By Melody Hanatani
Daily Press Staff Writer

SM COURTHOUSE — A former Santa Monica apartment hunter has filed suit against a local non-profit responsible for increasing the city’s affordable housing market, accusing it of racism and discrimination.

The offices of Svitlana E. Sangary of Brentwood filed the lawsuit on Wednesday on behalf of Alex Baldwin, a 34-year-old African-American film producer from West Los Angeles, against Community Corporation of Santa Monica, one of the largest landlords of affordable housing with about 1,200 units in the city.

The lawsuit, filed in Santa Monica Court, alleges that Community Corp. violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, as well as the state prohibition of discrimination in state-funded programs. The majority of Community Corp. housing in Santa Monica has been funded by the city.

According to Jim Kemper, senior administrative analyst in the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Division, the city has provided tens of millions of dollars in funding to Community Corp. projects in Santa Monica.

The plaintiff names Community Corp. Director of Property Management Chris Mobley, Leasing and Occupancy Manager Cindy Norton and Leasing Specialist Naomi Waka as defendants in the case.

Baldwin claims that Community Corp. prevented him from renting its apartments in an affluent part of Santa Monica, and instead tried to selectively place him in a more dangerous and less desirable area.

The complaint dates back to this summer, after Baldwin became disabled due to back surgery in February, leaving him without a job and steady income.

“I knew my income would be a set amount and I wanted something more affordable until I started working again,” Baldwin said on Wednesday in Svitlana Sangary’s office.

Baldwin applied to be placed on a waiting list for Community Corp. apartments and heard about an opening at an apartment on 20th Street in the Pico neighborhood that reportedly had recently been publicized because of gang violence.

Community Corp. currently has approximately 2,500 households on what it calls the “marketing list” — a waiting list for apartments within the Community Corp. system. These applicants were at one time asked to fill out a questionnaire at the beginning of the year to provide information about their household income and size so that when a vacancy arises, Community Corp. could see if the apartment would meet the applicant’s needs, said Community Corp. Executive Director Joan Ling.

Ling refused to comment on individual applicants for this story and said she would only speak generally.

The organization gives preference to local residents and full-time workers in Santa Monica during the process of selecting a tenant. Applicants whose landlords and employers are able to provide confirming information immediately to Community Corp. stand a better chance of landing the apartment, Ling said.

Years before, Baldwin had heard through an unnamed employee at Community Corp. that the organization selects tenants on a first-come, first-serve basis. With that in mind, Baldwin said he purposely submitted his application for the building at the deadline to ensure he would not receive the apartment in Pico.

Instead, he was kicked off the waiting list. He appealed and was placed back on.

In July, two months after he was placed back on the list, Baldwin said he received notification for a vacancy in an apartment on Second Street, right above the Community Corp. offices.

The apartment was perfect, Baldwin said, with its proximity to the mall and beach, and handicap-accessible amenities.

To ensure his application would be accepted, Baldwin arrived at 6 a.m., two hours before the open house.

“The person who was showing the place told me and a bunch of other people of color that Community Corp. didn’t open until 8:30 a.m.,” Baldwin said. “I knew it would open at 8 because it said so on the door.”

Baldwin was the first in line and received a stamp notifying that his application was received first.

He left feeling assured he would receive the apartment and was ready to notify his landlord. A few days later, he received a call from Community Corp. asking about the absence of information on his application of an apartment he had rented a few years before.

The apartment Community Corp. was referring to was a broken down unit on Fourth Street that Baldwin rented in 2003, but never moved into because the landlord failed to repair broken locks and plumbing. On the ninth day into the month-to-month lease, Baldwin said he submitted his 30 days vacancy notice to the apartment manager.

Soon after, he received a call from Community Corp. informing him he was kicked off the waiting list again. He believes the apartment was instead granted to a white applicant.

“They didn’t want me to have that apartment,” Baldwin said. “I was good enough for the 20th Street apartment with the exact same information.

“I never had a problem getting an apartment,” he said. “Never.”

Applicants are required to provide rental and income information from the past five years, Ling said. Those who omit information, lie on their application or have a history of eviction can be kicked off the list.

“In general, it is our policy if an applicant lied on their application and we find out, we turn them down,” Ling said.

Baldwin said he first suspected discrimination from Community Corp. in 1999 when he and a friend from Sweden applied for housing. He said his friend received a number of notifications for apartment openings north of Wilshire Boulevard, while Baldwin received none. Baldwin said their applications were almost identical.

Sangary said on Wednesday that the plaintiff has a list of minority witnesses who claim to have had similar experiences with Community Corp.

“They are just selectively enforcing some unknown regulation and looking for some technicality to kick off and deny housing to people of color,” Sangary said. “With white people, everything is fine.”

Baldwin, who said he would not live in a Community Corp. apartment if given the chance now, is hoping the organization will change its policies as a result of the lawsuit.

“To offer me an apartment now would be a slap in the face,” Baldwin said.