Tenants who accepted offers of temporary housing at 410 N. Rossmore were notified this week that they are now being evicted.
Serbrina Bullock told the Buzz that she was told she had to move out, along with the other women and children who accepted temporary housing offered by Richard Loring, a representative of ESI Ventures, the owner of 410 N. Rossmore earlier this year. Bullock was told everyone had to be out by September 30, even though they have all paid their rent through October. She told the Buzz she was advised that she could be sued and the police could be called if the tenants failed to move.
As we previously reported, in a letter sent to tenants on March 22, Richard Loring, Associate AIA, VP Development, ESI Ventures told tenants the building owners are continuing to work on securing building permits, but have “decided, in conjunction with CD5, to work with two non-profit organizations [Peace4Kids, which assists young people aging out of the foster system, and Tiny Town CA, which helps single mothers with young children] to offer housing to folks that are currently unsheltered or living in housing that is not secure.” (CD5 Staff told the Buzz at the time that they were not briefed on the plan.)
Bullock, working with Alexandria House founder Judy Vaughn, accepted Loring’s humanitarian offer to temporarily house women of color who needed emergency housing. Some of the residents came from shelters, one from living in her vehicle. Bullock said new tenants are all working and all paying the rent, which was set by Loring at $300 per month. She told the Buzz she offered to pay a bit more so the women could stay, but was told they all have to leave for face legal consequences.
“For every affordable unit that is available, there are 30 applications. Housing for low income people is almost non-existent in Los Angeles,” Vaughn told the Buzz. “We accepted the offer of temporary housing through September 30 with the understanding that everyone would have to vacate when construction starts.”
As of this writing, no permits have been issued for construction and only Bullock and her clients have been served with an eviction notice. As we also reported, the other remaining tenants in the building were recently notified they would no longer have access to parking in the building.
Bullock told the Buzz she had no idea what was happening to the long term tenants who were still living in the building until she moved in.
“Maybe he thought having women of color in the building would motivate the other tenants to move out, but it didn’t happen that way. We have all become a family,” said Bullock. “We are not divided.”
Vaughn told the Buzz that she and Bullock will stand by the tenants and do their best to make sure people don’t become homeless.
Bullock told the Buzz she’s prepared to move when they are ready to start construction as was her understanding with Loring when she agreed to move in.
Loring told the Buzz in September that he was no long associated with the building, though according though residents, he is still living there.
The owners of 410 N. Rossmore keep blundering along, careening from one bad scheme to the next. The bones of the building are pretty good. Why not just renovate the building in a way that is legal and ethical? Why all these pie in the sky fantasies built around outdated assumptions about interest rates and the housing marketplace? They bought at the wrong time, and with an idea as bad as it was grandiose. Time to get real. If you have to take a loss, take it and move on.