WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!

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November 8, 2012

AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE RESIDENTS OF 2913 SOUTH FLOWER STREET

Dear Developers, City Officials and Members of the General Public,

This letter is meant to express one simple intention: we will not leave our community without a fight.

We are the residents of the neighborhood known as “University Park” and the building located at 2913 South Flower Street. What we would like for you to know about us is that we know what it is to be a community. With the length of time that we have lived in this building, between 15 and 35 years, we have managed to create friendship, security and trust amongst ourselves. Amongst us, we are never without a safe place to leave our children in time of emergency or a pair of hands that are ready to help. Among our children, we notice that the community which we have created together offers them more than just a sense of security but also healthy social development that includes mutual respect, companionship, and a strong self-esteem. Moreover, among the young students who, several years ago, began living among us, we see a good example for our children. We are part of the neighborhood and the neighborhood is a part of us. Everything we need is within a short distance: work, schools, and transportation. For these reasons we love our community and we will defend our right to live in it.

The changes and the development of the land are evident; our community is not the same as it was five years ago.  Today, what we see through our windows are new luxury buildings, a glorified train which will one day reach the sea, cranes and more cranes, little by little enveloping us. Recently, a group representing a local developer began knocking on our doors, offering us money to leave our homes. We recognize that the immense value that exists within these walls for us does not exist in the development plans of ICON, USC, Palmer, AEG, or even in the plans of the City. For this reason, we wish to make the following very clear: We demand people oriented development. We demand to be included in the development plans because WE WILL NOT BE MOVED.

In closing, we welcome development, and all the benefits that go with it- these benefits belong to us too- however, we do not welcome development that displaces families and destroys communities. We will not stand for it. We will defend our rights, our community, and our homes to the very end.  There is NO PRICE that is worth our stability – emotional, physical, economic and social. We repeat: WE WILL NOT BE BOUGHT.

LA CAN and Play Fair at Farmers Field Announces Lawsuit Against State of California

Footage of the entire press conference held last week to announce the lawsuit against the of California challenging the constitutionality of the law that granted special privileges for the Farmers Field and Convention Center modification project.

The lawsuit follows the adamant opposition of the members of the Play Fair at Farmers Field Coalition to SB 292, viewing it as an unnecessary and unfair attack on the community protections provided by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). A project of this size will have enormous environmental and other health impacts on surrounding communities, and a robust and constitutionally valid process is crucial to protecting community health. The health of more than 260,000 people living in the zip codes surrounding the site is at stake.

See below for news coverage of the lawsuit announcement:

LA CAN on KPFK Radio

Last week, LA CAN’s General Dogon was on KPFK Radio discussing the ongoing LA CAN, Occupy LA, and Occupy the Hood Los Angeles siege against the Central City Association, mouthpiece of the 1% and a leading force of gentrification of Downtown Los Angeles.

Listen to the show:

LA CAN and Play Fair Farmers Field on KNBC4

KPCC Covers the Release of the Play Fair at Farmers Field Health Impact Assessment

This morning, LA CAN and Play Fair at Farmers Field Coalition, which includes Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Comunidad Presente, and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, held a press conference to release a Health Impact Assessment report on how the proposed Farmers Field and Convention Center Project would affect local, primarily low-income residents. The report, compiled by Human Impact Partners in conjunction with a panel of residents who live in South Park, Pico-Union, and Downtown LA, includes data and research on how the stadium may potentially negatively impact the surrounding community due to, for example, housing displacement and increased traffic. It also includes recommendations on how AEG and the city can mitigate negative impacts.
For more information, or to read the report, you can visit the Play Fair at Farmers Field blog.

The release of the report was covered by KPCC’s Brian Watt.

via KPCC:

Study: The downside of Farmers Field
by Brian Watt

A new study highlights the potential negative impacts of AEG’s proposed football stadium for downtown Los Angeles. Human Impact Partners conducted the study, with the support of a coalition that includes the Los Angeles Community Action Network, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, and Physicians for Social Responsibility–Los Angeles.

The study focuses on the stadium development’s displacement and housing affordability, employment, public safety, and access to open space.

Becky Dennison of the Los Angeles Community Action Network says recent history has shown the development could reduce affordable housing in surrounding neighborhoods.

“We looked at the data from 2000-2010 as Staples Center came on line and then later L.A. Live,” Dennison says. “The race and demographic information in these communities shifted substantially toward upper income, much whiter population and folks were really pushed out of these communities.”

Anschutz Entertainment Group released a draft environmental impact report on the proposal known as Farmers Field. It maintains the stadium wouldn’t likely reduce affordable housing in the Pico Union neighborhood. But Dennison argues that report fails to consider housing losses in nearby parts of downtown and South Los Angeles.

LA CAN Concludes 7-Day Siege at the CCA Headquarters

On Monday, June 4th, LA CAN concluded its 7-Day siege at the Headquarters of the Central City Association with marches, rallying cries and a clear message: “CCA, YOUR COPS WON’T SCARE US AWAY!”

Over the past decade, the CCA, the power business lobby in Downtown LA, has been one of the strongest advocates for increased policing and the criminalization of homelessness and poverty downtown. This has made them one of the major foes of poor and homeless residents who have been fighting to preserve their right to exist in a community that many have called home long before the lofts and art galleries that now line Spring and Main.

This most recent action was planned and executed by LA CAN, Occupy LA, and Occupy the Hood L.A. in response to CCA’s successful push to get LAPD to add 50 additional officers to downtown. This is on top of the over 100 uniformed and undercover cops that came to Skid Row in 2006 as part of the Safer Cities Initiative, which was backed heavily by the CCA.

For 7 straight days and nights, over 50 folks camped out in from the the CCA offices located at 626Wilshire Blvd. In the mornings, the groups rallied, passed out fliers to people on their way to work, and maintained a continual visual presence that let CCA know that residents of downtown will not stand idly by as big business and the LAPD attempts to remove their civil and human rights.

For more photos of the action, you can view a slideshow HERE.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: An LA CAN Week in Review

Last week LA CAN organized numerous actions and events across the state that received a lot of media coverage. Here is a quick review of just some of the highlights of a busy and successful week.

Play Fair Farmers Field

On May 16, residents from Downtown LA, Pico-Union, and South LA testified at a public meeting on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed stadium and Convention Center project. Although the hearing was largely filled with boosters who have direct ties to AEG (the developer of the project), community members spoke powerfully about the potential negative impacts that a stadium might have on the community, including gentrification, increased policing, housing displacement, and increased traffic. Another one of the main issues brought up by residents was the lack of sufficient time – 45 days – that the public had to read and analyze the 10,000 page EIR.

The event was covered by a number of outlets. LA CAN’s Pete White was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying “The current and unrealistic 45-day comment period insists that residents and stakeholders read, digest and analyze nine pages per hour, 24 hours per day, starting the day the EIR was released up until comments are due. This is an unrealistic expectation and raises many due process concerns.”

Also covering the event were KPCC, The OC Register, and the Associated Press. In addition, the Natural Resources Defense Council, who early on backed the stadium project, has come out and said that the stadium EIR failed to fully analyze the increased traffice-related health impacts that the stadium would have on the community. They’ve called on AEG to redraft and recirculate the EIR.

Women’s Day in the Park

Last Friday the Downtown Women’s Action Coalition it’s 11th Annual Women’s Day in the Park. The event was covered by ABC7, Spanish TV networks, as well as local media/blogs, like Blogdowntown.

Camping Ban

LA CAN’s Becky Dennison was quoted in the Los Angeles Times last week as saying that the proposed City Hall camping ban is “such a waste of legislative time.” The ban would prohibit sleeping bags, hammocks and bed rolls at City Hall. It is direct response to Occupy LA and in anticipation of the reopening of the City Hall lawn this month. Dennison was specifically speaking to the redundancy of the ordinance since camping is already banned in city parks.

Hunger Action Day

On May 17, members of LA CAN joined over 300 residents from across the state for Hunger Action Day. Hunger Action Day is an annual lobby and advocacy day organized by the California Hunger Action Coalition that provides the opportunity for communities to travel to their State Capitol to push their elected representatives to support and vote  for statewide policies that increase food security and nutrition.

Dale Garrett

Last week Our Weekly published a piece covering LA CAN’s May 10 Action and Vigil to Stop Police Murders which was held in remembrance of LAPD slain community member Dale Garrett.

Images, Footage and Coverage of May 10 Action to Stop Police Murders

 

 

STOP POLICE MURDERS! THIS Thursday in Memory of the One Year Anniversary of the LAPD Killing of Dale Garrett

We the community residents of Downtown Los Angeles will be hosting a vigil to stop the rising numbers of police killings and murders of primarily young black men across the country. We will gather on this specific date to remember the one year anniversary of the fatal police shooting of community member Dale Garrett.  From the killing of Garrett last year to the shooting and death of 19 year-old Kendrec McDade in Pasadena last month, officer involved killings are on the rise across the country. We are calling for an immediate stop to this epidemic. We hold this vigil to remember that no matter the police are here to protect us and not kill us. We all have the right to due process under the law and not by the tip of a gun. Join your community to raise our loved ones and lift our voices.

Join us THIS Thursday, May 10 at 12:00pm at the Southwest Corner of 5th and Spring St.

Public Housing Residents from the LA Human Right to Housing Collective File $8 Million Class Action Lawsuit Against Housing Authority

As the LA Times and others reported today, LA Human Right to Housing Collective members filed suit against the Housing Authority  for refusing to reimburse tenants for four years of trash fees paid unjustly.  Western Center on Law and Poverty and other co-counsel are representing the tenants in the suit.  Under federal regulations, the tenants should have received a rent credit for the fast-growing fees.  Although the Housing Authority has implemented the credit as of March 1, 2012 after months of tenant organizing, they refuse to compensate tenants for past fees.

The Housing Collective has a public housing subcommittee, comprised of members of LA CAN, POWER and Union de Vecinos, with 8 of the City’s 14 housing developments represented.  Emma Gullette, from LA CAN’s Pueblo del Rio tenant committee, is a plaintiff in the suit and is quoted in the Times article below.  She and Marco Gallindo were selected by the Housing Collective subcommittee to represent all of the affected tenants.

The Los Angeles Times article is reprinted here:

L.A. faces lawsuit over trash fees charged to low-income tenants

Nonprofit groups contend that residents in 14 Los Angeles housing projects are owed $8 million.It’s the latest headache involving the city’s housing authority.

By David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times March 21, 2012

Three nonprofit groups that represent low-income families intend to file a class action lawsuit alleging that thousands of tenants in Los Angeles housing projects were improperly charged for trash removal by the city.

The lawsuit, slated to be filed Wednesday, contends that residents in 14 housing projects are owed $8 million for payments they made over the last four years.

The Western Center on Law and Poverty, working with two other advocacy groups, said residents at Jordan Downs, Ramona Gardens and a dozen other locations signed leases that identified “rubbish removal” as a service covered by the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles. In recent years, tenants have been paying as much as $24.33 a month for that service, said attorney Navneet Grewal.

“Twenty-four dollars can make a huge difference for families who are low-income,” Grewal said. “It’s medical co-pay. It’s food. It’s groceries for a few days. It’s school supplies.”

The lawsuit is the latest headache for the housing authority, which relies on federal funds and has a board selected by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The board drew fire last year for lavish spending practices by agency employees and for giving a $1.2-million payout to fired top executive Rudolf Montiel. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is conducting an inquiry into allegations that former board members violated conflict-of-interest laws and were reimbursed twice for the same expense.

On Monday, two men pleaded guilty to charges that they participated in a bid-rigging scheme involving their brother, a former housing authority official who is described by federal authorities as a fugitive.

Managing Assistant City Atty. Craig Takenaka, who represents the housing authority, had no comment on the tenant allegations, saying only that the matter will be discussed by the board during an upcoming closed-door meeting. Last month, the agency rejected the tenants’ reimbursement claim.

The case comes three months after the City Council tentatively settled a separate class-action lawsuit dealing with trash pickup overbilling allegations. In that lawsuit, officials conceded that thousands of renters had been overcharged, or in some cases, improperly charged, for trash service provided by the Bureau of Sanitation.

The lawsuit was filed by Hollywood resident Lilith Chakhalyan, who found that residents in her eight-unit apartment building were being charged for city trash pickup even though the building relied on a private hauler. Renters in other buildings found they had been charged at the higher rate established for single-family homes — and were overpaying at a rate of roughly $12 a month.

Sanitation officials expect the settlement will cost $6 million, roughly one-third of which has already been paid. So far, 8,400 people have stepped forward to say they are owed money, said attorney Hovanes Margarian, who represents Chakhalyan.

“That number should be growing as people make more claims,” said Margarian, who said Sept. 6 is the deadline to submit a demand for reimbursement.

In the housing authority case, lawyers estimated that tenants have been overcharged millions of dollars since 1983. Because breach-of-contract law permits the case to cover only the last four years, tenants are seeking a smaller amount, Grewal said.

The low-income residents who occupy L.A. housing projects pay rents that are subsidized to ensure that they do not exceed 30% of income.

One plaintiff in the planned case is 65-year-old Marco Galindo, a disabled tenant at Mar Vista Gardens who said he pays $225 a month. The city’s trash fee added $17, the senior discount price, to his monthly housing bill, according to his lawyers.

Another plaintiff is Emma Gullette, a 69-year-old tenant at Pueblo del Rio in South Los Angeles. Gullette saw the housing authority’s trash fee add $24 to her monthly rent of $319 for a three-bedroom apartment.

Tenants were largely unaware of the trash fees until recent years, when they started going up dramatically, Gullette said. The fees have more than tripled over six years as Villaraigosa sought funds to hire more officers for the Police Department.

“Before it was a few dollars, and we didn’t notice it,” Gullette said. “But then the bill started getting bigger.”