With all undue haste, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will take the stage Monday morning for a political stunt in support of a new Hollywood Community Plan that gives wealthy landowners and well-connected developers billions of dollars in extra profits with density bonuses of 50 to 100 percent while trashing the quality of life for thousands.
At 9::30 a.m. Monday on the rooftop of the historic Hollywood Tower at 6200 Franklin Ave.– described on Yelp (2 stars) by a former tenant as a mix of ”Melrose Place,” “Animal House,” cocaine and heroin shaken liberally.and renting for $2,600 monthly for a small unit — Villaraigosa will perform for the TV cameras and assembled milquetoast media and put a smiley face on a far-reaching plan that takes the public out of the planning process and allows developers to do virtually whatever they want by right. (ANTONIO-hollywood.docx)
The sky’s the limit — literally — since the proposed plan just approved by the Planning Commission and headed early next year to be rubber-stamped by the City Council provides huge density bonuses that will fill Hollywood with towering skyscrapers. You can be sure they will be built with huge subsidies provided by taxpayers by looting the Community Redevelopment Agency and other funds intended to help the poor.
The plan is long overdue, nearly 25 years in the making, and perverts the language and ideas of modern urban planners seeking to create healthy and sustainable communities.
In the hands of honest public servants who respect the needs and values of their constituents, it might make. But in the hands of the crooks and self-servers elected to city offices by the dirty money of unions, developers, corporations and contractors, it is a license to steal.
It will worsen traffic congestion in an already congested area, drive people with modest incomes out of Hollywood, especially those in rent control apartments, and — worst of all — serve as a model for destroying the quality of life in every neighborhood in the city, at least those where wealthy developers can enrich themselves even more.
Long-time Hollywood area community activists are in uproar and hopefully will show up at the press conference and ask the tough questions the demoralized and crippled media won’t ask of the mayor as he touts this as the “perfect plan” since it eliminated all red tape in the way of profiteering by developer and he will claim it will preserve neighborhoods, which is why he picked an 80-year-old national landmark for his political theater.
This would be a perfect time for Occupy L.A. protesters to link arms with the army of long-time L.A. activists who have fought against City Hall’s corruption by the real 1 percenters — the special interests who reaped billions in profits while allowing the city’s infrastructure to rot, chased away tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and leaving L.A. with poverty and jobless rates comparable to the worst Rust Belt cities.
The irony of the venue chosen by the mayor is that current and former residents complain the rebuilt and expanded Hollywood Tower is like a fraternity house on steroids, perpetual party time — the kind of fun the mayor so much enjoys.
Here’s some of the key points being raised by opponents who are already consulting lawyers about a lawsuit in the certainty that the City Council will do nothing to protect the public interest:
- The
Hollywood Community Plantakes away control from the
elected officials and the public by
allowing ”sky-high” high density projects by right,
without notice. - The impact on.traffic congestion, parking, the quality of life will be severe.
- The city’s water supply and lack of clean energy sources cannot support the massive population and density increases that City Hall is pushing for the benefit of the few.
- The desperate need to repair and upgrade the city’s deteriorating streets, sidewalks, pipes and power grid is far more important than creating yet another entertainment zone with posh living for the rich.
- The scenic vistas, historic buildings and sense of place in Hollywood is what makes it such an attractive place — not turning it into Times Square West.
Each and every Neighborhood Council should be protesting this.
Garcetti had Laurie Goldman from the Central Hollywood NC speak on behalf of all the Hollywood NC’s — As far as we know, the City only invited Ms. Goldman. The others NC members who learned via the grapevine were not asked to speak. It seems rather rude to meet in HUNC territory and not even invite them and then appoint a spokesperson from another NC. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that HUNC rejected the entire Hollywood Plan as based on false data and projected an densification which destroys the quality of life but increases developers’ short term profits.
The Hollywood Community Plan can be summed up in one word, FRAUD.
It’s about time residents of Hollywood woke up, and participated in the work it will take to protest this horrible destruction of our Hollywood. Life is going to change drastically in Hollywood soon, but perhaps with a little will of the people, we can slow it down…or if there’s a miracle, tone it down.
Come on People!! Where are the demonstrations? We only found out about this little soire at the last minute, so I don’t think a major demonstration was possible to organize in time. Let’s get out and tell those corrupt jerks running our city how we feel about their crimes against quality of life in Hollywood!! Work it on Facebook; spread the word.
I think you’re right
‘U snoze U loze”
“It’s about time residents of Hollywood woke up, and participated in the work it will take to protest this horrible destruction of our Hollywood”.
Substitute “Hollywood” with “Los Angeles” to get the full measure of what’s going on. This corrupt Mayor & Council, especially Garcetti are destroying the city knowing that the mostly dumb people who inhabit this city don’t care.
Garcetti and Villaraigosa are doing damage to Hollywood that will last for decades. It is time for the voters to become informed through savvy social networking of activists to unveil these scumbags for what they are….
Garcetti and Villaraigosa are doing damage to Hollywood that will last for decades. It is time for the voters to become informed through savvy social networking of activists to unveil these scumbags for what they are….
Laurie Goldman is a paid lobbyist for the developer of the Millennium project which is a beneficiary of the plan as now proposed.
Goldman has a financial stake in this and should never speak on behalf of any neighborhood council.
I met this woman very recently, I was shocked by the lack of respect she has for the “regular” people of Hollywood! The show was/is always about laurie Goldman. I had no idea what her connections were, except that she was with the chamber of commerce, perhaps with the Hollywood cap parks; but her lobbyist activities answer to me her immense ego and selfishness that hurt many of us at a very recent event. No matter how we/ the community wanted to participate and contribute, everything had to go her way..a kick in the gut..this woman knows how to do. I don’t like her, but I will pray and learn from her.
Who is the real audience? I figure it is foreign money.
CRA is carryig $3 Billion in debt and this year it costs $422 M to service the debt. With Sacarmento trimming its sails, the CRA (VARP) lacks the funds to rescue the developers from their financial holes. They want to abolish Prop 13, but that will take too long and the public may not be that stupid.
Just as many homeowners ended “under water” on their homes after 2008, it appears that these developers may be in a simialr position, except perhaps for the gagglet of boys at CIM Group who seem to have an endless supply of money.
Gracetti is not stupid and he knows the population is declining, but investors do not buy into a dropping market. Thus, it appears they are desperate to deceive foreign money into thinking that Hollywood is growing.
The best way to save Hollywood from Garcetti may be to get the word out to Asia and other places with money to burn, that if they come to Hollywood, they will really get burned.
BYD, the chinese electrical car company, Beutner wooed with city money made out handsomely. Asian money is smarter than our leaders.