Priced Out: Tenants at 3900 Fig Denied Input at City Council

It’s been 10 days since we went in front of City Council for the second time to voice our opposition to the proposed development at 3900 Figueroa, which would displace over 30 families living in rent-stabilized apartments. It was incredibly disheartening and we want to reflect on what happened.

As we’ve noted, the City Council voted 12-0 in favor of the motion, despite having heard nothing but community concerns and opposition up until that moment, and denied public comment to tenants facing displacement.
Afterward, tenants who had spent all day waiting to speak followed Councilman Price out of chambers and spoke to him directly. He assured them that “no one will be displaced” and said that the new development would include affordable housing units. They pressed for rent-stabilized units, and he said he would “do his best.”

Replacing RSO units with “affordable” units is a recipe for displacement, especially in this case. As a brief reminder, when elected officials and developers talk about “affordable” housing, that’s a technical term, defined as a percentage of the median income for that neighborhood and region. In a places with intense economic inequality, like the city of LA and any gentrifying neighborhood within it, most low-income renters can’t actually afford an “affordable” unit.

The proposed development would also include 104 market-rate units, meaning an automatic influx of wealthier residents. New residents with more money = higher rents on “affordable” units = more low-income tenants displaced from their homes and communities.

In the last year, the number of people who became homeless for the first time surged. City Council members have openly acknowledged that this is due to LA’s extreme dearth of affordable housing. Saying you’ll “do your best” to protect RSO housing that low-income people can actually afford is not enough. This is a crisis and the stakes are too high.

How can we trust a vague promise from any member of City Council when they already swore up and down that the Olympics wouldn’t displace anyone or utilize public funds? And yet here we are, watching them unanimously vote on a proposal that would effectively displace low-income renters using public funds.