Cities are complicated. Los Angeles is no exception. There’s no way any one person can give a complete picture of this place, but this blog is my attempt to cover as much as possible.
There’s so much to talk about. The city is growing, but so much development is strictly about profit for investors. Our water resources are going away, and we’re going to be facing some hard choices in the near future. More and more people are living on the street, and housing prices are sky high. But even with all this going on, the city is still overflowing with film, art and music. And there are people all over LA who are knocking themselves out to make it a better place to live.
Always happy to get comments, positive or negative. And you can reach me by e-mail at….
thehorizonandtheskyline@gmail.com
The image of Hollywood and the downtown skyline was taken by photographer William Reagh in 1991. It comes from the Los Angeles Public Library’s on-line archives.
The Horizon and the Skyline 
— Families Fighting Mass Eviction Deliver Demands to Property Management
PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Leilanie Sashae – Resident and Media Spokesperson
1625 S. Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019
Mobile: (818) 626 – 1835
Email: 1625Crenshaw@gmail..com
https://www.facebook.com/rtacla
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Families Fighting Mass Eviction Deliver Demands to Power Property Management
What: Tenants deliver demands to Power Property Management, hold rally & press conference
When: Thursday, May 21, 10:30am
Where: 11295 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA. 90230
May 20, 2015 — When Lafayette Square Apt., LLC – owned by Las Vegas millionaire real estate tycoon Haskel Iny – purchased the 43 unit apartment complex on 1625 Crenshaw BIvd. in historic Arlington Heights, the new owner’s first action was to serve “notices to vacate” to all the residents during the holidays. The apartment has a vibrant community of elderly, veterans, disabled, college students, single mothers, and mostly African American families who are being forcibly evicted and face daily harassment by Power Property Management.
72 year old Francis Bell has lived in the apartment complex for 22 years. She still finds herself shocked that this is happening to her. “I’ve worked with homeless people. I never imagined that one day I would find myself being a working senior citizen on the verge of becoming homeless myself. I’m becoming the very same people that I serve as part of my job.” Tanya Rhodes is a retired nurse who has also been a tenant for more than two decades. Rhodes received a spinal injury in a car accident almost ten years ago. “Since arthritis has set in I’ve become immobile. I can’t get around much, let alone pack boxes. I’ve felt secure in my apartment all these years but now I’m supposed to just get up and leave everything behind and do it all by myself all of a sudden. I can’t find a safe place to live that I can afford. I believe in God and in my neighbors to fight this injustice.”
36 of the remaining residents have signed petitions and delivered letters to the new owner describing the difficulties and costs of finding a new place, and to reconsider the evictions. The owner has ignored all requests for communication, even by Los Angeles City Council and district rep President Herb Wesson. “We’ve had no luck up to this point getting directly in contact with the owner,” said Wesson.
This Thursday residents will be going directly to Power Property Management, which manages 1625 Crenshaw for Haskel Iny’s company, to give their demands in person and request negotiations. Residents such as Bell, Rhodes and other tenants, will join a contingent of renters to stand up to Power Property and Lafayette Square Apt. LLC. face-to-face.
The residents of 1625 Crenshaw are demanding that Haskel Iny, Lafayette Square Apt., LLC and Power Property Management be held responsible for making right the damage they have caused to the tenants, their families and their neighbors. They demand a year and a half time to find new housing and move out, relocation assistance equal to what residents in a rent controlled apartment would receive (between $10,000 and $20,000 for most residents), an end to harassment from Power Property Management staff, and repairs to the building. Residents also demand changes to the law to extend renters’ protections, defend affordable housing and make housing a human right.
The residents of 1625 Crenshaw are not alone. “Some 64,000 to 73,000 people are evicted in LA. each year — a population equal to that of Redondo Beach,” according to LA Weekly journalist Hillel Aron. In addition, according to a UCLA study, the cost of living in Los Angeles has increased 25% since the year 2000 while household incomes have declined, leaving Los Angeles with the least affordable rental market in the United States. Being priced out of homes from Los Angeles is an all too common experience. The families at 1625 Crenshaw Blvd. wish to provide an alternative to living further away from the their jobs, community, and families — and challenge their landlord who values profits instead of vibrant communities.
Join us on Thursday!
LINKS
Eviction No! Community Yes!
https://vimeo.com/127866529
Photo albums & videos
Twitter
@1625Crenshaw
#1625Crenshaw
PRESS APPEARANCES
Rent Price Hike at Building in Crenshaw District Forces Some Longtime Residents to Move
KCBS Channel 2 & KCAL Channel 9
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/05/18/rent-price-hike-at-building-in-crenshaw-district-forces-some-longtime-residents-to-move/
As L.A.’s Rents Rise: Crenshaw Tenants Battle Eviction
Lovell Estell III, Capitol and Main
http://capitalandmain.com/latest-news/issues/labor-and-economy/l-s-rents-rise-crenshaw-tenants-battle-eviction/
Boulevard Villa Tenants Fight to Keep a Roof Over Their Heads
Caitlin Plummer, USC Annenberg School of Communications
Trying to Keep a Roof Over Their Heads
C. Maddren, The Horizon and the Skyline
https://horizonskyline.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/trying-to-keep-a-roof-over-their-heads/
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