Local News in Brief : Suit Seeks to Block Mall

A group of black businessmen, including an Inglewood City Councilman, filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block construction of the $120-million Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza shopping center until blacks are provided with greater participation in the project.

The African Collective said it is seeking 50% of the developer’s interest in the project. The collective also asked that blacks be given priority when jobs and commercial space are filled in the 120-store complex.

“It is a question of equity,” said Inglewood City Councilman Daniel Tabor, a member of the collective.

The suit filed in Superior Court names the City of Los Angeles, the City Council, the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Alexander Haagen Co., the complex’s developer.

A spokesman for the Haagen Co., said the city and developer are trying to involve blacks in project. He said that 42% of the $9.6 million in construction contracts awarded so far have gone to firms owned by women and members of minorities.