Groups Charge Discrimination in Long Beach Freeway Plans

Rolling a new obstacle into the path of the long-delayed Long Beach Freeway extension, two East Los Angeles community groups filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the roadway discriminates against Latinos.

The suit, filed by the El Sereno Organizing Committee and the El Sereno Neighborhood Action Committee, charges that the mostly Latino district of Los Angeles is being denied the same protection from freeway noise and pollution granted to the predominantly white, more upscale areas of Pasadena and South Pasadena.

“This is a stark case of environmental injustice. The freeway will run in the open, above-ground in El Sereno, and below grade and often covered in Pasadena and South Pasadena,” said attorney Will Lee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which is representing the community groups along with the National Resources Defense Council and Environmental Justice Network.

The suit names the state Department of Transportation and the California Transportation Commission. Caltrans attorneys were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

El Sereno community activists say the freeway will hang 20 feet over an El Sereno elementary school that may be forced to close because of the extension. Meanwhile, they say, the freeway extension near South Pasadena High School will be below-grade and covered.

“We call for all the communities along the proposed route to receive the same level of protection against pollution and community disruption,” said Hugo Garcia, president of the El Sereno Organizing Committee.