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| August 02, 2010 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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| August, 2010 |
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An occasional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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CES Tenants Efforts to Get Landlord to Address Bed Bug Infestation of Building
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| CES Tenant Leaders Meet With LA City Council Member Herb Wesson's Staff at their building |
Representatives of LA 10th District Council Member Herb Wesson, visited CES tenant leaders at Park Norton Apartments in the Arlington Heights area of Los Angeles meeting with tenants to discuss the severe bed bug infestation at their building and the fact that the landlord has refused to take effective measures to eradicate the infestation or meet with tenants. The tenants are primarily comprised low-income of Latino families with children under the age of 8.
For over the last four months, CES has been assisting tenants in organizing an effort to pressure the owner to address problems at the building. Within two weeks after tenants sent a demand letter to the landlord and management, a building-wide fumigation treatment occurred.
Read Full Article Here...
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CES Lends Support to Hotel Workers Fighting to Win Just Wages & Conditions
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CES Turns Out to Support
UNITE-HERE Local 11 Hotel Workers |
On July 22, 2010, hundreds of unionized hotel workers seeking a new contract and protesting staff cuts and working conditions protested staged a sit-in in front of the Andaz West Hollywood Hyatt Hotel, closing down the famed Sunset Strip. They were joined by a number of community groups, including the Coalition for Economic Survival, and clergy. In an act of peaceful civil disobedience 63 people were arrested.
Similar actions took place at Hyatt Hotels in 15 other cities.
Health care and hours cut during the recession but not restored are the key points of disagreement in the negotiations.
Read Full Article Here...
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National Alliance of HUD Tenants Protest At Landlord Lobbyist Office Demanding Support for Bill Providing Information on How Their HUD Buildings Are Operated
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Last June, NAHT tenant leaders were in Washington, D.C. for their annual conference when they led a demonstration against a lobbyist firm, the National Leased Housing Association (NLHA), which represents landlords and managers of HUD subsidized properties. NLHA is currently fighting a bill, H.R. 4868, which among other allowances would give tenants of HUD subsidized properties the right to view documentation regarding their building.
Even though NAHT has repeatedly said that it only wants to see how taxpayer money is being used in the buildings, the landlords are fighting the release of the information, claiming that it violates their privacy. Tenants are not allowed to know who their landlord is, even when the landlord has the tenants' social security numbers, work history, and other personal information.
Read Full Article Here...
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Problem With Landlord? Illegal Rent Hike? Eviction? Can't Get Repairs? Attend
CES' TENANTS' RIGHTS CLINIC
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Get individual counseling from some of the best tenants' rights attorneys Los Angeles has to offer who volunteer their time assisting renters at CES' Clinic.
Every Wednesday evening at 7 pm and every Saturday morning at 10 am.
The Tenants' Rights Clinic is held in the Senior Center in Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Bl., at Martel Ave in West Hollywood.
All tenants from anywhere throughout Southern California are welcome to attend.
For More Details
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A Thank You to CES Intern Kristen Green
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| Kristen Green holds CES Economic Justice Award for her contribution as an intern |
CES' effectiveness and victories are based on the activism and contributions provided by its members, volunteers and interns. We want to thank one such recent intern.
This year CES had the pleasure of having Kristen Green join us as an Office Intern while she was on break from Loyola Marymount University where she studies Political Science. After researching and studying housing conditions in South Africa for a class last semester, she looked closer to home and chose to help CES.
While at CES, Kristen was instrumental in creating a database of CES Tenants' Rights Clinic attendees for easier follow-up and outreach. Her positive attitude and willingness to learn made it a pleasure for all of us to work with her. In a short amount of time she became a key staff member and ended up mentoring and providing guidance to other interns.
Kristen has provided an invaluable contribution to CES and we look forward to having her continue volunteering as time permits during her busy junior year where she is President of socially-conscious Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and her job at 24 Hour Fitness.
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| May 22, 2010 |
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LA City Council Votes Down
Rent Freeze Proposal
Garcetti, Rosendahl Change Votes, Protest Erupts & Turns Into Melee As Police Called In, Tenants Are Hurt & 3 Are Arrested
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It was a sad day for the City of Los Angeles on May 22, as the LA City Council essentially provided tenants with a 3% rent increase notice. What was just as sad was the manner in which this decision was made and the events that followed.
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Tenants Pack Council Chamber
in Support of Rent Freeze |
The City Council Chambers was overflowing with tenants, including Coalition for Economic Survival members, and landlords there to weigh in on an ordinance introduced by City Council Member Richard Alarcón for a 4 month rent increase moratorium. The freeze was to enable the City Council to finish discussions regarding potential changes to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) without tenants being saddled with a new round of unjust rent increase of 3% scheduled to go into effect on July 1.
Two weeks earlier the City Council had approved requesting the drafting of the ordinance on an 8 to 6 vote. Unfortunately, on Friday the crowd was forced sit there for over 5 hours having to endure award ceremonies and other items until the rent freeze issue came up.
Adding insult to injury, because it was so late in the day and some Council Members had to leave, the public testimony and Council discussion was cut short.
Then it was learned that both Council President Eric Garcetti and Council Member Bill Rosendahl had changed their support for the rent freeze and planned to vote against it. This left the rent freeze one vote short of the required eight votes to pass it.
At that point Council Member Garcetti made a motion to send the rent freeze back to Committee. "I think we need to have a comprehensive plan in place before we make any changes to the rent control measure at this time," Garcetti said.
Garcetti's reasoning made no sense since the process of developing a comprehensive plan had been going on for nearly a year and the freeze was not a change in rent control, but merely a temporary 'time-out' to enable the Council to finish a job it have been dragging its feet on.
In the end, the Council voted 8 to 5 to send it back to committee, thus killing any chance of putting a rent freeze in place before the July 1 rent increase is effective. Council Members Garcetti, Rosendahl, Cardenas, La Bonge, Koretz, Parks, Perry, Reyes, Smith and Zine all supported sending the issue back to committee.
Protest Erupts After Rent Freeze is Voted Down
Believing they were disrespected by having to wait all day and betrayed by Council Members Garcetti and Rosendahl, many tenants stood and voiced their outrage at the Council vote. Council Member Zine, who was chairing the meeting at that point, instructed the crowd to leave the Council Chambers. When some tenants refused, Zine called for the LA Police Department to come in and remove them. It then got ugly.
With seniors, women and children still in the Chambers, LAPD started to forcibly push tenants out. A number of tenants were injured and three members of the LA Community Action Network (LACAN) were arrested.
Councilman Richard Alarcón, who proposed the rent freeze, said that during his years working for Mayor Tom Bradley and serving on the council he had never seen the "council lose control of its chamber'' and called the arrests a sad day in the city's history.
It's a very sad day for renters who are going to have to pay more rent when many of them cannot pay their bills now,'' Alarcón said. "What we saw today was an expression of their anger.''
Why the Rent Freeze Was Needed
The need for the freeze was because RSO tenants face a 3% rent increase on July 1st under the existing ordinance. A City commissioned RSO Study indicates 58% of LA's RSO tenants are paying unaffordable rents, while 31% are paying 50% or more of their income to rent.
While increases are based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which is a negative .62%, the increases will be allowed because the RSO has a 3% rent increase floor guaranteeing landlords this amount even though the increase is not in any way justified. If the 3% floor did not exist the rent increase would be zero, based on the CPI The freeze was needed to give the Council more time to fix this and other inequities in the law which the Council is in the process of discussing.
The Debate Continues - Action Needed to Protect & Strengthen Rent Control
The process of addressing changes to the rent control law will continue. But, without the rent freeze in place there is no incentive for the City Council to act quickly. Tenants must become involved in this process, now more than ever. With this vote landlords and some Council Members are likely to feel more empowered to increase their efforts to weaken and destroy rent control. Without a strong tenant presence, they could succeed.
We urge that tenants and supporters of rent control contact Council Members Garcetti and Rosendahl to express your outrage and disappointment in their action which will result in tenants receiving another unjust 3% rent increase.
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Watch KABC - TV News Video Coverage
of the City Council Hearing
Click on Text or Image
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L.A. Council Blocks Rent Freeze,
Triggering Protest
May 22, 2010
By Phil Willon and Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday effectively scuttled a proposed four-month freeze on rent increases in the city, igniting a chaotic protest by tenant rights advocates inside the City Hall chambers that led to three arrests.
The proposed ordinance would have prevented owners of 630,000 rent-controlled apartments from raising rents between now and Oct. 31 to provide a respite for tenants buffeted by the recession. Instead, the council voted 10 to 5 to send the measure to a committee for further study, a procedural move killing the proposed freeze and allowing landlords to raise rents by up to 3% on July 1.
After the vote, outraged tenants and renters rights advocates who had been waiting five hours for the measure to be considered started shouting at the council. The protesters, dominated by members of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, brought the meeting to a standstill with loud, echoing chants of "No justice, no peace!'' and other slogans.
Dozens of officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the city's General Services Police Department were called in after protesters filled the main aisle of the John Ferraro Council Chamber and refused to leave. Officers holding batons formed a mini skirmish line and began pushing the unruly crowd outside, and tackled and arrested three members of the community group.
"It was obvious that the small group disrupting the meeting wasn't pleased with the vote, and they were displaying their displeasure in a very violent manner," said Councilman Dennis Zine, who was chairing the meeting and ordered officers to "get them out now'' after several protesters ignored pleas for order.
Pete White, founder and co-director of the community group, identified the arrested members as Deanna Weakly, Steve Richardson, and Gerardo Gomez. Gomez was injured when his face smacked into one of the benches as police restrained him, according to White.
White, along with about 40 protesters, said he was en route to LAPD's Central Division station, where the three would be booked. The group planned to remain there until the suspects gained their release, White said.
Councilman Richard Alarcon, who proposed the rent freeze, said that during his years working for Mayor Tom Bradley and serving on the council he had never seen the "council lose control of its chamber'' and called the arrests a sad day in the city's history. But the protest and subsequent clash, he said, were triggered by a council vote that threatens to send some low-income renters onto the streets.
"These people are passionate. It's a very sad day for renters who are going to have to pay more rent when many of them cannot pay their bills now,'' Alarcon said. "What we saw today was an expression of their anger.''
Alarcon's proposal would have imposed a four-month moratorium on rent increases at buildings constructed before 1978 that have six or more units, a group that is governed by the city's rent control law. Under the law, owners of rent-controlled properties are eligible to impose 3% rent increases on July 1.
The freeze would have given the council time to consider rent control reforms and consider a comprehensive study on the issue currently underway by the city's Housing Department, Alarcon said.
However, several landlords testifying before the council said any rent freeze would be financially devastating to them, noting that they were being hit with higher utility bills, insurance costs and property taxes.
The freeze was derailed by a motion from Council President Eric Garcetti, who said it would be wiser for the council to wait and tackle the broader rent control reforms instead of addressing the issue with a piecemeal freeze. Voting against Garcetti's motion were council members Alarcon, Jose Huizar, Herb Wesson and Paul Krekorian.
"Not passing this means that the rent burden will increase here in the city, where 58% are paying unaffordable rents and 31% are paying 50% or more of their income to rent," said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, a renters rights group. "Not passing this is to side with injustice at a time when people are being laid off, furloughed, foreclosed upon and have to chose between paying rent, medical expenses, food and clothing."
The council on Friday also approved an ordinance that requires lenders to register foreclosed homes and face fines of up to $1,000 per day if foreclosed homes fall into disrepair and become a blight to a neighborhood. The ordinance is expected to raise up to $5 million a year for the city, money the council wants to use to reduce the number of layoffs needed to balance the budget.
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| May 8, 2010 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
TENANTS WIN RENT FREEZE!
But Victory is Incomplete as City Council
Votes to Deny Freeze to Tenants
in Building With 5 Units or Less!
> Check Out The Vote Breakdown Below
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City Council Backs Rent Freeze
by Rick Orlov, Staff Writer
Torn between helping tenants and trying not to hurt landlords, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday called for a temporary rent freeze on large rent-controlled apartment buildings.
By an 8-6 vote, the council requested the drafting of an ordinance to impose a rent freeze for at least four months, and possibly six, for tenants in rent-controlled complexes of more than five units.
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Tenants from Various Allied Tenant Groups & Labor Unions
Pack LA City Council Chambers in Support of a Rent Freeze. |
City officials estimate that 40 percent to 60 percent of the city's 630,000 rent-controlled units will be exempt from the freeze because they are in buildings with less than five apartments.
Councilman Richard Alarcon, who wanted the rent freeze to apply to all rent control units, said he will continue to fight to broaden the measure.
"I know everyone is hurting in this economy, but renters are hurting more," Alarcon said.
Councilwoman Janice Hahn called for exempting the "mom-and-pop" landlords with five or fewer units.
"I know tenants are suffering, but landlords are people too and we should not punish them," Hahn said.
The matter will return to the council in two weeks when the final legislation is drafted.
Alarcon said he proposed the freeze because of the city's rent law allowing for a 3 percent increase regardless of the Consumer Price Index.
"If we went by the Consumer Price Index, we would see rents reduced," Alarcon said. "Last year, it was a negative 6.5 percent."
A full study of changes to the city's rent control law is underway and is expected to be completed during the four-month freeze, said Douglas Guthrie, general manager of the city Housing Department.
Ryan Minniear, executive director of the California Apartment Association, Los Angeles chapter, said they were glad the council at least acknowledged the problems landlords face.
"We believe the city needs to conduct a comprehensive review of rent control in Los Angeles instead of taking a piecemeal approach," Minniear said. "The 3 percent rent increase is not out of line when compared to other California rent-controlled cities."
Minniear said landlords are faced with other increases while property value have plummeted.
But Larry Gross of the tenants-rights group Coalition for Economic Survival, which supports the freeze, said the council vote was a mixed victory.
"While we are pleased they support the concept of a moratorium, this still leaves too many renters without any protection," Gross said. "Too many tenants are paying 50 percent or more of their income for rents. I am not sure the council really thought this out. Just because someone owns five units or less does not mean they are mom-and-pop operations. This only addressed the annual increase and it didn't affect the other pass-throughs."
Gross said the landlords also could file an appeal to the freeze if they are not getting a reasonable return.
Councilman Bernard Parks pushed for a delay in the freeze, by sending the proposal back to the Housing, Commerce and Economic Development Committee to wait for the final recommendations.
"We have been waiting four years for this study," Parks said. "My concern is we shouldn't cherry-pick any recommendations until the study is completed. I also find it odd that we are looking to give tenants a break a week after we increased electrical rates."
Alarcon said most tenants pay their own electric bills and landlords are still allowed to pass on such costs to the tenants.
"This does not affect the pass-throughs," Alarcon said. "It is only the rent and we are talking about giving tenants a break of anywhere form $24 to $100 a month."
Voting for the proposal were Alarcon, Hahn, Eric Garcetti, Jose Huizar, Paul Krekorian, Ed Reyes, Bill Rosendahl and Herb Wesson.
Opposing it were council members Parks, Paul Koretz, Tom LaBonge, Jan Perry, Greig Smith and Dennis Zine. Councilman Tony Cardenas was absent.
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How Did They Vote?
Much appreciation goes to Council Member Richard Alarcón, who introduced the rent freeze and was unwavering in his fight and commitment to see it passed without any of the amendments proposed to weaken it and deny protections to tenants living in buildings with 5 units or less.
At the same, tenant groups were extremely disappointed in Council Members Paul Koretz and Janice Hahn, normally thought to be supportive of renter issues, who were the driving forces in weakening the rent freeze and pushing through the exemptions. Koretz even ended up voting against the freeze after he was successful in weakening it.
The Two Key Votes
> To exempt buildings with 5 units or less.
(Passed 10 to 4)
Voting Yes:
- Paul Koretz
- Janice Hahn
- Eric Garcetti
- Bill Rosendahl
- Paul Krekorian
- Herb Wesson
- Jan Perry
- Dennis Zine
- Tom LaBonge
- Bernard Parks
Voting No:
- Richard Alarcón
- Ed Reyes
- Jose Huizar
- Greig Smith
> To Instruct the City Attorney to Draft an Ordinance Resulting in a 4 Month Rent Freeze with the Option of 2 Additional Months & exempting buildings with 5 units or less.
(Passed 8 to 6)
Voting Yes:
- Richard Alarcón
- Ed Reyes
- Jose Huizar
- Janice Hahn
- Eric Garcetti
- Bill Rosendahl
- Paul Krekorian
- Herb Wesson
Voting No:
- Paul Koretz
- Jan Perry
- Dennis Zine
- Tom LaBonge
- Bernard Parks
- Greig Smith
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May 7, 2010
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L.A. City Council Narrowly Agrees to Consider Four-Month Rent Hike Moratorium
By David Zahniser, LA Times Staff Writer
A divided Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to draft an ordinance preventing the owners of thousands of apartments from imposing an optional 3% rent increase between now and Oct. 31.
On an 8-6 vote, the council asked City Atty. Carmen Trutanich to prepare a rent moratorium for buildings constructed before 1978 that have six or more units -- a group that is governed by the city's rent control law.
However, council members moved at the last minute to exempt rent-controlled buildings with five units or less.
That move drew complaints from Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, a renters' rights group. "We won a little, but not enough," he said.
Councilman Richard Alarcon voiced disappointment in the last-minute changes and promised to try to rework them in two weeks, when the proposed ordinance comes before the council. Alarcon also said he would continue pushing a one-year rent moratorium for all apartments.
"The 61% of families who are living in rental situations deserve to not have an increase in their rents during these horrid economic times," he told his colleagues.
Six council members voted against the proposal: Paul Koretz, Tom LaBonge, Jan Perry, Bernard C. Parks, Greig Smith and Dennis Zine. Koretz said that "mom and pop" landlords, or those with small buildings, are also suffering from the effects of the recession. "They're trying to avoid losing their buildings," he said.
Housing officials are still trying to determine how many of the city's 630,000 rent-controlled apartments would be exempted from the proposed moratorium. Out of 118,000 rent-controlled buildings, 89,000 have four units or less, one housing official said.
Advocates on both sides of the issue packed the council chamber and submitted more than 200 requests to speak on the proposal. Half of them were in favor and half of them were opposed, Zine said.
Nevertheless, Councilman Herb Wesson, who heads the committee that vetted the moratorium proposal, asked for no public testimony to occur so that he could see his new granddaughter, who was born Friday morning.
"Let's just vote," said Wesson, pointing out that another vote will happen in two weeks anyway. "I really want to go hold my granddaughter."
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| April 15, 2010 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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| April, 2010 |
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An occasional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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LA Council Member Richard Alarcón
Introduces Motion to Freeze Rent
Increases for One Year
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| News Conference |
Recognizing the slow response from the LA City Council to act on recommendations to strengthen the City's Rent Control law, Council Member Richard Alarcón, with the full support of CES and other tenants' rights organizations, introduced a motion calling for a one year moratorium on all annual rent increases on apartments subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO).
The current CPI rate for 2010 is -.62 %, which means that renters will face unjustified rent increase of 3%, due to the RSO rent increase "floor" beginning July 1, 2010, unless the moratorium is enacted.
Read more here...
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Tenant Groups Demand LA City Council Adopt Human Right to Housing Policy
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| Tenants Turnout to Hearing |
Hundreds of tenants streamed in, filling the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center to overflow capacity, as a special meeting of the LA City Council Housing, Community and Economic Development Committee (HCED) was held to discuss the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing.
The hearing was agreed to by LA Council Member Herb Wesson, Chair of the HCED Committee, after hundreds of tenants from these groups turned up at a LA City Council meeting to demand a hearing to respond to a recently released United Nations report which documented human rights violations that exist in L.A. and throughout the U.S. due to the affordable housing crisis.
Read more here...
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Recent Articles on CES and West
Hollywood's 25 Year Cityhood
Celebratation
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| CES Launches West Hollywood Cityhood Campaign |
In 1984, CES led the effort that created the City of West Hollywood, elected its member to the City Council and was successful in enacting one of the nation's strongest rent control laws.
West Hollywood stands as a symbol of the only city in the world that was established by tenants fighting to save their homes and win rights. It is a city built on rent control.
As West Hollywood celebrates its 25th Anniversary, a number of articles have been recently written about it and CES' role in the city's creation.
Click below to read them.
WeHo Celebrates 25 Years of Cityhood With Festival - Beverly Press
Heilman Rolls Lucky 7th Term as WeHo Mayor - Beverly Press
The Real Story Behind the Creation of the City of West Hollywood
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| November 25, 2009 |
Coalition for Economic Survival
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News Release
Contact Larry Gross, CES Exec Dir.
(213) 252-4411 ext. 201 |
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West Hollywood Celebrates Its 25th Birthday
Coalition for Economic Survival, the Group
That Led the Cityhood Drive, Congratulates
the City Built on Rent Control |
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The Real Story Behind The Creation of the City of West Hollywood
Twenty-five years ago members of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) rejoiced after a 7-year campaign to secure tenants' rights and preserve affordable housing in the then 1.9 square mile LA County unincorporated area of West Hollywood.
On November 29, 1984, CES members joined with other residents to pack the auditorium in West Hollywood's Plummer Park, as media from around the world covered the swearing in of West Hollywood's first City Council. Four out of the 5 being elected were on CES' Renters' Right Slate of Candidates. And while the news-media reported on that this was the first City Council with a majority of gay and lesbian elected officials, which was significant in itself, the real story was that the main reason this new city was created was to save and strengthen rent control.
The Fight to Win Rent Control
In 1979, CES led an effort to secure a rent control ordinance for LA County's unincorporated areas by a vote of the LA County Board of Supervisors. This came a year after CES' success in winning rent control in the City of Los Angeles. But in 1983, an anti-rent control conservative majority took control of the Board of Supervisors. They eventually voted to phase out County rent control on December 31, 1984.
CES first attempted to counter this by placing the only initiative measure on the LA County ballot, which was a strong rent control law. Proposition M failed in November 1983, as landlords spent millions on a fear campaign targeting homeowner voters in the outlying unincorporated areas. But in West Hollywood the measure received overwhelming (5 to 1) voter support
West Hollywood Cityhood Campaign Launched
This laid the electoral groundwork for CES' role in leading incorporation efforts for West Hollywood. With the County determining that West Hollywood could be a financially viable city, CES forged a unique alliance made up of gays and lesbians together with senior renters uniting around the need for tenants' rights, civil rights, and local control. CES secured a number of seats on the small West Hollywood Incorporation Committee, chaired by Ron Stone and co-chaired by CES West Hollywood Chapter chair Audrey Isser.
CES, which had a large active grassroots membership in West Hollywood, took responsibility for obtaining the required number of signatures - 25% of the area's registered voters - in order to place the cityhood measure on the ballot. Pushing to secure the measure for the November 1984 ballot in order to beat the County rent control phase-out date, CES set a County record by signing up 27% of the voters in only 52 days.
Nervous landlords and real estate lobbyists tried to deny a cityhood vote with a failed lawsuit and then by a last minute move to convince the Board of Supervisors to extend a weak version of rent control. Their moves could not stop a November 1984 cityhood vote.
The City of West Hollywood Established
The process also required voters to choose the first five members to serve on the City Council if the incorporation was approved. CES developed a slate of candidates as CES' Renters' Rights Team, which was a reflection of the gay/lesbian, senior and renter community. On November 6, 1984 West Hollywood cityhood and all but one of CES' Renters Rights slate, out of a field of 40 candidates, were approved by voters. At the first City Council meeting the Council unanimously voted to freeze rents and place moratoriums on evictions, demolitions, development and condo conversions until the city developed its own rent control law. The Council also voted to prohibit all forms of sexual discrimination based on sexual orientation.
History in the Making & Lessons to be Learned
This was only the beginning. In its 25-year history, West Hollywood has provided leadership in the state and the nation on progressive legislation, such as on LGBT issues, HIV/AIDS, gun violence, domestic violence, women's issues and animal cruelty.
In reflecting on CES' historic work, Larry Gross, CES Executive Director stated, "The success in West Hollywood serves as an important example for tenants in the Los Angeles area and across the nation. When you organize people and bring them together and empower them through their involvement, that's where real change is going to occur. That's where things that matter and impact people are going to happen. This effort must serve as a lesson in people's power for generations to come. West Hollywood was created by an organized grassroots effort. It is a city built on rent control. I am so very proud that CES played such a crucial role and was a determining factor in the creation of the City of West Hollywood."
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| November 6, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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CES In Action!
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| United Nations Investigates Affordable Housing Crisis in LA and Across US |
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The severe impact of the US housing crisis on low- and moderate-income people has become so great that even the United Nations decided the situation has warranted an investigation. As a result, the UN dispatched a Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, on a multi-US city fact-finding mission. The cities visited included New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington DC, Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. On November 3 and 4, Ms. Rolnik was greeted by a broad alliance of housing/tenant activist groups, including CES, in Los Angeles.
The UN's Special Rapporteur on housing "is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine and report" on the case of adequate housing throughout the world.
Ms Rolnik began her LA tour with a briefing on the area's affordable housing crisis. This was followed by a tour of slum housing, skid row, non-profit affordable housing, a community health care facility, public, HUD subsidized and Section 8 housing, and communities fighting displacement and gentrification.
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Town Hall Meeting on Affordable Housing Crisis |
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In the evening, 200-300 people attended a Town Hall meeting where presentations were made by several participating organizations at The California Endowment in downtown LA. Here skits, slideshow presentations and personal testimonies gave perspective not only to the effects of Los Angeles' housing crisis, but also the organizing strategies being used to fight it.
CES tenant leaders from Morton Gardens Apartments in Echo Park, in celebration of their recent US Court of Appeals victory protecting them from evictions and providing Section 8 tenant protections nationwide (see CES web site article), presented a skit reenacting their visit to their landlords' UCLA classroom to present this noted real estate professor an award of "Greediest Landlord in LA."
Ms. Rolnik acknowledged the work of various community organizations, saying, "I have seen a lot of struggle, a lot of solidarity, and a lot of mobilizing, and I am thinking that this is the way, this is the hope." Earlier in New York, she stated, "Housing is a human right. It is a constant fight, a constant struggle for people to get government to ensure their right to housing."
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UN Comes to CES Organized HUD Subsidized Building |
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The following day Ms. Rolnik's examination of the housing crisis in LA continued with a stop at La Villa Hermosa Apartments, a HUD subsidized housing complex in South LA. La Villa Hermosa CES tenant leaders have organized to preserve their homes. CES tenants spoke about the difficulty in obtaining needed repairs, the constant harassment from management in an effort to make them move, and how they have been fighting to stop the owners' attempt to remove the complex from the federal rent subsidy program. As if on cue, as tenants were presenting their stories on the sidewalk in front of the building, the building's resident manager appeared and began taking pictures of the tenants. Ms Rolnik immediately approached the manager to identify herself and explain that she had requested the tenants to gather.
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The visit ended with Ms. Rolnik being presented a CES T-shirt and button indicating that she was now an honorary CES member. Ms. Rolnik responded that she was "very proud to be an honorary CES member."
Ms. Rolnik will provide a report on her visit by the end of November, to the US government and the UN Human Rights Council. A final report to the UN General Assembly is planned for March 2010.
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The Team Responsible for the Tour's Success |
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In addition to CES, the other groups who worked hard in organizing the events in LA included LA Community Action Network (LACAN), Legal Aid Foundation of LA, LA Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness, POWER, Union de Vecinos, Coalition LA, Comunidad Presente, Lamp Community, Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County, Korean Immigrant Worker Alliance, Beyond Shelter, Esperanza Community Housing, St. John's Well Child Center, Skid Row Housing Trust, LA Neighborhood Housing Services Housing Long Beach, Black Mesa Indigenous Support and Eviction Defense Network.
Special thanks go out to CES Tenant Organizer Joel Montano for his hard work in organizing CES' participation and contribution to this event, and to Becky Dennison of LACAN whose tireless work as overall coordinator of the LA tour was a key to its success.
The national tour was coordinated by the New York-based National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), a nonprofit organization that promotes a cultural and political commitment to a human rights vision that ensures dignity and access to basic resources in the US.
Click here for more pictures from the Town Hall Meeting and CES' organized site visit at La Villa Hermosa Apartments.
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| October 22, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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| October/November, 2009 |
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An occassional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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Will LA Rent Control Be Strengthened or Weakened?
Study Reveals That Rent Burden to Tenants Has Increased Significantly, While Landlords Profits Continue to Rise
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A recently released study documents that over half of LA City tenants living in rent controlled apartments are paying unaffordable rents, while landlords who own rent controlled apartments have seen their profits skyrocket.
The Study found that the LA City Rent Control law covers 66% of LA's inventory of rental units. However, the majority of LA renters are rent-burdened, paying over 30 percent of their income for rent, and roughly a third are severely rent-burdened, paying half or more of their income for rent.
Read more here
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Victory for Tenants & Affordable Housing
104-Unit Rent Controlled Apartment
Complex Denied Condo Conversion Approval |
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On October 13, 2009, the LA City Council unanimously voted to uphold the recommendation to deny a condominium conversion application of a 104-unit rent controlled apartment complex in Sherman Oaks.
The City Council vote marked the end of another chapter in an over decade-old fight with four different landlords to stop tenants from being displaced, and to prevent this affordable housing from being lost.
During this time, the tenants fought and won other landlords' attempts to evict them and/or raise their rents.
Finally, the tenants are able to celebrate. But, they know their landlord is unlikely to give up and the fight to save their homes will continue.
Read more here
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Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Governor Signs Two Important
Tenants' Rights Bills, But Vetoes Another |
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two important tenants' rights bills providing tenants across California a significant victory. Unfortunately, the Governor also vetoed a bill that would have provided needed protection for mobile home owners from greedy owners' attempts to convert their mobile home parks.
SB 290 (Leno - D - San Francisco) will make the 60-day notice requirement for no-fault evictions permanent.
SB 120 (Lowenthal - D - Long Beach) provides tenants increased protection against utility shutoffs, including tenants in single family homes.
Read more here
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LA City Tenant Foreclosure Eviction Law
Expected to be Extended |
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LA City President Eric Garcetti has introduced a motion to extend eviction protections to tenants living in foreclosed rent properties. On December 17, 2008, the City Council adopted the Foreclosure Eviction Ordinance to protect tenants living in rental properties not subject to the City's Rent Stabilization Ordinance from eviction on the grounds of foreclosure. CES Executive Director Larry Gross was invited to the ordinance signing by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Council President Garcetti. This Ordinance, which is scheduled to sunset on December 23, 2009, prohibits lenders from evicting any tenants in the City merely because of foreclosure. Although the Rent Control law prohibited eviction of tenants merely due to foreclosure, prior to adoption of this Ordinance, no protection existed for tenants living in properties exempt from the RSO, including single-family homes. The ordinance is expected to be extended to December 31, 2010. |
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| Join CES' Tenant Leadership Council |
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Once you've become a CES member you are urged to become an active member by joining CES' Tenant Leadership Council.
The Tenant Leadership Council is where you, as a CES Member, can help CES determine issues to work on, get support from other tenants facing similar problems, strategize and develop solutions, build your skills, plan campaigns and, most important, help win economic justice.
Just click here, on the
CES Tenant Leadership Council Application Form.
Print it. Fill it out. And, send it back to CES. It's that easy.
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| October 09, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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VICTORY!!!
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The Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) scored a major tenants' rights victory when the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled in BARRIENTOS v. 1801-1825 MORTON LLC, that Los Angeles' rent control law is not preempted by federal laws or regulations.
The decision, which has a national impact, specially provides Section 8 tenants living at Morton Gardens Apartments in Echo Park protection against their landlord's attempt to evict them.
In ruling, the US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, stated that a landlord subject to the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance ("LARSO") served notices of eviction upon tenants whose rent is subsidized by the federal government, because it desired to raise the rent on the apartment units. Though LARSO prohibits eviction for that purpose, Morton asserts that a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulation permits the eviction of an assisted tenant during the lease term for "good cause" grounds, which "may include [the] desire to lease the unit at a higher rental." We must decide whether HUD's "good cause" regulation preempts the operation of the City of Los Angeles's eviction control ordinance. We hold that it does not. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the tenants, permanent injunctive relief, and award of attorney's fees.
Legal Team Deserves Much Recognition & Appreciation
This victory is the direct result of the tireless work and deep commitment of Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Attorney Christian Abasto, Attorney Jim Grow, the nationally acclaimed subsidized housing legal expert with the Oakland-based National Housing Law Project and Attorney Michael Soloff, a partner in the powerful downtown law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson, who brilliantly argued the case before the 9th Circuit United States Court of Appeals on March 2, 2009.
City of LA and HUD Lent Support
The City of Los Angeles and HUD, as well as the AARP Foundation, filed amici curiae ("Friend of the Court") briefs in support of our case. LA City Council President Eric Garcetti, who represents the Morton Gardens tenants, provided important backing and helped in securing HUD's support.
CES' Long Efforts to Stop Evictions & Preserve This Affordable Housing
For more than the last 20 years, CES has been assisting these tenants' efforts to fight off evictions. Morton Gardens was developed in 1971 as a low-income rental housing project through a HUD subsidized mortgage-secured low interest loan program.
Morton Garden apartments is a 66-unit building which is situated just over a hill from Dodger Stadium in Echo Park.
In 1998 the prior owners prepaid the subsidized loan in advance of the original loan maturity date, thus removing the federal rent restrictions. As a result, tenants in residence received "enhanced" Section 8 rent subsidy vouchers, which entitled them the right to remain in their units, paying the same rent and requiring landlords to accept these vouchers as long as the tenants decide to stay and Congress provides the funding. In addition, other tenants holding regular Section 8 vouchers have since moved in.
In 2003, the City and the tenants had obtained an earlier ruling from the 9th Circuit Court that upheld the application of the City's rent control law to the units, rejecting the owner's claim that federal law "preempted" local rent protections.
Eric Sussman, who along with other partners bought the building for $8 million in 2006, is not just any landlord. He teaches real estate at one of the nation's preeminent business schools, the UCLA Anderson School of Management. CES and tenants have argued that he should have known when he bought Morton Gardens that Section 8 tenants lived there and it is unethical of him to try to evict them just to increase rents.
The Morton Garden case involves two related, but distinct, federal tenant-based housing subsidies: "enhanced Section 8 vouchers" and regular Section 8 "housing choice vouchers."
The landlord was challenging the Congressionally enacted right to remain for the enhanced voucher holders, as well as the applicability of the city's just cause eviction law, which protects Section 8 tenants living in rent controlled units. Tenant attorneys citywide have been defending tenants against a wave of 90-day Section 8 termination notices, arguing that a Section 8 contract cannot be terminated until there is a vacancy and there needs to be a "just cause" reason under the rent control law to evict a tenant to secure a vacancy.
In 2007, tenants, outraged by eviction notices they received, rode a school bus to UCLA to protest outside his class. They held signs, chanted and then presented Sussman with a ceramic piggy bank, an award as the "Greediest Landlord in L.A."
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To Read the landmark 9th Circuit United States Court of Appeals Decision that Protects Section 8 Tenants From Evictions and Finds that HUD regulations don't preempt local Rent Control Laws
Click Here
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(Right) CES member Dulce Pena, who lives at the Morton Gardens Apartments in Echo Park, hands UCLA Real Estate Professor Eric Sussman, her landlord, a ceramic pig award for the city's greediest landlord as Morton Garden children look on. On May 17, 2007, Morton Gardens tenants and supporters traveled to UCLA to confront their landlord outside his classroom. Tenants wore CES bright red T-shirts and hoisted signs telling Sussman he should be ashamed. In addition to presenting Sussman the piggy bank, they handed UCLA officials that were present a letter asking UCLA's chancellor to review Sussman's business practices.
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| September 04, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
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| September, 2009 |
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CES ACTION ALERT!
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| Significant Eviction Protections Could Depend On You Acting NOW! |
Calif Assembly Passed Bill to Make
60 Day Eviction Notice Permanent |
| Letters, Calls & Emails Needed NOW to Urge Governor to Sign the Bill! |
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Tenants scored a major victory on the Assembly Floor late Thursday, as 44 Democrats voted to send SB 290, authored by San Francisco state Senator Mark Leno, to the Governor's desk, to make permanent existing law that requires landlords to give tenants 60 days' notice when terminating a tenancy when the tenant is without fault.
The notice has been in state law for over six years, but the Realtors and landlord groups remain opposed. The 60 days enables tenants to hunt for affordable rentals, keep children in their schools and gives the elderly and disabled more time to find scarce accessible rentals.
If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes SB 290, on January 1, 2010, the law would revert back to requiring landlords to provide only a 30 day eviction notice.
The Governor has signed one of the previous 60 day notice bills that included an expiration date. The challenge is to convince him that the 60-day notice has demonstrated its value, the landlord industry has proven no harm, and it should become permanent law.
To View the Assembly Vote, Click Here
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| TELL THE GOVERNOR TO SIGN THE 60 DAY EVICTION NOTICE BILL! |
| Contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to urge him to sign SB 290 (Leno), which will make permanent existing law that requires landlords to give tenants 60 days' notice when terminating a tenancy when the tenant is without fault. |
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Call, Email, Write, Fax:
Contact the Governor
Governor's Office
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
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To send an Electronic Mail please visit:
http://www.govmail.ca.gov |
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| July 20, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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| July, 2009 |
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An occassional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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Progressive Democrats Sell Out Mobile Home Owners
California Assembly Delivers Blow to Rent Control |
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Tenants' rights advocates were recently shocked when a bill, AB 761 (Calderon, D-Whittier), that would severely cripple all of California's over 100 local mobile-home rent control laws, passed the Assembly with the minimum votes needed. What was so shocking is that the bill only passed due to the support of a number of Los Angeles area progressive and liberal Democrats providing their support. |
| LA area Assembly Member Democrats Karen Bass, John Perez, Mike Davis, Anthony Portantino, Kevin De Leon and Ed Hernandez all voted for this horrendous anti-rent control bill. |
Read More Here
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| CES Issues Healthy Homes Report & Recommendations to Address Sub-Standard Housing Conditions |
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The Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) conducted a two-year campaign (February 2007 - May 2009) entitled the Healthy Household Environmental Actions for Tenants (HHEAT), which was funded by The California Endowment. This effort had the dual goal of organizing tenants in high-risk housing to ensure proper eradication of health hazards in their homes without losing their housing through landlord harassment or eviction; and to generate the necessary data and develop tenant leadership to advocate for improving local systems.
CES' HHEAT campaign produced a policy recommendation report which examines how the City and County of Los Angeles, together with the State and community-based organizations can advance the common vision of improving environmental health and housing conditions to ensure tenants safe, healthy and affordable housing.
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Read The Report Here |
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Tenants Appear to Have No Friends
in California Governor's Race |
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed three pro-tenant ordinances designed to help renters facing hard times. He even nixed a relatively mild proposal to limit "banked" rent increases to 8%. Newsom's record on tenant issues in San Francisco has always been bad, and his latest act does not bode well for next year's statewide elections.
California's 14 million renters need a champion in the Governor's Mansion after six years of a hostile Republican Administration, but Newsom currently only has one opponent for the Democratic primary - state Attorney General Jerry Brown. Based on his record as Mayor of Oakland, Brown is no sure bet tenants' rights supporter. There is no excuse why California can't have a pro-tenant Governor.
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Read More Here
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| June 11, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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| June, 2009 |
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An occassional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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New Eviction Protections Won
Loopholes Allowing Landlord to Unjustly Evict Tenants Closed |
On June 9, 2009 the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted in favor of finalizing an ordinance that will provide tenants more eviction protections.
The measure will significantly close a loophole regarding evictions for "Good Faith," such as for owner move-ins and for moving in an owner's family member. This has been an area of extreme abuse and fraud resulting in many unjust evictions. |
Read More Here
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| California Assembly Member Dave Jones Visits Building & Discusses Code Violations with CES Tenant Leaders |
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Assembly Member Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) spent the morning of May 29, 2009 discussing the problems CES tenants leaders were facing at their building. The building, located in LA's Beverly/Normandie area, has been plagued with numerous housing code violations and has been in the city's Rent Escrow Account Program. Tenants have been battling the landlord to make the needed repairs and have had to fight against harassment and abuse. |
Read More Here
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Save Your City Web Site Set Up
to Fight State Budget Cuts |
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The League of California Cities, who CES worked closely with to defeat Proposition 98 (the statewide anti-rent control measure) last year, has launched a website to heighten awareness and generate interest on the damaging effects to vital city services, if the state takes city dollars to balance the California's budget. The web site is posting video messages to the Governor and state legislators. |
Read More Here
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Lead Hazard Remediation Won For Tenants
in East Hollywood Building |
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CES achieved a victory in securing safe, lead-free housing this month, as the LA Housing Department's Lead Hazard Remediation Program (LHRP) has approved the application for a building on Grace Street in East Hollywood to receive a grant for lead component removal.
LHRP provides grants for lead hazard remediation to be performed in buildings where there is positive levels of lead-based paint.
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Read More Here
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Tenants Win Again, As Planning Commission Denies
Landlord Condo Conversion Appeal |
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In March, we reported the Planning Department Advisory Committee voting to deny an application for a 104-unit condominium conversion in Sherman Oaks resulting in tenants saving their homes and affordable housing being preserved.
This victory was preserved on May 28, 2009 when the full Los Angeles Planning Commission upheld the Advisory Committee decision by denying the landlord's appeal.
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Read More Here
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| April 10, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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| April, 2009 - Number 2 |
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An occassional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES)
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| CES In The News > Los Angeles Times - Friday, April 10, 2009 |
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| April 10, 2009 |
Lancaster Proposes Limiting
Section 8 Housing
Amendments to the city's rental ordinance would allow business licenses to be withheld from landlords who want to rent to such tenants. Affordable housing advocates condemn the plan. |
By Ann Simmons |
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Determined to slash the number of Section 8 renters in Lancaster, officials are proposing amendments to the city's rental housing ordinance that would allow it to withhold business licenses from landlords who want to rent to low-income tenants with federal vouchers.
Officials contend that more than 2,300 residential units are occupied by Section 8 tenants in their city, about 12% of the total number of vouchers administered by the Housing Authority of Los Angeles County. The federal program provides rental subsidies for the needy.
"We would not give out any new licenses for Section 8" under the new ordinance, said Vice Mayor Ronald D. Smith. "We would at least like to stem the tide. All we want is a fair and equitable share."
Last year, Smith wrote to U.S. Congressmen Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), and Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), who represent the Antelope Valley, requesting help in appealing to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval to amend the city's business license ordinance for rental housing.
The amended ordinance would bar licenses to landlords who intend to rent residential property to Section 8 voucher-holders. It would not affect existing Section 8 landlords and tenants. Officials at the county's Housing Authority acknowledged that Lancaster is the city with the highest number of Section 8 contracts, out of the 20,095 federal contracts administered countywide. But they put the number at 2,100, or 10% of the county's contracts.
Maria Badrakhan, acting assistant executive director for the county's housing
authority, declined to comment on any potential legal implications regarding Lancaster's proposal. But, she said, "there are federal fair housing laws that need to be considered."
She also rebuffed allegations by Lancaster officials that her agency was actively encouraging Section 8 voucher holders to move to Lancaster, stressing that "federal law does not allow us to steer folks anywhere."
More than 100,000 people were on the waiting list for Section 8 vouchers in L.A. County, Badrakhan said.
Lancaster was an attractive location, because of "the affordability, the quality of housing, and the willingness of landlords to participate in the [Section 8] program," she said.
Several affordable housing advocates and landlord associations condemned the city's proposal, particularly when the number of homeless in the county is estimated at about 73,000.
Lancaster's proposal is an "out-and-out attack on low-income people," said Larry Gross, executive director of the L.A.-based Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenants rights group. "They are putting up a sign on the borders of Lancaster saying that poor people are not welcome here."
James Clarke, executive director of the Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, which represents about 25,000 owners and managers of rental properties, called Lancaster's proposal "outrageous."
He said the vacancy rate for rentals in L.A. County had risen to 8% from 3% in the last six months. "There are empty apartments, and landlords who want to fill these apartments would be more than willing to rent to Section 8, because they are guaranteed the rent," Clarke said.
Lindsey Mask, Rep. McKeon's communications director, said in a written response that the congressman had asked HUD "to look into giving the city of Lancaster more flexibility in certifying which property owners are allowed to rent their property to Section 8 voucher tenants."
Nick Bouknight, a spokesman for Rep. McCarthy, said that McCarthy was also helping Lancaster to "research options so that they can find the best course of action that works for our neighborhoods. "
Norm Hickling, L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich's field deputy for the Antelope Valley, said that the county would not support any program specifically targeting the business licenses of potential Section 8 landlords.
Smith, Lancaster's vice mayor, said the large numbers of foreclosures in the city had resulted in potential investors snapping up these properties and converting them to Section 8 rentals. The increase in federal voucher tenants has placed a large burden on the city's social services and contributed to crime, he said.
"While the intent of Section 8 was well-meaning, it is a failed program," Smith said. "It has turned into an abused system. We are trying to clean up the program so that our neighborhoods are safe."
Meanwhile, the city is also considering making Section 8 landlords pay for expenses incurred for policing their rentals units. And investigators would start tracking Section 8 renters who break the rules of their contracts, and push for their vouchers to be revoked, officials said.
"If you use Section 8 for what it was intended for, and you want to come to Lancaster, that's fine," Smith said. If not, "we're going to track you down, we're going to find you, and we're going to send you packing."
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| EXPRESS YOUR OUTRAGE TO LANCASTER CITY OFFICIALS |
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Contact City of Lancaster Officials and Demand That They Reverse Their Outrageous Discriminatory New Policy That is a Direct Attack on Low-Income Tenants
Just earlier in the week, in opposing a prison facility, Lancaster city officials outrageously equate low income Section 8 tenants with parolees and juvenile probationers, such as sex offender and ex-gang members.
In another L.A. Times article, the following, "But Lancaster officials argue that the Antelope Valley is already home to some of the highest per-capita concentrations of parolees, juvenile probationers and federal Section 8 housing recipients in Los Angeles County."
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| Call and Email the Lancaster Mayor and City Council: |
| City Council & Mayor Phone: 661-723-6019 |
Mayor R. Rex Parris - Email: rrparris@cityoflancasterca.org
Vice Mayor Ronald D. Smith - Email: rdsmith@cityoflancasterca.org
Council Member Ed Sileo - Email: esileo@cityoflancasterca.org
Council Member Ken Mann - Email: kmann@cityoflancasterca.org
Council Member Sherry Marquez - Email: smarquez@cityoflancasterca.org
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| March 30, 2009 |
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Coalition for Economic Survival
CES Organizing Times Online
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An occassional email newsletter reporting on the
activities of the Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) |
April 2009 |
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Congressional Hearings Held in L.A.
to Address the Area's Housing Crisis |
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On a beautiful sunny Los Angeles spring day, hundreds of people packed the Los Angeles Southwest College gymnasium on Saturday, March 28, 2009, to hear about the gloomy forecast tenants and homeowners face.
The occasion was a Congressional field hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).. Rep. Waters was joined by Rep. Dianne Watson (D-CA).
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Reps. Maxine Waters (D-LA) and Diane Watson
preside over the Congressional housing hearing. |
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The purpose of the hearing was to examine public and affordable housing needs in Los Angeles specifically, foreclosures, HUD subsidized housing, Section 8 rental subsidies and public housing.
Congresswoman Waters said: "Families need stable housing, and during times of economic downturn, many people feel particularly vulnerable and anxious about their housing. I organized this hearing to bring together those hurt in the housing crisis and those who can help, and to help guide Congress as we take the next steps to help keep families in their homes and mortgage predators out of the markets."
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CES Executive Director testifying at the Congressional
housing hearing (from left to right): Susie Shannon,
Housing Advocate, LA Coalition to End Hunger and
Homelessness; Larry Gross, and Minelle Johnson,
a LA Section 8 voucher recipient. |
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One of those invited to testify by Rep. Waters was CES Executive Director Larry Gross. In response to the large number of tenants being evicted by banks foreclosing on multi-family rental properties, Gross told the committee: "Tenants who pay rent on time - have done nothing wrong, but now their lives are totally up-ended. Because banks just want them out. Yet, these banks had no problem begging Congress to bail them out with hundreds of billions of dollars - paid for by these tenants and other taxpayers. These banks should be prohibited from unfairly evicting the people who are paying for their corporate welfare."
Gross urged Congress to provide more funds to renew all project-based Section 8 contracts and Section 8 voucher contracts, provide additional Section 8 vouchers and support HUD tenant organizing, as well as to clarify HUD regulations to allow state and local governments to enact laws to provide additional protections, such as for evictions, to tenants living in government assisted housing.
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Congresswoman Maxine Waters takes a moment to talk with CES representatives at the Congressional hearing (from left to right): CES Tenant Organizer Joel Montano, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, CES Van Nuys Apartments tenant leader James "Doc" Bethard, CES Executive Director Larry Gross, CES Turner Apartments tenant leader and Rep. Waters' constituent Bertha Scott. |
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The CES HUD and Section 8 tenants attending the hearing came from Morton Gardens Apartments (Echo Park), La Villa Hermosa (South LA), Turner Apartments (South LA) and Van Nuys Apartments (Downtown LA).
Other allied groups turning out their members or having representatives attend included LA Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness, LACAN, POWER, Unión de Vecinos, ACORN, SAJE, Public Counsel, Legal Aid Foundation of LA, Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County and SCANPH.
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Congressional
Housing Hearing |
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Giant Sign Outside LA Southwest College announces the Congressional housing hearing.
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| CES HUD Subsidized & Section 8 Voucher Tenant Leaders Attend Cong. Housing Hearing |
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Turner Apartments tenants (l-r):
Bertha Scott & Gray Scott
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Morton Gardens Apartments Tenants (l-r):
Dulce Pena & Bertha Cardenas
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La Villa Hermosa Apartments tenants (l-r):
Donald Jackson, Lois Lavan, Homer Neal
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| Click Here to read CES' testimony given to Congressional Housing Subcommittee |
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