MORE THAN 500 PROTEST FOR RENTER PROTECTION, AFFORDABLE HOUSING.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer Angry tenants and homeless residents filled the City Council chambers Wednesday, pounding the lectern and calling for more renter protections and affordable housing in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . More than 500 people protested inside and outside City Hall and presented a list of demands including a moratorium on condo conversions, a citywide housing policy and a requirement that developers include affordable units in their projects. "Something has to be done. We're talking about hundreds of units where people are being evicted all the time. Where are these people going to go?" said Alvivon Hurd, a downtown resident who belongs to ACORN, a low-income housing advocacy group. She and others demanded that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. and the City Council adopt stronger policies to build and protect affordable housing. In addition, the group presented a list of 100 buildings in which tenants are considered at risk for eviction The removal of a tenant from possession of premises in which he or she resides or has a property interest done by a landlord either by reentry upon the premises or through a court action. by unscrupulous landlords, condo conversions or demolitions. "We know they're going to have to do a little thinking. We're going to give them a week and that's it," Hurd said. But the groups' protest was met with lukewarm luke·warm adj. 1. Mildly warm; tepid. 2. Lacking conviction or enthusiasm; indifferent: gave only lukewarm support to the incumbent candidate. response from city leaders, who have been trying to balance the needs of both tenants and landlords. "There are ways to get your point across. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how well their point was received," said Councilman Herb Wesson Herb J. Wesson, Jr. is a California politician. He currently serves as a Los Angeles City Councilman. He represents the 10th district. He served in the State Assembly representing the 47th district from 1998 until 2004. , who heads the Council's Housing and Economic Development Committee. "A citywide housing policy is something that has to be thought out in a methodical me·thod·i·cal also me·thod·ic adj. 1. Arranged or proceeding in regular, systematic order. 2. Characterized by ordered and systematic habits or behavior. See Synonyms at orderly. way." A spokesman for Villaraigosa said Helmi Hisserich, the deputy mayor for housing, will meet with affordable-housing advocates to discuss their demands. "In many ways, we're already on the same page," spokesman Gil Duran said. "Everybody wants to see more affordable housing and see it built much more rapidly." kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
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