Not very good journalism to not contact someone who is the subject of the story. You're not doing journalism - you're doing hit pieces. Maybe you should call me or contact me to see where the income from my apartment buildings go, or that I've been working on social justice causes my entire life - or that burlington is not covered under the RSO and was vacant for 50 years prior to my purchase. Why don't you do your actual research before making claims that are not true. I'm not sure why the city's website says it's covered under the RSO, but it's hasn't been part of the RSO for the last half a century.
Simone, you are not the subject of this newsletter. This is about the failure of Knock LA to support its freelance reporter or to report on subsequent developments to the story they published, and about the inconsistencies in how the City of Los Angeles handles buildings that are subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, especially when they are listed for nightly booking on home share apps like Airbnb.
And quite frankly - if you want to talk to a few disgruntled tenants over many years - particularly ones who don't pay rent on time and make excuses for why - instead of looking at my track record - that I was a teacher who majored in comparative studies in race and ethnicity who taught public high school for YEARS - bought my first apartment building with saving up a teachers salary so I could afford to live in LA - that I taught and volunteered in locke high school for decades - that I've committed my entire real estate portfolio to a trust for all of these issues - -- no Knock LA wouldn't know that, because they never called me. Do you know where the money for Burlington goes? Do you know that I'm anything but a greedy landlord, but have had the pleasure of dealing with a FEW VERY GREEDY TENANTS -who want to sue me to make a quick buck after not paying rent for years? And I'm holding myself back from writing their names on the internet.
Nope you wouldn't know that, because you all don't do your research. Tired of staying quiet on these matters while you malign me online. What have any of the people on these internet threads done to actually help LA, improve the city, etc. NOTHING. All you do is spread hate and lies towards small landlords of color. You're so off base.
Instead of writing untrue, unkind, and nonsense things online -why don't you CALL THE RSO LAHD AND ASK THEM. I would never be able to operate burlington illegally without this.
Whenever I speak to owners of a RSO building, they have some reason why they think it doesn’t apply to their building. Your claim about being unable to operate illegally is empty because everyone knows no one is enforcing it. That doesn’t mean owners aren’t breaking the law and causing displacement, or that the law doesn’t apply to them. The burden of proof that you really aren’t RSO as you claim should be on you, the owner, and not on the journalist, who should be able to cite an official source like ZIMAS without controversy.
email me or call the RSO - my email is online - dwellmgt@gmail.com. I can send you every proof you wish that it's not covered under the RSO. And I would not be operating it if I was breaking the law - and never have. The burden of proof is in fact on the journalist - and I am a trained journalist. and have a MASTERS IN JOURNALISM FROM COLUMBIA. The burden of all of this is on the journalism to not write lazy hit pieces. I was never called - the RSO was never called - no research was done which is why knock LA is a sham of a publication.
How many units do you have and are any available to voucher holders? What do you write about? Social justice, like you said? I am homeless in LA. What are you doing to prevent displacement and protect the displaced?
Its actually the law for us to accept voucher holders - we cannot discriminate, and do not. We also cannot run credit on voucher holders, so voucher holders in most ways have an easier time as they do not have to pass our rigorous criteria. Anyone is welcome to apply to any of our units. Do you feel that there are a bunch of people with vouchers who cannot find housing? I am happy to help in every single way. Not to mention we have always hired people who have a history of homelessness as a practice and work with many organizations in the community - including piece by piece. I'd love to work with more.
It's not part of the RSO. If you email me I can show you proof. I'm not sure why zimas shows that - I can find 100 ways zimas is incorrect, but if you're a shoddy journalist, if you can even call journalism journalism that doesn't CALL ME, or EMAIL ME for my perspective- or do the bare minimum and call the LAHD... I don't know what to say.
Have you gotten through to Judge Carter? See if you can’t get it passed his Clerk somehow…he’s currently working on the case with the VA. I’d like to see him at least answer…
Right it would have been amazing to see LAFLA—who were recently intervenors (aligning with the City & County, for the first time) in #LAAlliance, litigated against the City in 2006 for #Wiggins and I believe are still working on #JanetGarcia, also against the City, which it held in contempt of Court and threatened to fine daily for violating a TRO—hashing out a plan to monitor #RHO and get paid for doing it WAY BACK IN LIKE 2006.
We wouldn’t be where we are now—with the nearly 20k protected RHO units seemingly not having been safe from demolition, enforced vacancy, use as transient motels, or overcharging long-term, low-income tenants per LAMC § 47.76—if Wiggins or RHO had teeth.
I’m still flabbergasted UMK/SLJ got paid their ≈$1M for voluntarily entering into litigation with #JudgeCarter overseeing the City and County. I thought he was going to tell them to pound sand.
The teeth are in the City Attorney's office. Mike Feuer gummed around while the city lost its workforce housing to commercial criminality. It shouldn't fall to citizens and nonprofits to have to demand enforcement of laws and ordinances, and we shouldn't be surprised that if it does fall on them, there is a systemic rot that needs to be cut out.
I kind of disagree in that I think citizens are the only ones that can identify violations of policy that are causing literal harm, IE homeless people know where vacant buildings are, neighbors know where Airbnbs are, it’s just that someone has to be willing to hear that information and act on the violation & if it’s not the police, who sure do a lot of enforcing of CERTAIN LAMC § like 41.18, but not others like Homesharing Ords, why are we paying them?? I do NOT believe #JudgeCarter and #LAAlliance’s Roadmap is overall a good thing because they do not engage with unhoused people in the systems they alter, although they claim to. I’ve tried to talk to them about several important issues and don’t get much of a response. UMK/SLJ attorney Elizabeth Mitchell used to work for the City Attorney under Feuer in the Police Litigation Unit from 2008-2018, when the DWP scandal was going on, so there’s your systemic rot…
Yes, citizens are the watchdogs, but if reported violations are firewalled away from the prosecutors' team, as is happening at the LA City Attorney's Office, then there is no incentive for citizens to document and report. Shutting down illegal Airbnbs is a simple coding fix, as we saw in the aftermath of the deaths in Montreal, in a firetrap building in a neighborhood where all STR use is illegal. LA won't demand it, because Airbnb is its true constituent, and the 2028 Olympics cannot possibly host all those visitors without homeshare beds--especially after our limited real hotel and motel space has been converted to shelter use! (What does UMK/SLJ stand for?)
Enlightening corruption and greed never die
Not very good journalism to not contact someone who is the subject of the story. You're not doing journalism - you're doing hit pieces. Maybe you should call me or contact me to see where the income from my apartment buildings go, or that I've been working on social justice causes my entire life - or that burlington is not covered under the RSO and was vacant for 50 years prior to my purchase. Why don't you do your actual research before making claims that are not true. I'm not sure why the city's website says it's covered under the RSO, but it's hasn't been part of the RSO for the last half a century.
Simone, you are not the subject of this newsletter. This is about the failure of Knock LA to support its freelance reporter or to report on subsequent developments to the story they published, and about the inconsistencies in how the City of Los Angeles handles buildings that are subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, especially when they are listed for nightly booking on home share apps like Airbnb.
So if you are aware the City designates the Burlington as RSO, what are you doing about that?
And quite frankly - if you want to talk to a few disgruntled tenants over many years - particularly ones who don't pay rent on time and make excuses for why - instead of looking at my track record - that I was a teacher who majored in comparative studies in race and ethnicity who taught public high school for YEARS - bought my first apartment building with saving up a teachers salary so I could afford to live in LA - that I taught and volunteered in locke high school for decades - that I've committed my entire real estate portfolio to a trust for all of these issues - -- no Knock LA wouldn't know that, because they never called me. Do you know where the money for Burlington goes? Do you know that I'm anything but a greedy landlord, but have had the pleasure of dealing with a FEW VERY GREEDY TENANTS -who want to sue me to make a quick buck after not paying rent for years? And I'm holding myself back from writing their names on the internet.
Nope you wouldn't know that, because you all don't do your research. Tired of staying quiet on these matters while you malign me online. What have any of the people on these internet threads done to actually help LA, improve the city, etc. NOTHING. All you do is spread hate and lies towards small landlords of color. You're so off base.
You can always write about it in a substack of your very own! ✌️
Instead of writing untrue, unkind, and nonsense things online -why don't you CALL THE RSO LAHD AND ASK THEM. I would never be able to operate burlington illegally without this.
Whenever I speak to owners of a RSO building, they have some reason why they think it doesn’t apply to their building. Your claim about being unable to operate illegally is empty because everyone knows no one is enforcing it. That doesn’t mean owners aren’t breaking the law and causing displacement, or that the law doesn’t apply to them. The burden of proof that you really aren’t RSO as you claim should be on you, the owner, and not on the journalist, who should be able to cite an official source like ZIMAS without controversy.
email me or call the RSO - my email is online - dwellmgt@gmail.com. I can send you every proof you wish that it's not covered under the RSO. And I would not be operating it if I was breaking the law - and never have. The burden of proof is in fact on the journalist - and I am a trained journalist. and have a MASTERS IN JOURNALISM FROM COLUMBIA. The burden of all of this is on the journalism to not write lazy hit pieces. I was never called - the RSO was never called - no research was done which is why knock LA is a sham of a publication.
How many units do you have and are any available to voucher holders? What do you write about? Social justice, like you said? I am homeless in LA. What are you doing to prevent displacement and protect the displaced?
Its actually the law for us to accept voucher holders - we cannot discriminate, and do not. We also cannot run credit on voucher holders, so voucher holders in most ways have an easier time as they do not have to pass our rigorous criteria. Anyone is welcome to apply to any of our units. Do you feel that there are a bunch of people with vouchers who cannot find housing? I am happy to help in every single way. Not to mention we have always hired people who have a history of homelessness as a practice and work with many organizations in the community - including piece by piece. I'd love to work with more.
It's not part of the RSO. If you email me I can show you proof. I'm not sure why zimas shows that - I can find 100 ways zimas is incorrect, but if you're a shoddy journalist, if you can even call journalism journalism that doesn't CALL ME, or EMAIL ME for my perspective- or do the bare minimum and call the LAHD... I don't know what to say.
Have you gotten through to Judge Carter? See if you can’t get it passed his Clerk somehow…he’s currently working on the case with the VA. I’d like to see him at least answer…
Who are you addressing?
Saw this recently for the first time & it contains some of my favorite subjects, I was wondering if it ever went anywhere https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fc9845732f65217775cb3a5/t/617fc979ed88161ecb0e4b83/1635764601988/9.17+Final+Press+Release+Sep+17%2C+2021+Housing+Groups+Call+on+Judge+Carter+Enforce+HSO.pdf
That's years ago! Why send a press release and not simultaneously file papers in court seeking a ruling?
Right it would have been amazing to see LAFLA—who were recently intervenors (aligning with the City & County, for the first time) in #LAAlliance, litigated against the City in 2006 for #Wiggins and I believe are still working on #JanetGarcia, also against the City, which it held in contempt of Court and threatened to fine daily for violating a TRO—hashing out a plan to monitor #RHO and get paid for doing it WAY BACK IN LIKE 2006.
We wouldn’t be where we are now—with the nearly 20k protected RHO units seemingly not having been safe from demolition, enforced vacancy, use as transient motels, or overcharging long-term, low-income tenants per LAMC § 47.76—if Wiggins or RHO had teeth.
I’m still flabbergasted UMK/SLJ got paid their ≈$1M for voluntarily entering into litigation with #JudgeCarter overseeing the City and County. I thought he was going to tell them to pound sand.
The teeth are in the City Attorney's office. Mike Feuer gummed around while the city lost its workforce housing to commercial criminality. It shouldn't fall to citizens and nonprofits to have to demand enforcement of laws and ordinances, and we shouldn't be surprised that if it does fall on them, there is a systemic rot that needs to be cut out.
I kind of disagree in that I think citizens are the only ones that can identify violations of policy that are causing literal harm, IE homeless people know where vacant buildings are, neighbors know where Airbnbs are, it’s just that someone has to be willing to hear that information and act on the violation & if it’s not the police, who sure do a lot of enforcing of CERTAIN LAMC § like 41.18, but not others like Homesharing Ords, why are we paying them?? I do NOT believe #JudgeCarter and #LAAlliance’s Roadmap is overall a good thing because they do not engage with unhoused people in the systems they alter, although they claim to. I’ve tried to talk to them about several important issues and don’t get much of a response. UMK/SLJ attorney Elizabeth Mitchell used to work for the City Attorney under Feuer in the Police Litigation Unit from 2008-2018, when the DWP scandal was going on, so there’s your systemic rot…
Yes, citizens are the watchdogs, but if reported violations are firewalled away from the prosecutors' team, as is happening at the LA City Attorney's Office, then there is no incentive for citizens to document and report. Shutting down illegal Airbnbs is a simple coding fix, as we saw in the aftermath of the deaths in Montreal, in a firetrap building in a neighborhood where all STR use is illegal. LA won't demand it, because Airbnb is its true constituent, and the 2028 Olympics cannot possibly host all those visitors without homeshare beds--especially after our limited real hotel and motel space has been converted to shelter use! (What does UMK/SLJ stand for?)
Public radio profiles Simone shah
https://www.marketplace.org/2015/09/22/york-fig-confessions-ambivalent-landlord/