Opinion: Home sweet home, in an old jail?

To the editor: To the mayor, City Council and county supervisors: Wake up, do not squander our resources, find a way to utilize Old Lincoln Heights Jail on an immediate and interim basis to house the homeless. ( “Doors open to reimagine old Lincoln Heights jail,” Aug. 1)

Concurrently, work to convert/redevelop the property and our other vacant city/county properties for housing the homeless with supportive services, as well as figuring into the equation affordable housing for the non-homeless.

It’s time to get creative; if you come to us, the voters, for money, then come up with better, effective policies to address the problem.

Naomi Waka, Los Angeles

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To the editor: So various officials are scrounging around for more tax revenue to acquire property and then build “homeless” housing from the ground up, all proposals which would raise taxes for Angelenos?

In the race to find housing facilities for the homeless, which can be brought online as quickly as possible with the least expenditure, your story indicates to me just how many officials have their “blinders” on.

C’mon folks, think outside the box. Modification of the Lincoln Heights jail for low-income housing is very feasible.

I spent three nights in a former Turkish prison in Istanbul that was converted into a Four Seasons hotel. It was beyond nice — no bars, no ghosts, no screaming in the night.

Let’s get the collective genius of Los Angeles to come up with some creative Art Deco renovation and an “Al Capone” suite.

Buz Wolf, Studio City

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To the editor: Am I missing something here?

The city has the property on which the old jail is located. The city is seeking suggestions as to how to reuse this property. The city has a serious homeless problem.

Yet the city only wants to devote 15% to housing?

Why would it not covert all of it to affordable housing or housing for the homeless?

I am sure there is an innovative way this could be done by partnering with nonprofits and others in the private sector to try and make a dent in Los Angeles’ homeless population.

Gwen Poindexter, Mount Washington

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