Party Review: 'Drop Dead CRA Day' at City Hall

I am Valarie Stewart, daughterof Nick and Edna Stewart.  Rather thanbeing a simple eminent domain case, the CRA’s taking of the buildings thatcomprised our Ebony Showcase complex is a clear case of a lack of oversight, ofmanipulation and insider deals; what is most important it shows how the CRAreally operated behind closed doors.  

My parents lost title to (butnot possession of) the Ebony Showcase Theatre complex aftercompleting an expensive first phase of city-mandated "Division88" earthquake compliance (Code enforcement) BEFORE THE 1994 EARTHQUAKE,that forced them into a chapter 11 bankruptcy which was dismissed by thejudge after we could not get bankruptcy-required insurance becausethere was a moratorium on property insurance policies right after the Civilunrest.   I have a city council tape recording of thefollowing:  After my parents lost title to the theater in the early 1990s,the mortgage company at a REAP hearing told the City Council that theywanted to give the ownership of the theater complex back to my parents. Councilwoman Rita Walters said that Division 88 was a law that applied toeveryone but the city (the city, itself, could not afford to earthquake-proofCity Hall).  The city council voted to find money from the CRA forgrants to our business and others who had to do the earthquake-proofing oftheir buildings.  Rather than seek help as mentioned above, our CityCouncilman, Nate Holden, later wrote a letter to my parents that said he would buythe property and "take their legacy."

After the 1994 earthquake,minutes of CRA meetings with Nate’s staff show that Nate Holden was told by anemployee of Riorden to form a NEW non profit corporation  to apply forearthquake disaster grant money meant for small businesses.  Afterthe Korean Theater Festival was held at our theater, Nate told his friends thatour Korean clients were trying to buy the property and persuaded his friends toform new non profit organization.  Their new non profit which had anoffice in Century City was called "Ebony Showcase Cultural Center."  According to City Council files,Nate made a contribution of computers to "his" EbonyShowcase non profit.  Nate was later quoted in 2 newspapers as sayingthat he could not give the real Ebony Showcase any money because "it wouldbe a gift of public funds."  Nate's new non profit remained asecret. 

Countless documents weredoctored by CRA employees.   There existphotos of perpendicular cuts in wood that are purported to be a roof cave-incaused by 1994 earthquake damage (and tornado damage) years after theNorthridge earthquake.  Our complex wasgreen-tagged (deemed safe to occupy) after the earthquake but the CRA hired aninsider to create a false  report thatclaimed that the entire complex was badly earthquake damaged.so that the CRAcould get disaster money for themselves -  

http://www.crala.lacity.org/re...

 We fought hard to try tosave our buildings and the CRA used nearly every trick in the book againstus.  We even went to a state recovery office for help.  The director theresaid he would help us; but later told us not to return because he had beentold  by government officials to turn us away. 

Once the CRA got ownership ofthe property they built a CRA-owned theater there and named it the Nate Holden Performing arts Center after using our name “Ebony Showcase” to get HUD blockgrant money, meant for small businesses, for themselves.  . They later formed a 3rd non profit with a namesimilar to ours so the public still calls their CRA-owned theater "theEbony." The CRA used my parents' names (without permission) in theirrental agreement and in their propaganda.

 http://www.ebonyrep.org/downlo...

The  above information is just the tip of theproverbial iceberg.

The real Ebony Showcase Theateris a 501(c)3 non profit organization for the entire community, never  just for African Americans.  Contributions are needed to continue myparent’s true legacy.

Way, way back in 1915, the City of LA produced a Traffic Study, and at that time, it warned us about greedy landowners who would oppose the natural topography and human nature to spread out Los Angeles' famed residential neighborhoods interspersed with appropriate commercial and manufacturing.  In 1915 the City said,

"No municipality is justified in adopting a policy which would tend to retard the removal of business centers to their natural geographical location. Such a policy would be nothing less than a deliberate exploitation of civic resources for the benefit of the limited number of property owners enjoying abnormal incomes from rental privileges; and at best, could only serve as a palliative, since the final location of the business center of any growing city is regulated entirely by its topography and is altogether beyond individual or corporate control."

Yet, the CRA/LA and its latest Champion, trust fund baby and mayor wannabe Garcetti, were those Exploiters who concentrated traffic congestion first in Bunker Hill and then in Hollywood, bringing upon Los Angeles its nightmare traffic, its horrible air quality, its decaying infrastructure.  In regard to Hollywood where the CRA/Garcetti gang have been romping around for the last decade, we have an exodus of population.  Hollywood has 26,000 fewer people than projected thanks to the harmful actions of the CRA and Garcetti.

Los Angeles' woeful condition did not just happen; it was systematically created by people like Garcetti who thinks Miki Jackson doesn't have First Amendment rights.  If these Exploiters of civic resources had listened to Miki Jackson a ten years ago, LA in general and Hollywood in particular would not be such a mess.

Let's not forget the vibrant neighborhood of Chavez Ravine which was destroyed for "public housing" which turned into Dodger Stadium.

The truth about Downtown LA's skyline is the bulldozing of Victorian homes and historical buildings. A better use of funds would have been to help existing owners restore existing structures.

Gordon Pattison pointed out the irony of destroying residential neighborhoods to establish commerical office buildings and then later converting abandoned commercial office buidings to residential (eg. Tom Gilmore).

The other reality is that Property Tax diversion (tax increment) should never be used as Redevelopment agencies across the state have used them. Just study the reports by State Controller John Chiang and his predecessors - Precious tax dollars were used to enrich politically connected developers in some jurisdications and in other areas make up for local municipalities who couldn't control their own budgets by augmenting work normally covered by the general fund. The numbers are factual, not feel good PR releases from those with financial conflicts of interest.

Now we see what a true financial turkey Redevelopment really is when the City of LA wouldn't dare take on the debt and liabilities of the State's largest Redevelopment Agency, CRA-LA. Finally, be carefull when a politician speaks of "blight." Just look up the HUD Section 108 loan guarantee program which is supposed to be used for "Slum Clearance." A classic example is the $30 million HUD loan used for the "new" Kodak Theater in the $625 million Hollywood and Highland complex - a gift and bailout for CIM Group. The real blighted property was at the Northwest end of Hollywood and Western - That was a more appropriate use for HUD Section 108.

Thanks for the photos and coverage of this momentous occasion. The former Bunker Hill resident quoted above is Gordon Pattison, whose family owned the last two Victorians left standing on Bunker Hill, the Salt Box and the Castle. The CRA seized both, with false claims that the neighborhood was a slum. Gordon said today that he was speaking to Council on behalf of the wonderful old people he knew as a child growing up on Bunker Hill, whose community was scattered and defamed.