Complaint Forces Delay in Housing Construction

Thursday was supposed to mark a new beginning for the dilapidated Pico-Aliso public housing project in Boyle Heights, a collection of nondescript World War II-era apartment buildings in one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

But as about 100 residents and dignitaries watched, a bulldozer poised to begin demolition work did not move.

Thirty minutes before the festivities began, Los Angeles housing officials decided to defer the symbolic demolition of three units after more than 100 Pico-Aliso residents filed a complaint with federal officials charging that local officials failed to adequately consult with them about the $50-million project.

The delay could affect the massive demolition program set to begin in late January. But Don J. Smith, executive director of the Los Angeles Housing Authority, predicted that the problems could be overcome before then. “This is only a temporary setback,” he said.

A group of residents, calling itself La Union de Vecinos de Pico-Aliso, filed the complaint with the public housing director in Los Angeles for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD has jurisdiction over the grant approved three years ago for Los Angeles housing officials to tear down the apartments at Pico-Aliso and replace them with new ones.

Plans call for 440 new apartments to replace 577 apartments that would be razed. With the elimination of more than 100 units, some residents have complained that they are not guaranteed a new unit if they want to return when the work is completed.

“We have nothing against new units,” said Elsa Casillas, a housing activist who helped 112 Pico-Aliso residents file the complaint with HUD. “Aesthetically, we like the units. There just aren’t enough of them.”

Housing officials have relied on Pico-Aliso representatives, elected to advisory boards by the residents, and community meetings to help guide them in formulating the redevelopment. But Casillas and others who are unhappy with the proposed renovation accuse housing officials of dictating the terms to the residents.

The Housing Authority’s point man on the renovation, Xavier Mendoza, rejected the criticism, saying designs for senior citizen units and an enlarged park on Gless Street were changed because of residents’ concerns.