Los Angeles officials are seeking answers from the person who appointed the building’s overseer as eviction notices hit the property owned by Skid Row’s largest nonprofit landlord.
Sitiati. The City of Heidi Feldstein Soto deemed the eviction notice illegal, and this apparent blunder prompted the Los Angeles Superior Court in April to carry out repairs on 29 buildings owned by the Skid Row Housing Trust. He said it had led to a decline in the city’s confidence in the judge’s appointed trustee, Mark Adams. It went bankrupt earlier this year.
“They are previously homeless tenants who are highly vulnerable and dependent on critical support services,” said Feldstein-Sotho. “It is unacceptable that such a notice has been issued.”
The notice, sent by Beach Front Property Management, the company Adams hired, ordered residents to pay three days of late rent or evict their apartments, or the company could face additional economic damage or loss. It said it would initiate eviction proceedings involving damage to the tenant’s credit. evaluation.
One eviction notice reviewed by The Times showed the tenant had paid $56.
Feldstein Soto’s office I sent a letter to Adams on Tuesday The notice is prohibited by city law, including a recently passed bill that would not allow a landlord to evict a tenant who is only one month behind on rent, he said. . It also reminded Adams that he swore in his court papers that he would never evict a tenant just for nonpayment of rent.
The city’s letter tells Adams it needs 48 hours to explain in writing how many notices were issued and who gave the permits.
In an email to The Times, Adams said the notice was a mistake and was sent without authorization.he said he Distributed letter to cancel them to all 1,500 tenants of the Skid Row Housing Trust on Monday.
“I would never evict anyone just for nonpayment of rent,” Adams said in the letter.
Adams said he did not know how many tenants had received eviction notices, and said any further actions by Beachfront Property Management would be grounds for termination. A company spokesperson forwarded the comments to recipients.
The eviction notice is the latest example of city officials and trust tenants expressing concern about Adams’ performance.
Two Boyd Hotel residents who received eviction notices told The Times that in the two months since they became trustees, the situation at the hotel has changed little and, in some ways, has gotten worse.
Only one of the four bathrooms on their floor is guaranteed to work. The second machine was repeatedly operating and stopping, and maintenance personnel locked the remaining two machines. Their case managers have been fired and people from the streets keep entering the building around the clock to use the restroom, sleep, take drugs, buy contraband.
This spring, the city pressed Mr. Adams to take over management of the property after a nonprofit housing provider abandoned most of the property in poor conditions. Many residents are elderly, disabled, or have mental health or drug problems.
Under the trustee system, Mr. Adams has the authority to borrow funds to pay for the repairs and upgrades of the Trust’s residential hotels and other low-income multifamily housing, and ultimately other affordable properties. A strong financial base can be established that allows housing providers to take over.
Feldstein Soto said the rapid collapse of the trust left the city with 300 trustees over 20 years as the only person capable of handling the situation, even though they hadn’t done enough scrutiny of their resumes beforehand. He said he had to rely on Mr. Adams, who had been dealing with people.
A Times review of Adams’ records, released last month, found that in some cases tenants were at risk of eviction, property owners lost their homes, and multiple judges accused Adams of inflating fees by six figures. Turned out to be a decision. In addition, in two cases comparable in size and scope to the trust issue, Adams resigned years before resolution and omitted material facts about his involvement in the cases in court filings. .
Feldstein-Sotho continued to point out that the urgency of the situation qualified Adams to deal with it. However, she said she was not impressed with Adams’ performance.
The $1.3 million loan Adams received had a 15% interest rate, violating an agreement the city had with the recipient that the interest rate would not exceed 10% when borrowing the money, the city deputy attorney said. said. said at a court hearing last month. Feldstein-Soto said the city has also spot-checked the trust property and found that, contrary to Adams’ claims, there were not always managers or security guards on site.
“We believed this receptacle had both the liquidity and the experience and expertise to quickly grasp and manage the situation,” Feldstein Soto said. “I think it’s fair to say we were disappointed.”
In court, Mr. Adams’ attorneys said that investors in some of the trust’s prime properties had indicated that they intended to remove the properties from receivership, making the lenders demand higher interest rates and making the transaction riskier for them. said to have increased. Adams said through a spokesperson that all sites had 24/7 security and never committed to 24-hour security.
Two tenants at the 112-year-old, 61-unit residential hotel Boyd said they were withholding rent due to long-standing legal claims against the Skid Row Housing Trust over the building’s terms. .
They say maintenance staff have begun fixing or replacing clogged sinks in each room, but drains still chronically back up and showers in shared bathrooms on each floor are moldy. Some people intentionally block drains in order to use the shower for washing, he said.
Two male residents, who spoke anonymously to The Times, said one urged respect for the 12-step program and another worried his job would be jeopardized.
Authorities have guards from three security companies on the building, but non-residents are not allowed into the hotel to use the bathroom, sleep, take drugs or buy contraband. He said he hadn’t stopped them from entering for hours.
“There are people living there who are not on leases or affiliated with anyone,” one person said.
At first, security guards chased intruders out, but later stopped.
One man said a homeless man who beat him with an iron bar months ago returned after being released.
They say a tenant on the same floor runs a store outside his room that sells cigarettes, beer and liquor, and homeless people come to his house around the clock.
A resident emailed the Times Tuesday a photo of garbage and feces in the hallway, which he claimed was left by a non-resident.
The men suspected the eviction notice was a ruse to evict Boyd because he had complained about his condition.
“I think they want to empty the building and start all over with new people,” said one person.
Joseph Woods, an attorney representing the two residents and co-counsel in a residency lawsuit filed on behalf of the tenants of two other Skid Row Housing Trust buildings, said the recipients He said he has seen some small but important steps taken by
“It has not been the case before, but we are pleased to see that the elevators have been properly repaired and kept in good working order,” Woods said.
Woods said the trustee system has made it safer, but it’s still not enough.
Mayors Feldstein, Mayor Karen Bass and other city leaders said their main objective was to prevent mass evictions of the trust’s tenants, a potential possibility. The catastrophe could add hundreds to Skid Row’s already overwhelming homeless population.
“This was an absolutely terrible mistake,” Mr. Bass said in a statement about the eviction notice. “I support the City Attorney’s investigation of this incident and the steps they are taking to ensure that the rights of all tenants of Skid Row Housing Trust properties are protected and secured.”
City Councilman Kevin De Leon, who represents Skid Row, said Feldstein Soto and Adams excluded the city council from making decisions about the trustee system. He said the eviction notice was yet another example of the need for greater oversight by the city council.
“Incorrectly or inadvertently issuing eviction notices and panicking already very vulnerable residents is not a good first step to introduce yourself to the city,” said More on the Recipient’s Activities. De Leon, who created a motion in Congress calling for regular updates, said after last month’s Times article on Adams’ background. “When it comes to the recipient and the city’s attorney, it’s a liability for both. They have to own it.”
De Leon also said he was deeply concerned about the effect the trustee system would have on the city’s finances, especially in light of past lawsuits in which judges cited Adams for overbilling.
Typically, the trustee pays for repairs and trustee fees either through the capital of the property or through proceeds from the sale of the property. However, with the trust on the brink of bankruptcy and federal and local regulations preventing rents from rising tenants, the city’s housing authority said the city’s Treasury will cover at least some of the as-yet-unknown costs. I admit that it is possible.
Adams assigned 18 employees, including himself, to the trust matter at wages between $151 and $465 an hour. Accounts filed by Adams in court show expenses and advances incurred by his company at $187,000 in April. Additionally, Adams is authorized to borrow up to $5.3 million from the courts to finance repairs.
“I don’t think the majority of city council members realize that the city’s budget is an ATM machine that is strictly controlled by judges and payees,” de Leon said.
Feldstein Soto said his office is leading an investigation into Adams’ performance and expects to release the results before the next court hearing in the case, scheduled for June 15. rice field. She declined to explain what the investigation was about, but did not rule out the possibility that it would be investigated. She recommends that Adams be sacked.
“At the moment, we have to consider all possibilities,” said Feldstein-Soto.
