A Hollywood residential group, the Yucca-Argyle Tenants Association, and the L.A. Tenants Union teamed up on Tuesday outside their rent-stabilized residence at 1760 Argyle Ave. which is set to be demolished and redeveloped, displacing tenants during a housing crisis.

Hollywood tenants in a rent-stabilized building fear eviction and said a ballot initiative aimed at helping the housing crisis will only make things worse.
(photo by Gregory Cornfield)

“Stop evictions, save our home,” the groups chanted as passing drivers honked in support.

The building has 40 “households,” tenants said, and some renters have lived there for decades. Tenants said they heard about the proposed development last year and in February were told they might be evicted this summer, though that has not happened.

The proposed mixed-use project near Capitol Records consists of two buildings that include hotel and residential units and space for commercial and restaurant use. The first building will be 32-stories at approximately 368 feet tall with 191 apartments – of which 152 will be market rate and 39 will be “affordable” ­– and will have 261 hotel units. The second building would be six stories with 11 units.

“We don’t want a 32-story hotel being built here because that does not benefit the residents who live here or the neighbors in the community,” said Elizabeth Blaney, a member of the tenants union.

The group said they oppose more luxury apartments and hotels in Hollywood, and instead need rent-stabilized housing that will allow working class people to stay in their homes.

“After being harassed and priced out of my downtown home after 17 years, now along with my fellow tenants, we are facing an eviction to be replaced by the fifteenth luxury hotel, and twelfth luxury apartment complex within a 1.5-mile radius of Yucca-Argyle,” said Shauna Johnson.

Representatives for the project’s developers were not available for comment by press time.

The groups also voiced opposition to a development ballot initiative that they said could make the housing crisis worse. Sasha Ali, a representative of the tenants who works at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, argued that more residents will be displaced if the Build Better L.A. (BBLA) initiative on the November ballot passes.

A coalition of labor unions and housing advocates launched the BBLA initiative earlier this year. It would require affordable units to be included with residential projects that require zone changes and General Plan amendments. If approved, the initiative would also ensure that construction jobs go to community members through a local hire provision. Representatives for BBLA said the “bold plan” will align the city’s land use policies and funding to build more affordable housing, particularly near public transit stops, and that it will create more jobs.

“For the last 20 years, we have been asking for affordable housing,” Blaney said. “So when we see an initiative that claims to be for affordable housing, initially it sounds very good. But when you look at it, there are all kinds of problems with it.”

Opponents on Tuesday argued that loopholes in the initiative favor the construction of luxury developments over truly affordable housing for lower income tenants. They said the initiative will accelerate the forces of gentrification, leading to more displacement and higher rent costs with no guaranteed right of return to rent-stabilized or affordable housing.

The group called the required affordable housing “bread crumbs.”

“There is no guarantee the housing we really need will be built in our communities,” Blaney said. “They can build [the affordable housing] a half-mile away or up to three miles away outside of our neighborhood. Or they can just contribute money to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and we don’t get housing at all. In return for this contribution, the city will grant them expedited processing. [It] only rushes displacement.”

Ali said BBLA fast-tracks developments that will not take care of the housing crisis or the people displaced by evictions.

“Though it is touted as something that will provide more affordable housing, it will actually fast track developments that have an affordable housing component to them. But it’s a fraction of those units that are going to be affordable.”