Editorial from the Beachhead Collective: Save Lincoln Place, Affordable
Housing for All
For the past 53 years, Lincoln Place Apartments
has been a vital part of Venice. The nearly 800 units, designed by
African-American Architect Ralph Vaughn, showed post-war California that
low-income apartments didn’t have to be low class. The spacious units, set
in a park-like environment between Lincoln Blvd. and Penmar Avenue, helped build
a sense of community among the residents.
Even today, there are no fences separating
neighbors, except where the owners bulldozed apartments, while government
officials and the courts looked the other way. This month, tenant leaders are
warning of the possibility of more destruction at the historic site. It’s
not yet Condition Orange, but it’s getting close to it. Several hundred
apartments now stand empty. Not because the owners cannot find renters, but
because they refuse to rent them. While perfectly good apartments stand empty
and are under threat of being destroyed, hundreds of Venetians are homeless and
thousands more can barely afford their overpriced apartments. These are clear
signs of gentrification through developer
greed.
Lincoln Place is now owned by
AIMCO, an S&P 500 corporation and the largest owner/operator of apartment
properties in the United States. AIMCO doesn’t need to destroy
Venice’s largest single low-income apartment complex for financial
reasons. AIMCO brags about generating superior returns to its shareholders. This
corporate giant needs to know that Venice won’t stand for landlord
terrorism.
The Beachhead Collective
calls for all of Venice to come to the defense of Lincoln Place. The
Neighborhood Council’s Land Use and Planning Committee is holding a
special meeting at 7pm, Tuesday, March 16 at the Penmar Park. Everyone should
attend this meeting and get involved in the fight to save Lincoln Place. We also
call for community action to bring about the
following:
• Block the
destruction of any more apartments in Lincoln
Place.
• Sell Lincoln Place to a
co-operative ownership establishment made up of its
residents.
• Grant official
historic status to the one-of-a-kind Lincoln Place
Apartments.
• Demand
Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski and Mayor James Hahn side with the Lincoln Place
tenants. They and other politicians need to become leaders of this fight to save
the homes of their
constituents.
• Demand that our
political leaders implement the right to affordable housing, as recognized by
the United Nations: “Personal or household costs associated with housing
should be at such a level that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic
needs are not threatened or compromised. Housing subsidies should be available
for those unable to obtain affordable housing, and tenants should be protected
from unreasonable rent levels or rent increases.”
Posted: Mon - March 1, 2004 at 05:52 PM