Sad Story Unfolding in Venice

Heather Priest
Special to the Mirror 

   There seem to be endless stories from Angelenos recounting their neighborhood casualties, the increasing homelessness, the utter lack of
respect this city sometimes unleashes on its citizens, and a host of other woes. Maybe I’m no different, but I’d like to outline a sad story that has been unfolding for several years here in Venice and which
may now be building toward a flashpoint. This is a story representing to me all that is wrong and misguided about Los Angeles and the people
running it, but which also has potential to represent the very best we all have to offer...if it’s not too late.

   Lincoln Place Is Unique In Scope, Significance
   I live in Lincoln Place — a charming residential area of Venice that was built in 1949 to house aerospace workers and other middle-income working families after WWII. We’re about 800 garden apartments, grouped as a series of adjoining fourplexes that form a “mini-subdivision” by way of shared courtyards, lawns and sidewalks. We know our neighbors, we have bake sales, and we hold twice-yearly complex-wide yard sales where we get to know the newcomers and others. It really is like a quiet, safe, small village of its own, set behind a Ralph’s grocery store, off Lincoln Boulevard. Very little about Lincoln Place has changed since it was built — and with the exception of one building now being “remodeled,” all of the architecture is original — and is truly unique in both its scope and significance in LA history. There are very few examples of planned, post-WWII affordable housing still extant, as most has been destroyed to make way for densely-packed, high-priced condominiums with gated metal fences and dank, prison-like, underground parking.

   The Struggle Begins 
   Here’s a basic outline of our struggle, starting back in the mid-1980s when the then new owner of Lincoln Place, Robert Henry Bisno, Esq.,
undertook to evict all the long-term residents to bring in new ones at twice the rent. The Lincoln Place Tenants Association formed in an
organized attempt to stave off the evictions, and was temporarily successful through several court actions. However, in the early 1990s,
Bisno tried another tactic, announcing plans to raze the complex to make way for luxury townhomes and high-priced condominiums. At that time, the assessed value of the property varied from $33 million (appraised by a Bisno creditor) to $60 million (according to Bisno appraisers). Mr. Bisno had bought the property in 1986 for $28.7 million. The Lincoln Place Tenants Association offered to purchase the complex from him. It has lined up investors who will pay $47 million, hoping to create a non-profit, democratically controlled community which could help middle and lower income families, students, the disabled and the elderly achieve some sense of affordable stability in their lives. Even though Robert Bisno was in the process of filing Chapter 11, he rejected our Association’s offer, and continued pressing forward with his plans to demolish the entire complex. The Tenants Association then fought the planned demolition and was granted a temporary victory through the efforts of Councilperson Ruth Galanter, who led the L.A. City Council in preventing Robert Henry Bisno from proceeding with his condo plans, and our little community was safe for another five years.

   Under Siege 
   Now, however, we are again under siege. Mr. Bisno, a millionaire with seemingly endless funds, sued the City of Los Angeles, challenging its ruling against his plans. Superior Court Judge, Dzintra Janavs, subsequently ruled that if Bisno chose level Lincoln Place, he could not be stopped solely on the grounds of saving middle and lower income housing, as that would unfairly impede economic development. In an effort to protect ourselves from this ruling, we tried to get Lincoln Place designated as a historic LA landmark to no avail. The Mayor appoints the Commission which rules on the merits of such architectural submissions, and all but one member voted against the designation. Had we prevailed in the decision to establish our complex as a “protected landmark,” we would be in much safer waters now. Interestingly, the 260-unit Chase Knolls apartment complex in Sherman Oaks, a much smaller but almost identical version of Lincoln Place designed by the same architect, Heath Wharton, was granted landmark status by the Council in July.... In light of this verdict, one just might be tempted to suggest that some backdoor dialogue and political cronyism was working against us in City Hall. 
   As it stands today, Bisno is attempting to systematically evict residents with the alleged intent of “remodeling” the units, when, in fact, he is completely reconstructing them, destroying their historic significance and creating, in their place, high-priced, luxury McYuppie-boxes, while displacing our long-time residents, Section 8 persons, artists, students, immigrants, struggling families and all the cultural diversity which has come to make Venice as unique in all the world.

   Suits and Countersuits
   This is what we’re up against: Last month, a woman was taken to court and summarily evicted when her check went missing in the mail (which is not uncommon here), after she had been a resident for almost seven years. The owner is attempting this same strategy to evict other tenants for similarly immaterial infractions. Robert Henry Bisno has sued the Lincoln Place Tenants Association for conspiring against his economic freedom and he is plaguing some of our more outspoken members with frivolous lawsuits, alleging systematic vandalism and other unproved actions. The ACLU came to our defense in one of these cases but they can’t help us in cases that fall outside of First Amendment rights. With Bisno’s resources, he can litigate us all to the poorhouse -- or worse -- onto the streets.

   Poverty Rising
   The housing situation in Los Angeles favors neither the less affluent nor the middle class: It is simply not affordable any longer. Housing costs in LA are so high that there are more renters than homeowners, and more than one quarter of renters pay more than one half of their monthly income simply to keep a roof over their heads. Los Angeles remains the “Homeless Capitol of America,” with anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 people on the county streets every night. Want some more chilling statistics? In spite of an economic “recovery,” poverty in LA is worse now than it was in 1990. The percentage of “poor” families rose from 36% to 43% of the population and now accounts for some 4.1 million people. Inequality is worsening as most of the income and wealth from the new economy is accruing to a small group at the top: In the late 1990’s, the richest 20% of Angelinos earned almost four times what the middle 20% earned — an increase of 17% from the early 90’s.
   Nationally, the net worth of the top 1% swelled by 17% as well, while the bottom 40% lost an astounding 80% of their net worth, when adjusted
for inflation. The “working poor” in LA are increasingly middle-aged, and 77% of the working poor in LA work full-time. These facts do not bode well for the future of what could be the greatest, most colorful and diverse city in the world. Unfortunately, Los Angeles is in a disgraceful state of affairs made worse by the machinations of millionaire landlords like Robert Henry Bisno and his investment corporations.

   Money Talks
   And this is how our story reflects what is happening to the city on a greater scale. Money talks, and as a result, smaller, more diverse communities such as Venice, are forcibly disbanded to make way for high density, high-priced, high maintenance, architecturally homogenous, boring Yuppie condos and still more over-priced, plastic, cloned coffeehouse chains. When will we say, No!? When is enough destruction and greed enough? What does “economic growth” really mean? More people, more cars, more pollution, more consumption, more...stuff...and all at the expense of “Quality of Life.” Yes, growth is good. But to a point: I’m 5’4” and if I never stopped growing from the day I was born, I’d be dead by now — suffocated by my own weight and crushed by the forces of gravity. Gravity is an absolute on our planet, just as our planet’s ability to sustain life is finite, as well. If Venice “grows” in the commonly accepted economic manner, it will no longer afford anyone anything more unique or interesting than a bunch of densely-crammed, gated condo living, self-involved, SUV-driving, oblivious, generic rich white people, employing the “working poor” to trim their lawns, blow their leaves, and baby-sit their children. The underpaid workers then must rely on either our appalling public transportation system or navigate our overburdened roadways in commuting the untold miles to and from the furthest outskirts of the city where they can afford to rent a tiny unit for their family. In this situation the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will get poorer and more isolated -- and we all suffer under these conditions.

   Looking for a Happy Ending
   So many of us Angelenos are feeling scared and silenced by the “politico-economics” of today. We need people in the media to help us -- perhaps take up our case in at least one “lifestyle” story...Maybe it won’t change the outcome of our battle here at Lincoln Place, but I hope it will resonate and hit home for those who love this city so very much, but feel as though they are being given the boot by Big Business and Monied Interests. 
   That’s the way I feel, at any rate. Admittedly, I’m a boring white person. So maybe, I’m part of the problem (sadly, I’ve always been inadvertently at the forefront of the shock troops of Gentrification)...but I’m just barely, barely middle class (freelance costume designer for theater and indy film - no money in that!), and I honestly feel like I belong to a real community of neighbors of whom I have grown very fond. We don’t have fences, we share courtyards and dilapidated laundry rooms, we know neighbors up and down the block (as a solid community should!). 
   In these times of economic segregation populated by fortress-like dwellings and their small-minded inhabitants, how many people living in an urban environment can still say that? We hold meetings and support each other in court when yet another one of us is slapped with a lawsuit from our landlord or gets an eviction notice for the smallest of infractions. We’re scared, frustrated and angry, and I think these feelings of powerlessness are shared by a huge chunk of LA out there who understand our situation, as it mirrors theirs.