David Brenkus wants to be regarded as the face of the city. And he is.

Both of them.

His narrative is that he is a hapless victim in a San Francisco housing market gone wild. He’s been a renter at his place for 34 years, and now that a local family has bought the house, he’s being evicted. He says he’s a photographer and artist who is fighting the ouster because “I’m going to be a poster child for a city under attack. I’m digging in my heels because I saw it as a way of doing my part.”

It sounds like a noble narrative. But Brenkus is also that other guy.

He’s paying $365 a month for a two-bedroom apartment in the pleasant, tree-lined Duboce Triangle neighborhood, where two-bedroom units are advertised for $5,550. The new owners have offered him $80,000 to vacate (plus $50,000 for his roommate), but he’s turned it down. He’s hinting he’d listen to a higher offer.

And now he’s enlisted the help of the firebrand advocacy group Eviction Free San Francisco, whose battle cry is: “Whose homes? Our homes! No more speculation, no more evictions.”

It didn’t take long for the situation to get ugly. Eviction Free has staged three demonstrations, the most recent last Saturday. One was an hour-long protest with drums and banners in front of the building while the new owners, Ish and Emma Harshawat, were at home with their newborn daughter, Maya.

And the other two were at the de Young Museum, where Emma Harshawat is a curator.

It is, of course, an irresistible narrative: Museum curator evicts artist.

It is also cynical as hell.

Back to Gallery S.F. rent wars: When the tenant is the bully 4 1 of 4 Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle 2 of 4 Photo: Photos courtesy of Ish Harshawat, Special to The Chronicle 3 of 4 Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle 4 of 4 Photo: Photos courtesy of Ish Harshawat, Special to The Chronicle







“They released the cell phone numbers of Ish and I,” Emma Harshawat said. “I feel that’s a very violating thing to do in terms of privacy. We began receiving several calls a day, most respectful but some abusive. At the Oct. 17 demonstration (at the de Young) my picture was paraded around. My name was on a banner.”

Now, there are speculators in San Francisco who are taking advantage of families and residents. And there’s a need for advocacy groups that fight those greedy developers and try to keep long-term renters in their units.

But this ain’t that.

Fighter for justice?

Brenkus is painting himself as a courageous soldier in a battle for the soul of the city, but what he’s really doing is gaming the system. The Harshawats bought the building in 2013 with Ish’s parents, who intend to move into the downstairs unit. The Harshawats asked Brenkus to leave and offered a tidy sum for his trouble. After months of fruitless negotiations, the Harshawats reluctantly filed for eviction under the state Ellis Act. Legally, that’s the end of the story.

“It’s this self-entitled expectation that you have this God-given right to live here forever because you came here 30 years ago,” said Andrew Zachs, the Harshawats’ attorney. “That’s not how it works. Renters pay, they stay in a place and when the lease is up, they give it back.”

Pinning down Brenkus is an exercise in frustration. He says he has doubts that Ish Harshawat’s parents are going to live in the unit full time. He shows off the extensive work he’s done in the basement, creating a wood shop, a gallery and a storage area — “I’m Mr. Value-added,” he says — and he insists that he only wants to reach a reasonable compromise.

And none of that is relevant. The grandparents don’t have to live in the unit for an Ellis eviction, Zachs says. And neither do Emma and Ish Harshawat, although they are living there, and intend to make it their home.

In fact, Zachs says, a new owner doesn’t have to move in. An Ellis eviction requires only that the unit either be taken off the market for five years or be rented during that time for the original rate. In this case, that would be $365 a month, which isn’t going to happen.

And all the work Brenkus did upgrading the cellar? Putting up drywall was nice, but it doesn’t give you claim to the unit. You’re still just the renter.

As for what a compromise might be, Brenkus is vague. At one point he suggested more money. He also suggested, “Maybe I could continue to live here.”

But for all his entreaties for the two sides to “just keep talking,” this isn’t about finding common ground. This is about using the affordable-housing crisis as a pretext for bullying a couple who bought a home, fair and square, where they want to live and raise their daughter.

It doesn’t take much reading between the lines to hear the warnings. Brenkus ping-pongs between antieviction catch phrases — “There is a cultural divide in the city, and the old culture is getting forced out” — and barely concealed menace.

Ish Harshawat, Brenkus said, “could save himself a lot of trouble that is potentially coming his way.”

Told that sounded like a threat, he said, “I retract the statement. I do not mean to threaten him in any way.”

‘More protests’ ahead

But a few moments later he said, “They are bothered now by many protests. But if I continue, there will be more protests, and it will be unpleasant. I’m not going to make it easy.”

So maybe it is time for a reality check. Asked how he made a living, Brenkus didn’t have a straight answer. He does a little carpentry and odd jobs. He admits he hasn’t sold any photographs for some time.

“The idea that this guy is some sort of an artist?” Zachs said. “Try to find him on the Internet. I don’t see him as someone adding to the artistic fiber of the city.”

Frankly, Brenkus’ greatest asset was a sweetheart rent-controlled apartment. He had a great run with it for 34 years, but now the numbers don’t add up.

“As far as I can tell, he doesn’t work,” Zachs said. “He can’t afford to live here. And you don’t have a right to be here just because you came here 34 years ago.”

All that back and forth, while interesting, probably doesn’t affect how this will play out. The Ellis eviction takes a year, and since it was filed in February, Brenkus will be in his apartment until then.

“And then,” he said, “we go to court.”

Infuriating as it might seem, the Harshawats may find that raising the amount they’re offering to get Brenkus to leave might actually be cost effective, compared with a long legal battle. The Ellis Act says the new owner must pay $5,000 for relocation, and Zachs says Brenkus is claiming a disability, which adds another $3,500.

The Harshawats have already offered 10 times that, and they may have to go higher. If so, expect Brenkus to claim a victory for tenant rights.

“The fact of the matter is, when you buy a house the tenants come with it,” Brenkus said. “They got what they paid for.”

And a whole lot more.

C.W. Nevius is a San Francisco Chronicle staff columnist. His columns appear Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail: cwnevius@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cwnevius