Tenants’ Anger Flares at Hearing on Proposal to Sell Jordan Downs

Pandemonium reigned Friday night at a packed public hearing at the Jordan Downs housing project in Watts as angry residents, suspicious over a plan to sell the project to a private developer, heckled an attorney for the Los Angeles Housing Authority and shouted claims that housing officials were lying.

Yvonne Burke, an attorney hired to explain to residents the plan to sell Jordan Downs to a private firm that would spend $14 million to repair the 700 dilapidated and aging apartment units, was unable to complete her presentation. A heckler repeatedly interrupted her, shouting accusations of corruption among housing officials and refusing to turn the floor over to other tenants waiting to speak.

The agitated woman was led out by friends and security guards just as a second heckler, who admitted he was not a resident of the project, commandeered the microphone and told the cheering crowd of about 600, “The Housing Authority’s already got enough money (to fix Jordan Downs) so don’t you believe them!” He was led away by security guards.

The plan, which tenants learned of this week, would allow a private developer to buy the 50-acre project, which houses 3,150 people, for $10 million to $20 million. The firm would be required to undertake a massive modernization program at the dowdy 34-year-old project.

But rumors dominated the raucous 1 1/2-hour meeting in the project’s gym, as a group of about 20 tenant leaders and angry residents repeatedly accused the Housing Authority of having already asked the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow the sale of the project or of having already sold it.

Leila Gonzalez-Correa, the agency’s executive director, assured residents that the project has not been sold and cannot be sold without approval of HUD, which will not receive a formal proposal from the Housing Authority until public hearings and negotiations with a tenant representative have been completed.

Shouts came from the audience: “You have lied to us before!”

Letter Demanded

One group--from among the 20 or so residents who did most of the shouting--demanded a letter from Gonzalez-Correa assuring them that the project has not been sold.

One of the most outspoken, Dorothy Tolliver, a longtime resident, claimed that Gonzalez-Correa has come before them in the past with plans for improvements that were never made.

“Last year, the City Council gave Jordan Downs a loan for plumbing and electricity, and we want to know what happened to the money,” she demanded to a roar of approval from the audience. “There’s too many crooks--that’s what happened to the money.”

However, Burke pointed out that the $818,000 emergency loan from the City Council was not meant for replacement of the original plumbing and wiring at Jordan Downs, a repair job that will cost an estimated $3.2 million. The City Council loan was actually intended for repairing extensive damage to 42 uninhabitable units and emergency repairs in 100 other units, according to city officials.

Not Clear

Despite the display of anger by critics, it was not clear whether most of those at the meeting felt the same way. Even though people in the audience continually drowned out Burke with their complaints, less than one-third of the 600 present raised their hands when a tenant leader went to the microphone and asked for a show of hands of those wanting to keep the Housing Authority as their landlord.

After the meeting, several residents said during interviews that they have a “wait-and-see” attitude and believe that a private owner might be able to do a better job than the Housing Authority.

Burke repeatedly assured residents that they would not be moved off the Jordan Downs site during renovation by a private developer but instead would be moved, in groups of 50 families at a time, into vacant apartments at Jordan Downs while their apartments are renovated with new wiring, plumbing, kitchens and bathrooms.

Leaky Toilets

But several residents, who in recent years have seen only some exterior paint applied and replacement of leaky toilets, despite promises of greater improvements, made it clear that they do not trust the word of officials on any of the points discussed Friday.

Laura Harris, who said she was angry over past promises of agency officials, asked what assurance she would have that the temporary apartment she moved into would be livable, and she challenged the ability of a private developer to revive Jordan Downs.

“I know what I have now, but I don’t know what I’ll be getting,” Harris said. “Personally, I’d (be willing to) wait . . . for the regular Housing Authority to fix Jordan Downs.”