NOTE: For whatever reason, I think this REAP (Rent Escrow) situation is going to end up getting the attention of more than just Zuma Dogg. I happen to feel this is the single issue they want me to speak about least. So that's why I am speaking about it the most! From the way Garcetti is handling the topic during my public comments, it seems to be the case. (Oops, shouldn't have said "case." There is a FEDERAL one being filed as we blog.
DID ERIC GARCETTI LIE TO ZUMA DOGG ON THE RECORD DURING FRIDAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING OVER REAP?: During Friday's Los Angeles City Council meeting, Los Angeles Candidate for Mayor David Saltsburg (Aka: "Zuma Dogg"), once again addressing City Council over the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP) and the potential for an avalanche of lawsuits that may be filed over possible "racketeering" in the way property owners who rent to low-income people under "rent control agreements" are being treated. Zuma Dogg noted that although Villaragiosa claims he supports affordable housing for low-income people; and likes to appear business-friendly to these mom and pop landlords, when these owners are forced into REAP (and Zuma Dogg hears the city has a pretty short and quick trigger/astetic/non-safety related improvements), not only are the owners forced to sell the building to one of the mayor's favorite developers for a conversion, the low income people under rent control end up being forced out and into the streets, when they cannot find any housing at a similar rate. Zuma noted, "(although you may not agree with rent control) the city has ignored affordable housing, so this is the way it is being provided."
Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, added at the end of Mr. Dogg's comment (on the record) that tenants protected under rent control agreements cannot be kicked out of their housing even if the building ownership changes hands.
I spoke with two sources that I have spoken with on this topic and they both (independently of each other) told me Garcetti is full of it and is flat out lying. They both portrayed the same picture that ZD has felt, all along, that Garcetti will say anything he has to at the moment to save face.
PROBLEM IS, I understand there is an LA Weekly article that states 18,000 people have been evicted. And there are all kinds of ways to have these people under rent control yanked from the program. So we will now have to follow up on Garcetti's comment by showing how tenants ARE INDEED being evicted, even though Garcetti said (on the record) that they cannot.
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