massive apartment space which would diminish Roosevelt High School greatly and he says he's not involved. Sounds like a straight this fool needs to be the one sued, might learn some respect
22
@Fnarf -

"Also, by claiming that Sisley doesn't own the properties in question, the lawsuit belongs in the trash. A simple stroll through the King County Parcel Viewer says otherwise: Hugh Sisley owns almost every building along that portion of 65th, 66th, and 15th, including the hardware store (which the city is on the verge of condemning) and all those boarded-up houses."

To be fair, that's why Drake is suing, not Hugh. Drake says 'This article suggests I own these properties, I do not and that is a matter of record' (as you discovered yourself).

Why Hugh sued isn't mentioned above, but likely it's the same libel and has a far better chance of being thrown out.

Drake's case is trickier, since it would have to be proven that he is, in fact, part owner, despite the county public records.
23
I've never even wanted to walk into that hardware store. I mean...it's a HARDWARE STORE?!?!? It looks like a fucking shithole.
24
Awesome. Journalism isn't dead. And props to their teacher for letting them write something of interest.
25
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Landlords, do not risk losing a month’s rent. We can help you get your apartment rented quicker
than ever before. Our network of brokers and agents can drive a lot of prospective tenants to your listing.
You still maintain complete control as to which agency is allowed to show your listing. In as little as 2
mouse clicks, you can send a listing update to all the agencies that are showing your listing. Getting
feedbacks is never this simple. Find out what is keeping your listing from getting rented. Believe it or not,
it is completely FREE to you! http://realtywarp.com
27
Hey, yeah....
1) Definitely not racist, housed vietnamese refugees after the vietnam war
2) Drake doesn't own any of the property around Roosevelt, he does run the hardware store, doesn't own the property
3) Drake ran a boarding house, taking care of a large number of foster kids, including over ten blind people, supporting all of them back in the 60s and 70s
4) Drake was born in the Depression era, and worked tirelessly throughout high school, and college to support his family, making payments on his family's mortgage during this time, he served in the military
5) He owns some property in the udistrict, not around Roosevelt High, and chooses to work to maintain it himself, which he does, as opposed to spending frivolously, as I believe is his freedom to do so

Drake Sisley is a great man, I know him personally,
I suggest before making snide remarks, and grumbling about things you don't really know about, you have a conversation with him, and ask him about some of the things he has done with his life (no he isn't racist or mean, his sense of humor involves a lot of puns)

As for the lawsuit, I don't know what will happen, but there is no doubt that the information in that article is in fact slanderous, and has caused Drake serious stress, as he values his reputation very highly
28
Hey, yeah....
1) Definitely not racist, housed vietnamese refugees after the vietnam war
2) Drake doesn't own any of the property around Roosevelt, he does run the hardware store, doesn't own the property
3) Drake ran a boarding house, taking care of a large number of foster kids, including over ten blind people, supporting all of them back in the 60s and 70s
4) Drake was born in the Depression era, and worked tirelessly throughout high school, and college to support his family, making payments on his family's mortgage during this time, he served in the military
5) He owns some property in the udistrict, not around Roosevelt High, and chooses to work to maintain it himself, which he does, as opposed to spending frivolously, as I believe is his freedom to do so

Drake Sisley is a great man, I know him personally,
I suggest before making snide remarks, and grumbling about things you don't really know about, you have a conversation with him, and ask him about some of the things he has done with his life (no he isn't racist or mean, his sense of humor involves a lot of puns)

As for the lawsuit, I don't know what will happen, but there is no doubt that the information in that article is in fact slanderous, and has caused Drake serious stress, as he values his reputation very highly
29
I live in the neighborhood and have spoken with Drake Sisley. Sorry, but he doesn't come across as a very nice guy, even while doing business with him at R&R Hardware. Suing the SPS over an article that a teenager wrote just confims my opinion.
30
While Drake can be somewhat of a sweet old guy in my personal experience, the property I rented was poorly constructed and maintained. It seemed my roommates and I had him out to fix something at least once a week during our 9 month lease. Even an amatuer can tell you Drake and his brother have very little knowledge of legal building standards and electrical. The cable guy pointed out the wires in the walls were a type that should only be used outdoors; heavily insulated and so far from the normal indoor wire even I was shocked to see what was behind the wall. There were so many things wrong with the home we rented, I could go on all night but I won't. All I can suggest is that the renter beware!!

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