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# Tenants hang onto hope and their homes
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/tenants-hang-onto-hope-and-their-homes/
- Published: 2006-09-02T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:22:13.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

that included thousands of dollars to help pay for moving expenses. Those who did not accept AIMCO’s offer were evicted this past December, with some forming a “tent city” nearby to stage protests. Under an agreement reached during a series of mediations, 40 households comprised of elderly tenants and those with disabilities were allowed to remain at the site until demolition commenced.

“It’s time to put this matter to rest,”said Patti Schwayder, senior vice president of AIMCO.“A few extremists have continually distorted the facts surrounding Lincoln Place and misled innocent residents, the community and the general public. We look forward to a positive new chapter in the history of Lincoln Place, so that it provides the kind of housing that the community needs, desires and deserves.”

Schwayder noted that all residents older than 65 have been offered relocation at reserved apartments at other AIMCO properties at current rent prices for life. She added that every person who has worked with AIMCO has found a new home in the LA area. She declined to say how much money was offered to each tenant, but said it was significantly higher than what is required by state law.

Members of the Lincoln Place Tenants Association, who have been engaged in a drawn-out legal battle with AIMCO, said they do not trust the management company to follow through with relocation agreements given that it has already moved forward with the demolition of 100 apartments. The association has appealed to AIMCO’s shareholders to put pressure on the company to protect the tenants remaining.

Sheila Bernard, president of the tenants group, said she has not received a response from any of the shareholders who have been contacted.

“The problem is that even with the money AIMCO is offering, many residents are on fixed incomes,” Bernard said.“If you move into an apartment where the rent is $1,000 more a month, that money may last a year or two and then you are homeless. So, we were not satisfied with AIMCO’s offer. The seniors aren’t satisfied. No one is satisfied. People are really afraid of losing the homes they’ve held for decades.”

Marlin is no exception. With her worldly possessions surrounding her, Marlin said she had no intention — nor would she possess the physical strength — to leave her current home.

“I don’t even know what I have in my cabinets after 25 years,” Marlin joked.

During her time at the complex, Marlin said she was a part of a vibrant community which had begun to gap generational bridges. Without grandchildren of her own, Marlin found joy in time spent with local children during a plethora of religious holidays and birthday parties.

“It was a place for the people,” Marlin said of Lincoln Place. “You were never alone.”

The view from Marlin’s window no longer reflects the beauty she once enjoyed — flowers and trees which used to provide seasonal scenery have now been torn out to “scare people away,” Marlin said.

The complex, once lively, now consists mostly of boarded up doorways and worn out, discarded furniture piled up behind apartments.

Marlin said the fight with AIMCO makes her ashamed to be an American.

“This is no longer the country I loved,” she said regretfully. “No one cares for the middle class now. We used to be so proud.

“This place was alive,” Marlin reflected while gazing towards the decayed lawn.“It was the place I believed I’d stay until I go. But now... what’s happening is killing me altogether.” (Daily Press Staff Writer Kevin Herrera contributed to this article.)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 2, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090206.pdf?ref=smdp.com)