With affordable housing in Los Angeles as scarce as it is, the recent evictions at Lincoln Place — an apartment complex in Venice — is certainly a tragic story, but not a surprising one.
What is surprising, however, is that the tenants there haven’t pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and figured out where they were going to live, knowing evictions were imminent. Instead, they held out and waited for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to come knocking, which is exactly what happened on Tuesday.
Denver-based AIMCO, one of the largest real estate management companies in the country and current owner of Lincoln Place, ordered the evictions of 52 households. It did so after years of settlement negotiations, spurred by the tenants’ litigation.
In attempts to make the lawsuit go away, AIMCO PR reps said the company was prepared to provide as many as 180 households with apartments at the site, which would have been well below market rate. In addition, 50 more units would have been designated as “historical” and would not have been redeveloped, under the terms of the proposed settlement.
The development company also had offered the tenants between $3,000 and $10,000 apiece to relocate from their affordable units. Hundreds accepted those individual offers and moved on.
But many of the tenants — the ones now without homes — refused those offers, saying they distrusted the developer. Now, they have neither money in their pockets nor a roof over their heads. They should have trusted their instincts when the court ruled against them in June, which paved the way for AIMCO to begin the eviction process. It was a noble cause, but unfortunately, their idealism that as renters they had rights doesn’t mean much anymore.
Big development and greed won out — as it usually does. We lament the loss of hundreds of affordable housing units on the Westside and empathize with the tenants, particularly the families on fixed incomes, as well as the elderly and disabled. Because of the pursuit of the almighty dollar, these people have no homes.
It didn’t have to be that way. The tenants could have accepted reality and started looking for somewhere else to live. Instead, they courageously fought for what they believed they were entitled to — only to get shafted. They protested in front of Los Angeles City Hall to no avail. They have now set up a tent city in front of the complex, with some camping out in the cold temperatures.
Unfortunately, this is America, where development and progress often displace people. We absolutely hope that these people accept that fact and realize it’s time to get out of the cold and move on. But because they’ve refused to face the ugly truth, they now need help. If the local government couldn’t help them win the fight, it should at least help them find shelter.
Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl has tried to intervene, attempting to stave off the evictions. He now needs to turn his energy toward finding alternative housing for the people he’s been fighting for.
If the city of Los Angeles wants to truly help these people — and thousands of others — it needs to start buying property that big developers would otherwise acquire and start building affordable places to live.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 9, 2005. Read the original PDF.