The family home of Olympic freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu in San Francisco’s affluent Sea Cliff neighborhood is to be reconsidered after piles of discarded furniture and household items prompted complaints from nearby residents.
The street that covered the debris outside the family’s 25th Avenue building on Tuesday was reported to have a sofa, mattress, broken furniture, clothes, books, medicine bottles and other household items.
The pile was so wide that it blocked the fire extinguisher from view.
The complaint was sent through the city’s 311 system Monday evening.
The next morning, a Recology employee came to inspect the scene but reportedly did not find the planned van.
After getting no answer at the door, the employee initially refused to remove the items.
Neighbor Ira Glick, a Stanford academic, told the San Francisco Standard that he tried to contact the Gu family after hearing that no one had answered.
Eileen Gu’s mother, Yan Gu, denied the idea that the family simply dumped things on the side of the road.
He told the SF Standard that he moved the goods outside around 01:00 and carefully packed them in about 20 boxes, which he covered in case of rain.
Yan Gu said he was shocked to find the contents strewn on the side of the road and blamed scavengers or what he called “cruel people” for ripping up the pile.
He also said that someone took out a shirt with his daughter’s name on it, which he saw as a deliberate act.
According to Yan Gu, the truck was already on its way on Tuesday afternoon to take out the goods.
The incident happened after a tense situation between the family and other neighbors.
Glick said the Gu family recently hired a gardener and had a dispute with another resident about property boundaries.
One neighbor told the SF Standard that he had not spoken to the family in four or five years following a dispute over the newly installed road.
Yan Gu, on the other hand, accused the neighbor of keeping the changing weather that lights up his home like a “disco ball,” forcing the family to close the curtains.
City records show Gu’s property has faced numerous complaints over the years.
The April 28 complaint said the home had problems with neglect, overgrowth and garbage problems that attracted rodents and birds, although a city inspector found no building code violations the next day.
The property also had sewage complaints in January 2024. Inspection records describe stagnant, bubbling sewage in the back yard before a contractor cleaned up the property and agreed to obtain permits for permanent repairs.
In a separate matter, the home was named in a lawsuit filed Jan. 28 in San Francisco Superior Court.
Plaintiff Adolfo Avila Chavez claims he was seriously injured while doing gardening work in the area in July 2024 after falling from a 10-meter ramp that was improperly placed.
The lawsuit names Yan Gu and contractor Hector Alvarez as defendants.
According to the complaint, Alvarez was an unlicensed and uninsured contractor who hired Avila Chavez and failed to provide safety equipment.
The lawsuit alleges that the fall resulted in permanent injuries.
Built in 1925, the Sea Cliff home has been the subject of neighborhood complaints and city inquiries for more than a decade.
No defendant has filed an answer.
Although born and raised in San Francisco, Gu competes with China around the world.
She is the most decorated female free skater in Olympic history, with a record total of six Olympic medals (3 Gold, 3 Silver).
