28
Thu, Mar

Koreatown Roars in Protest, Demands Public Hearings

LOS ANGELES

K’TOWN ON ALERT-Koreatown came out ROARING in PROTEST against City Council President Herb Wesson and Mayor Garcetti’s glib attitude in coming out to Koreatown and announcing that the Temporary Homeless Shelter will be located at 682 S. Vermont -- the northern portion of CD 10 that is represented by Wesson.

As background, this came after Mayor Garcetti shared in his 2018 State of the City address that “every single member” on the 15-member City Council pledged to create a “minimum of 222 new units in neighborhoods across LA.” The Mayor even acknowledged in his speech that Council President Herb Wesson would lead the way by stepping up to announce the site. 

After the Mayor and Council President’s press conference to share the good news about “A Bridge Home,” another fantastic concept and name given for the Temporary Homeless Shelters that will be built around the City in each and every council district (per the Mayor), the K’town response most likely shocked and alarmed both men.  

Literally, a GRASSROOTS movement occurred overnight -- well maybe over a few days -- with multiple social media sites and websites, change.org, and mom’s groups concerned about the idea of a temporary homeless shelter. There was either a lack of information or false information given to the Ktown community residents and stakeholders. 

Some folks were told that this shelter would be affordable housing units; others were told it was going to be a tent-like structure; some thought a building was going to go up. The City did a horrible job of informing the Ktown community of what was going on. And this is just the beginning because as other council members across the City identify the temporary homeless shelter locations, other neighborhoods and communities are being blind-sided. And let’s not forget that the City is asking the community to wait to find out about what types of services will be provided for the homeless; it’s only letting it be known that these would be welcoming spaces -- open 24 hours, with no restrictions, including no sobriety requirement to stay at the shelters. 

“A Bridge Home” sounds like a good start. We live in LA and we know that there is a homelessness crisis. We see it, we hear it, we feel it and know by other senses, too. What is the City afraid of? Why not allow public hearings? I don’t mean another repeat of the 2012 Redistricting Hearings, which put on a great show, with dozens of hearings held throughout the City, requesting input from residents. Yet, when it came down to voting, the input from the community was not considered. How do I know this? Because of the 21 Redistricting Commissioners, not a single one – yes, not ONE COMMISSIONER -- was given all the data that had been collected over dozens of hearings. In fact, they purposely split the 21 Commissioners into three separate groups, so that it was impossible for each commissioner to see or hear input from the various communities throughout the City.  

We live in America, not Russia, so how is it that community members are not informed? If you watch the video linked here, you hear Wesson telling the media on camera, “No, no, no, that is there is NOT going to be a public hearingwhere it relates to this, we are going to put a temporary facility here..."This is the treatment we get in Ktown. I have seen Wesson when he wants to impress and be polite. He’s more than cordial. But we in Ktown often get treated like second class citizens. As you can see from the grassroots uproar, this disparate treatment will not be tolerated. 

Let’s not forget what happens when we rush into things that were supposedly great ideas supported by Wesson and Garcetti…like the half- aked concept of RecycLA which has caused complaints in the tens of thousands, costing some folks an increase of 400% for trash hauling fees. Even Wesson admits that RecycLA was not well-implemented.  

In a recent issue of LA Magazine, Wesson’s response says it all: “On this one, we did not project accurately what was going to occur. We could have done a deeper dive; we might have looked at doing a pilot project first. We spent a couple of years reviewing it. Sometimes we get things wrong. I’m not ashamed to say that I was wrong on this one.” 

Need I say more? “A Bridge Home” should be given a DEEP DIVE. Homeless individuals and families need well-thought out solutions, not just photo-ops from folks wanting higher office. 

We have a huge homeless crisis that keeps growing. The reason is the City has not prioritized the building of affordable units. It keeps building luxury units, with studios starting at $2,500. If $15 an hour-employees work full time, their annual salaries would be approximately $31,000. And after taxes, it’s far less. If you can find a one-bedroom apartment for $1,800 you would be lucky. But that would still cost $21,600 a year. LA needs affordable housing, so let’s be smart and build affordable units that rent for less than $1,000 a studio. This would alleviate the growing homeless situation in LA. 

Councilmember Wesson had his folks handing out his ideal version of what the Homeless Shelter will look like in Ktown, saying it was “a fact” that there were 400 or so homeless people in Koreatown. Well, until I see the raw data for his conclusions, forgive me if I am skeptical. I have endured more than a decade of Wesson not acting honorably towards the Koreatown community, so excuse me if I don’t believe his words. 

Actions speak much louder than words. Wesson’s “action” has been not listeningto residents and stakeholders in this area. Instead, he has tried to drown out voices and opinions he does not like. He has called for the entire City to come to a “rally” he called for this Friday at 8:45 a.m. – a rally to support temporary homeless shelters. This coincides with Ktown’s announced gathering to speak at city council. We are rescheduling our gathering in an abundance of caution, to prevent potential misunderstandings that might arise out of language issues. 

If you wish to join the movement to stand up against another fiasco-in-the-making, please go to www.koreatownvoice.com to be notified of future gatherings.

 

(Grace Yoo is a prominent Koreatown social justice activist, advocate and attorney.) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

 

Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays