Police Break Up Unruly Crowd

Police dispersed a crowd of about 3,000 people vying for 150 low-income housing applications in Hollywood on Monday after some became impatient and rushed the line.

“You had some very desperate people who had a mob mentality,” said Capt. Michael Downing of the Los Angeles Police Department. “It was as if people were trying to get the last piece of bread.”

More than 40 officers were called to the 5600 block of La Mirada Avenue about 8 a.m.

After several attempts to restore order, police made the crowd disperse, Downing said. No one was arrested or injured.

People began lining up Friday to pick up the remaining applications for a 56-unit apartment complex at Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue. The complex is to be completed by April.

Hollywood Community Housing Corp., the nonprofit developer, had passed out 400 applications through social service organizations and planned to hand out the remainder at one of its apartment buildings on La Mirada Avenue, Executive Director Bill Harris said.

The event had been advertised in community newspapers, and Harris said he had expected a couple of hundred people.

“It’s very sad when you see people who behave like that with no respect for one another, but I think this does illustrate the need for affordable housing in Hollywood,” Harris said.

Standing atop a van, Harris was able to hand out just five applications before people began rocking the vehicle, he said.

His group is working with police on plans to pass out the applications next Tuesday at a park on Selma Avenue, Harris said.