ASBESTOS WORK STIRS UP RUCKUS AT VALLEY APARTMENT COMPLEX.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

State and local officials Friday were investigating claims that the new owners of a 104-unit apartment complex ripped out asbestos-filled walls and ceilings without proper permits or safety tests.

Tenants claim the owners threatened to evict anyone who protested about the work. ``They're playing with our health, and that's dangerous,'' said Chet Mesisca. He and his wife, Judy, have organized tenants of the Magnolia Park Apartments. ``I think the bottom line is, they're trying to make our lives so miserable that we'll move out and they can raise the rents.''

Mesisca said that without legal help from tenants rights groups like the Coalition for Economic Survival and San Fernando Valley Legal Services, the tenants wouldn't have known what to do.

The building was constructed in 1961 and, like many others from that era, contains asbestos, according to a study by independent asbestos inspector David Wallach, which found sample material containing up to 8 percent asbestos.

Asbestos, fiber-like particles found in some building insulation materials, can become airborne if disturbed and dangerous when breathed.

Stratus Management, which manages the complex, could not be reached for comment.

Renovation of plumbing and other fixtures at the complex began in mid-November and got as far as 13 units before coming to a halt after concerned tenants called the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The state agency issued an order to comply on Nov. 22, obligating the landlord to conduct an asbestos assessment and submit a cleanup plan before work could continue.

The state agency also took samples to conduct its own asbestos tests, and results of those tests are due next month, said AQMD spokesman Sam Atwood. Any cleanup plans or mitigation efforts by the landlord must first get AQMD approval, he said, adding that no such approval has yet been issued.

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety also ordered the work stopped on Dec. 3, after an inspection found that proper work permits had not been issued, city documents show.

However, tenants claim, the landlord has pushed ahead with work, even issuing three-day eviction notices Friday to tenants who have refused to allow workers to enter their units.

After a group of tenants took a petition with signatures from 50 tenants to Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who represents the area, she agreed to meet with management and tenants Monday to seek a resolution.

``The landlord already has one strike against them for failing to inform the tenants about safety issues from the beginning,'' she said. ``I think we can find a solution, but if we need the bigger stick of some city agencies to make sure that happens, then that's what we'll do.''