Lincoln Place – a month of heartache, anger and
determination
By Jim
Smith
A grinch named AIMCO stole
Christmas - and Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Solstice and New Years - last month at
Lincoln Place. Instead of snug apartments festooned with holiday trees, lights
and decorations, Lincoln Place in December resembled a ghost town, patrolled
only by security guards.
Sheriffs and Marshals knocked on 52 doors,
beginning at 8am on Dec. 6, and gave residents only two minutes to get out of
their apartments. New locks were placed on doors and windows were screwed down.
Some tenants forgot their medications, including one who left her insulin shots
behind. Another tenant had to beg security to release her cat who had been left
in the apartment in the rush to heed the threat of guards and armed marshals.
At press time, the Battle for Lincoln
Place continued to be a stand-off between residents and Denver-based landlord
AIMCO (Apartment Investment and Management Company), but one that is much more
painful for those who have been forcibly removed from their homes. On the other
hand, AIMCO is unable to build the 800 - 1,000 luxury condos it plans due to the
historic status of the 30-acre garden apartments. AIMCO’s hopes of ever
being able to build at Lincoln Place may have received a fatal blow by the anger
it’s needless evictions roused in the Venice community and among political
leaders.
The largest single number of
evictions in one day in Los Angeles history came in spite of personal telephoned
pleas by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilmember Bill Rosendahl to AIMCO
CEO Terry Considine not to order evictions during the holiday period.
AIMCO and 104 law enforcement
officials used the roof top parking lot of neighboring Staples as their command
center. Here the marshals, sheriffs and the LAPD reviewed their plans for
driving 80 people out of their homes at the behest of the corporate landlord.
The Staples manager denied any knowledge of their presence until informed by a
Beachhead reporter.
On the day of the
evictions, tenants and supporters gathered at Elkgrove Avenue and Lake Street
with picket signs. L.A. City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl visited the gathering,
but was unable to do anything to help the newly homeless. Rosendahl, whose
council district includes Venice, called the evictions “a travesty, an
injustice, and a great shame.” Plans were laid for a 24-hour a day vigil
and tent city until the evictions are
lifted.
That same evening tenants and
community supporters protested at a Marina del Rey Middle School where
Villaraigosa and Rosendahl were meeting with Del Rey homeowners. During his
talk, Villaraigosa bragged that the city’s affordable housing trust fund
is fully funded, for the first time, with $100 million. He also promised a
referendum to establish a one billion dollar housing fund. Later, during a
question and answer session, the Mayor called on some Lincoln Place evictees who
were standing in the back of the room holding protest signs. Hector Rivera told
him he had moved to Lincoln Place from the inner city after his brother-in-law
was killed in gang violence. Now, he and his family would be forced back into
the inner city.
The mayor then ran
into trouble when he said that the tenants had rejected a negotiated agreement
with AIMCO that his office had brokered. This triggered a storm of shouts of
“not true,” and “AIMCO’s lying.” Spike Marlin, who
takes care of his aged mother, Frieda Marlin, at Lincoln Place, responded loudly
and eloquently, that AIMCO’s offer was a trick. AIMCO said it would allow
tenants to continue living in a section of Lincoln Place while all but 240
apartments were torn down and replaced by luxury condos. But if any tenant
challenged AIMCO’s building plans - or anyone in the community for that
matter - the deal was off and the tenants were out in the street. Villaraigosa
was visibly shaken, and made a dash for the door a few minutes
later.
The following week, about 50
evictees and supporters went downtown to speak to the L.A. City Council. The
obviously sympathetic council gave the group 65 minutes of public comment time
to discuss their plight. The council then went into closed session and
afterwards two motions were passed unanimously in public session. The first
called for AIMCO to return to the bargaining table. The second motion directed
various city departments to conduct a sweeping review of the state Ellis Act,
and make recommendations for state legislative reform. The Ellis Act allows
landlords to go out of the rental business and thereby evict tenants. Many
believe that AIMCO, the largest landlord in the country, is misusing the law in
order to clear out the tenants.
A
certain amount of dissatisfaction with the lack of strong action from political
leaders has developed among Lincoln Place activists. The main target of
dissatisfaction is City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo who has consistently refused
to hold AIMCO to conditions imposed by the city council which include no
evictions. A protest was held at his home and several have been held at his
downtown office, all to no avail. Also coming in for criticism are Villaraigosa
and Rosendahl, who are outwardly sympathetic to the tenants but have not adopted
strong measures for their return to their
homes.
There is growing support for
action on Eminent Domain (see last month’s Beachhead, page 4) in which the
city would take over Lincoln Place for the “public good.” Eminent
Domain is usually used against tenants and home owners, but in this case could
be used on their behalf. The “public good” would include saving and
opening 696 units of affordable and historic housing that would otherwise be
destroyed. It would also save and restore about 150 families from being thrown
out of their homes.
Lincoln Place has
been a major source of affordable housing in Venice for the past 55 years. At
one time, 800 units stood in the garden-like environment behind Raphs Market.
Some were bulldozed, allegedly without permits, a couple of years ago. Of the
nearly 700 remaining apartments, most stand empty because AIMCO has refused to
rent them in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. After today’s
evictions, only disabled residents and seniors remain. They are scheduled to be
evicted in March.
Meanwhile, the
evictees refuse to go quietly into the night. The tent city (a symbolic, not an
actual encampment) at California Avenue and Frederick Street, a block east of
Lincoln Blvd., continues to thrive with tenants and community supporters
staffing it round the clock.
Upcoming
activities include a one-month commemoration of the evictions (six more
households have been turned out since Dec. 6) and the establishment of tent
city. The tenant association has an up-to-date website,
<www.lincolnplace.net>.
A Martin
Luther King/Lincoln Place rally has been set for 1pm Monday, January 16, (the
MLK holiday) on the street next to tent city. Bill Rosendahl as well as
celebrities, ministers and community leaders will speak and local musicians will
play. “The evictions at Lincoln Place show that Dr. King’s struggle
for justice has not been completed. We intend to carry on that struggle on Jan.
16, and beyond,” said Suzanne Thompson, one of the Rally
organizers.
Posted: Wed - January 4, 2006 at 06:28 PM