Yaroslavsky and Westwood

Your story on Westwood Development (Times, Oct. 17) almost made it sound as if Zev Yaroslavsky were doing Westwood residents a favor by supporting hardship exemptions to developers wishing to bypass the recent building moratorium in Westwood’s North Village.

The truth of the matter is, Mr. Yaroslavsky has consistently sided with the developers against the interests of his constituents. As buildings in the North Village began tumbling en masse a few months ago, Mr. Yaroslavsky made it very clear that he would not support a moratorium. It was only after our residents association began getting some press attention that a politically concerned Mr. Yaroslavsky hopped on the moratorium bandwagon. Now that the moratorium has been approved, Mr. Yaroslavsky is assuring that it remain essentially toothless by granting one exemption after another to developers claiming “hardship” because the buildings they bought for demolition are now vacant; of course, the buildings are vacant because the developers evicted all their existing tenants.

Look around Mr. Yaroslavsky’s Westside and judge his priorities--the concrete monoliths of the Wilshire Corridor, the rash of development on Pico Boulevard, the sudden and widespread destruction of buildings in Westwood, the gridlock traffic, the rising crime rate and diminishing quality of life throughout the Westside. Mr. Yaroslavsky’s White Knight rhetoric does not match his actions. A short walk through Westwood will show you where his heart lies--with the wealthy developers.

RICHARD ALFIERI

Los Angeles