As told to the Los Angeles City government August 2019.
Communications with city employees
Denial of housing services
* The intercom system unit 9 and outside the building is unusable. The intercom needs repair * Unit 9 tenants are still being denied a tandem parking stall
* The back interior stairs remain unstable and need repair as they are dangerous wobble when walking on them
Update July 22, 2017
Racism Protests at Code Enforcement Headquarters and Watch the Inspectors Video in Action
City government employees who practice housing discrimination in violation of the California Constitution: Angelo Shannon, Karen Baggio, Alan Yochelson Ali Mozannar * Arthur Belis Bryan Kirkness Byron Fuentes Charles Garcia Christine Ritsky Daniel Williams David Burkhead David V. Gomez David Whitehurst Denton Lorenzo Derrick Spencer Donald Matt Williams * Edward Zavala Frank Bush Gail Owsley Gary Eshay Gregory Pomish Ian Yeom Ifa Kashefi Jade Beck * James Blythe Jeffrey Fulton Jennifer Montana John Weight Ken Gill LADBS Lee Smith Manuel Hernandez Martin Hurtado Mayor Eric Garcetti Michael Alvarez Michael Kuhn Michael Soto Noel Ramirez [gave final approval to intercom replacement for select tenants and excluding Black tenants] Presiliano Sandoval Raymond Chan Richard Garcia Richard Schindler Robert Aldape Robert Galardi Rushmore Cervantes Steve Davey Steve Ongle Walter Barratt * [*not city employees but co-conspirators]
Youtube video proves housing discrimination in Los Angeles government.
“Stand Your Ground Against Racism”
Update June 21, 2017
Youtube video highlights housing discrimination Los Angeles . Click
Standing in the Apt House Door Pt 1 of 2
While white person after white person [Ogan, Garcetti, Galardi, Whitehurst, Smith, etc.] lines up in support of KKK tactics, one ANGRY Black fights back against Housing Discrimination.
Updated March 28, 2017
Today protestors appeared outside downtown Los Angeles Superior Court Stanley Mosk Building, City Hall, Federal Court Building, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Just-Us.
Fighting admitted KKK racism of city employees David Whitehurst, Robert Galardi, Ian Yeom, Manual Hernandez, Walter Barratt, Greg De Rubeis. At Mayor Eric Garcetti’s City Hall. LOS ANGELES AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND RENT CONTROL.
Fighting admitted KKK racism of city employees David Whitehurst, Robert Galardi, Ian Yeom, Manual Hernandez, Walter Barratt, Greg De Rubeis. At Los Angeles Stanley Moske Superior Court. LOS ANGELES AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND RENT CONTROL.
Fighting admitted KKK racism of city employees David Whitehurst, Robert Galardi, Ian Yeom, Manual Hernandez, Walter Barratt, Greg De Rubeis. At Kenneth Hahn Hall of Just-Us.LOS ANGELES AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND RENT CONTROL.
Fighting admitted KKK racism of city employees David Whitehurst, Robert Galardi, Ian Yeom, Manual Hernandez, Walter Barratt, Greg De Rubeis. LOS ANGELES AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND RENT CONTROL.
Updated March 20, 2017
Today protestors appeared outside Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Department at 1200 W. 7th Street 90017 with protest signs.
Racism Hi Point Apts
Updated March 18, 2017
City Housing Code Enforcement Claim they Cannot See the Violations
Can you see this picture? Mayor Eric Garcetti’s code enforcement claim they cannot see this picture. The covered vehicle is inoperable for over a year while code enforcement has been on the property repeatedly but not cited the vehicle; debris is underneath the vehicle and in front of it. Tenants are supposed to report other tenants who violate the common area house rules or who violate the law or who try to use the parking lot for storage. The van picture is the Animal Facility business which the county and city employees claim they have not been able to find the vehicle, [these pictures are taken from the street]. Code enforcement did NOT come out as promised on March 17, but had previously said over the phone that the area is not zoned for an animal facility and the business owner does not have an animal facility license.
City Code enforcement/LADBS employees include David Whitehurst, Richard Brinson, Robert Galardi, Rushmore Cervantes, Ian Yeom, Kristine Ritzke, Raymond. Chan, Frank Bush, Steve Davey, Ifa Kashefi, Steve Ongle, Ken Gill, John Weight, Richard Garcia, Manuel Hernandez. [Some of these inspectors make over $100,000 dollars per year to sit on their ass.]
LB Property management employees who acts for building owner Hi Point Apts LLC/Abady Holding LTD. and includes Walter Barratt, Julie Cross, Robert Lopata, Gregg Bernstein, Brandon Stein, Brian Theobald, Ccam, Salle Yerumyan, Greg De Rubeis.
The newest tenant to the building is B. Bellio in apartment 15. [City documents show that apartment 15 had previously been promised as a temporary move for two Black tenants under the so called THP regulations but the owner refused to comply with the temporary move of the Black tenants.]
Can YOU see these pictures?
[ Tenants are at risk of injury. Electrical power to the building failed three times this week on March 16, 2017 ]
Update Feb 11 2017
Workers Violate Primary Renovation Hours courtesy Mayor Eric Garcetti
City employee Charles Garcia said (2015) that hours of primary renovation are 8:00 -5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday in a rent control building. No work permitted on Saturday and Sunday. City employee Catherine Gaba said the same thing. The city THP regulations say the same thing. The property owner said the same thing at a public hearing in 2015.
So why are workers on the property today?
[See picture below]
I talked with two maintenance workers who said they were disregarding what I said above and they continued with the renovations. This picture was taken about 10:30 a.m. in the common area. Notice the car parked in the yellow striped fire zone that endangers the safety of white tenants.
Update July 4 2016
1522 Hi Point St trash.
So why is this picture important? First it shows that the city code enforcement and county health department are not doing their jobs as in CORRUPTION.Second, what can this cause? Exactly: it can cause criminals to be attracted to the property; the debris could topple over onto a small child; or it could be an attraction for fire starters. Debris also can act as a home for pests like rats and mice. Of course some of the tenants in the building don’t care about their own safety much less that of others so the debris sits for months and months. No health and safety here. Maybe all tenants should follow this example.
Update March 19 2016
Hi Point Apts is Unsanitary, Substandard, and Unsafe
LA county Public Health Feb 10 2016 have said they have no authority over the wiring in the 1522 Hi Point St 90035 building.
Health and Safety code 17920.3 sections(a)(13) and (d) and (i) give the city and county employees jurisdiction, but as of March 16 talk with city code enforcement, and after over two years of defective security system intercom wiring, government employees maintain they have no jurisdiction under H & S code 17920.3. City employee Richard Brinson, Le Taun J. Cotton, Veronica Bauchman, David Burkhead, Richard Jackson, and Udo O. Nwachuku all claim the city and county employees have no jurisdiction to enforce defective and improperly maintained wiring.
click here to read “Tenant News”
Since there is general dilapidation abandoned vehicle and improper maintenance of the wiring and construction materials, the Health and Safety code 17920.3 declares the building to be “unsanitary” and “substandard” and “unsafe”. Tenant security is at risk.
Update August 1 2015
Racism and denial of housing services.
“should any Black American be denied a housing service?”
In just one example of many, last year a tenant faced primary renovation work to their apartment. City regulation LAMC 151.02 et seq requires that the owner file a THP plan with the city and offer the tenant temporary relocation, and in some cases, permanent relocation [if repairs will last over 30 days]. The owner did not file any paperwork with the city and did not serve the tenant with the THP. This complaint was brought to the city government attention and the city did nothing but support the property owner; no papers were served on the tenant. The tenant received about $7,000 to permanently move out but under LAMC the tenant with a child was entitled to about $18,000, a loss of $11,000 and damage to the tenant. This is a pattern and practice by whites against Blacks, by government against Blacks. Can racism be indirect? Yes. Can racism be circumstantial? Yes.
To understand racism in the city government of Los Angeles, you only have to answer one question: should any Black American be denied a housing service?
Update Jul 16 Letter
to Resident Manager Marilyn London, et al. and Council President. Posted to London’s door. No answer yet from London in over six months. The city housing LAHCID has admitted to directing housing discrimination regarding parking at 1522 Hi Point St 90035.
“Your decision also proves the city government’s admitted jurisdiction over the discriminatory assignment of parking lot stalls.
It is a crime that your decision to harm tenants includes the welfare of a child and a senior citizen; you don’t care who you hurt, do you?
I also request that Armida and the property owner provide to me within 10 days a notarized declaration under penalty of perjury that provides the following:
1. What are the qualifications for a tenant to be assigned a tandem parking stall?
2. Which tenants by apartment number do not qualify for a tandem parking stall?
3. Which tenants by apartment number had their rent reduced because only single parking stalls were available?
4. How much was the rent reduced for tenants who did not receive a tandem parking stall?
5. Specify the fee for parking in the 1522 Hi Point lot and detail by corresponding apartment number, i.e apartment unit and fee for parking for that unit.
6. Are there any other qualifications for parking in the lot, i.e race, color, sex, source of income, etc.?
7. What is Cliff Renfrew’s employment title?
8. What employee is responsible for the assignment of parking stalls?
9. List any tenant(s) whose assigned parking stalls were changed at the tenant’s request and the date of that change.
10. How is first come first served applied to the assignment of parking stalls?
11. Why does the LAHCID call the “tandem”an “additional housing service”? Additional to what?
12. Is LAHCID aware that parking enforcement has already established a definition for the “tandem” stall?
13. Which tenants qualify for an additional housing service and which tenants do not qualify for an additional housing service?
14. What are the specific rates for this “additional” housing service?
15. What city regulation authorizes the city LAHCID to bestow such authority on the owner stating that he can establish rates that are not authorized under the 3% and 1% and 1% annual rent increases?
16. When, where, and what date has the owner posted the additional housing service tandem stall rates for all tenants to see?
17. Which parking stall(s) by number at 1522 Hi Point is the “additional” housing stall?”
[Picture and email Redacted- see the full July 15 email elsewhere on this site]
“Security” gate
Tenants claimed the owner was not entitled to a rent increase partly because he did not have a permit for the [offscreen] connecting brick wall, and because the owner did not get a permit for the electric wiring for the motor of the gate until after the wiring was installed. Pictures by tenants to the city government rent control show the wiring was installed around April 6, 2014. The owner did not get a permit until May 16 2014. According to rent control LAMC regulations, the owner cannot be reimbursed from tenants for the security gate. The Los Angeles Rent Control HCID [“LAHCID”] officer disregarded the evidence and granted the owner the rent increase anyway.
Rear Door and Keypad
Rent control laws, or at least their enforcement or lack thereof, seem to be designed primarily for the benefit of the property owner. Here is another example why. A rent increase for capital improvement cannot be granted unless the repair is primarily to benefit the tenant. At issue was a rent increase for installation of front and rear keypads. The LAHCID hearing officer disregarded tenant statements that the primary way to enter the building is by door key; it appears the keypad is not for the primary benefit of tenants but for the benefit of non-residents like delivery and maintenance people. The owner claimed the keypad and intercom are separate and the hearing officer agreed even though the picture proves otherwise. The hearing officer again disregarded the facts of the case and granted the rent increase saying “the keypads provide an additional way to get in and out of the building.” From the picture can you see how a keypad is needed to “get out of the building”? No. This may be what your town will face if you approve rent control.
New Windows
May 18, 2015 the owner and maintenance crew Reyes Contractors [assumed] has installed new windows. But the needs of primarily Black tenants for a repaired intercom have been ignored for over 12 months. Speaking of intercoms, for the primarily white tenants who moved into the building, they received intercoms immediately upon move in; they did not have to wait 12 months. Ever hear of “separate and unequal” housing facilities? It is Los Angeles you know. Ask Mayor Eric Garcetti what he thinks of housing discrimination or doesn’t he know what discrimination is.
Unknown
Pipe sticking out of rear of building.
Emails Outside Door of Manager Requesting Intercom Repair
The building manager is African American. For over twelve months she has not said when the intercoms will be repaired or when tenants will receive a rent reduction. Maybe Mayor Eric Garcetti knows the answer.
The Timber Clad on front of
Building at 1522
The LAHCID hearing officer Beth Rosen-Prinz approved this rent increase even though this type of repair is not listed in city approved repairs, nor does it primarily benefit the tenants.
Unsanitary Conditions
This is what LAHCID code inspectors see in the hallways at 1522 and they just keep walking.
[I call the inspectors “The Four Stooges”.]
Another Email to the Manager Asking
is the Intercom for Whites Only. No answer from the manager or owner Walter Barratt.
The dirt that unauthorized construction crews leave behind
at 1522 Hi Point thanks to the LAHCID code enforcement
Unauthorized Construction
May 20 2015 [three pictures]
Crew pickup truck and worker at the site about 6:18 p.m. on May 20. The LAMC states construction crews for primary renovation must be off the site by 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Another job for the city government’s Four Stooges. Tenants have threatened to call the police for trespassing as construction crews violate tenant quiet enjoyment and habitability. 6:18 p.m. May 20.
Update August 14 2015
The owner Hi Point Apts LLC Walter Barratt and Cliff Renfrew and city government officials refuse to comply with/enforce city ordinance 176, 544, hours of primary renovation in this rent control building are 8 am to 5 pm Monday thru Friday; this is verified on the city government website 7/1/2005
http://hcidla.lacity.org/Primary-Renovation; Notice of Primary Renovation Work from from city website states page 3 “Construction work may be done Monday thru Friday 8 am to 5 pm”-
http://hcidla.lacity.org/Primary-Renovation– city website updated 7/22/2015 and showing the Primary Renovation Program Facts
http://hcidla.lacity.org/Primary-Renovation– “The landlord is permitted to do construction work from Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm.”
Pictures: more unauthorized renovations; manager and owner unresponsive to intercom and parking questions. Based on documents forwarded to Assemblyperson Karen Bass and Los Angeles Mayor and Council. [left to right (1) Note to Manager M. London that renovation hours are 8am -5 pm Monday thru Friday and asking her questions about the availability of housing services intercom and tandem parking stalls (2) same note left at Manager’s M. London’s door (3) primary renovation workers Reyes Contractors Inc on property Aug 14 after 5 (4) after 6 and (5) after 8 pm., working past the 5:00 pm requirement. The worker parks in the visitor stall, thus making the stall unavailable for the use of the tenants. The rent control agency failed to enforce rights/ignored tenant complaints on these issues.
If you plan on moving into this 1522 Hi Point Street address, you may face the same discrimination, violation of landlord tenant laws by owner, and non responsiveness from the owner, manager, and city officials. [May God be with you.]
Update December 10 2015
Letter to the Manager and the Mayor re Intercom
At least four apartments in the building still are without working intercoms since April 2014 — 18 months! The owner and resident manager and city government refuse to order the intercoms repaired and rent reimbursements. Tenants who are subject to a housing service reduction [which includes lack of maintenance] are supposed to receive a rent reduction as well as have the intercom repaired. Below is a copy of today’s letter addressed to the resident manager and copied to the Los Angeles Mayor and Council. It reads:
December 10-11, 2015
“Dear Manager Lorrie Sakauchi (misswholefoods@aol.com) :
The intercom has not been working since April 2014.
If not for racial discrimination and retaliation because I opposed racial discrimination, what is the reason my intercom has not been fixed?
The owner is unresponsive.
Please have the intercom fixed today.
From:
Tenant Apt 9 at 1522 Hi Point St 90035
cc: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Council members
ref: violation 42 USC 1983 “The Ku Klux Klan Act”; the California Unruh Act"
Editor Note: These images may also appear on Yelp under “Hi Point Apts”. The property owner issued a three day notice to perform or quit after an African American tenant continued to complain about a non-working intercom, mold and asbestos. The owner was quick to serve the 3 day notice but still refuses to answer concerns or fix the non-working intercoms after nearly 18 months. Like they say, how many white inspectors does it take to fix an intercom? Should the security of the door entry intercom be for all tenants or just the privileged few? Or do White tenants feel they are more safe because their Black neighbors do not have a working intercom like them? Numerous county and city inspectors appear deaf and dumb to the intercom wiring health and safety substandard housing problem. Who says code enforcement is not Racist? Are there any Human Beings at Hi Point Apts?
Google California Civil Code section 1940.4 and see what types of tenants you think it applies to.
Update Jan 23 2016
[These pictures may also appear on Yelp]
Updated September 19 2016
Los Angeles, California officials say Black tenant treated as “Nigger” not entitled to full and equal housing privileges. Select tenants are named. United States Central District Court case CV16-03236 JLS.
Attorneys for the defendants are ATTORNEY FOR COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, AND ALAN CHEN Renee E Jensen lduarte@fwhb.com, rjensen@fwhb.com; ATTORNEY FOR WILLIAMS REAL ESTATE ADVISORS, Inc. Thomas L Watters twatters@hartwattersandcarter.com; ATTORNEY FOR STATE OF CALIFORNIA Martin Ageson martin.ageson@doj.ca.gov, marsha.petty@doj.ca.gov; ATTORNEY FOR CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CHARLES GARCIA, BARBARA BRASCIA, RICHARD BRINSON, ARMIDA-OLGUIN FLORES Robert P Moore robert.p.moore@lacity.org, julie.martinez@lacity.org; ATTORNEY FOR HI POINT APTS, LLC, WALTER BARRATT, CLIFF RENFREW Jared A Barry jared@barrylawgroup.com [UPDATED SEPT. 19, 2016]
Click below link for more information on the lawsuit:
LA Rent Control (RAC) and Permits (LADBS) 