Skip to main content

L.A. City Council Approves Funds for Evicted Warehouse Residents

Support Provided By
San Pedro Street.jpg
Vacated residents will get emergency relief for eviction from warehouses.  | istock photo

The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved nearly $383,000 in emergency relocation assistance for residents ordered to vacate two warehouses that the fire department has determined must be closed.

Both of the warehouses are owned by Morad "Ben" Neman, who was charged with several misdemeanors last December by City Attorney Mike Feuer over the conditions at one of the warehouses, which is located at 931 E. Pico Blvd. The other is at 1518 Paloma St.

Feuer, who alleged the Pico building contains unlawfully constructed residences without smoke alarms and accessible fire escapes, filed the case in the wake of a Dec. 2 fire that killed 36 people in an Oakland warehouse called the Ghost Ship, where many artists lived and worked.

Some of the residents of the Los Angeles warehouses appeared before a City Council committee on June 7 and said Neman was refusing to pay relocation assistance.

An attorney for Neman did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

The emergency motion unanimously approved by the council was introduced by Councilman Jose Huizar and approves the transfer of $382,850 from the Foreclosure Registry Penalty Fund to the Tenant Relocation Inspection Program to be dispersed to the residents, who must vacate the properties by Thursday.

"Today's vote was critical in preventing residents caught in legal proceedings at no fault of their own from becoming homeless," Huizar said. "This is exactly what we should be utilizing these type of funds for. My staff did an excellent job of working with our city departments and my colleague Councilmember (Paul) Krekorian's office to expedite these much-needed funds as quickly as possible."

The motion said the city could seek reimbursement from the property owner for the funds.

The city maintains that Neman unlawfully built 50 or more dwelling places in the Pico warehouse and that the construction of the units was never inspected, evaluated or approved.

"So profound are these construction deficiencies that some unit ceilings are nothing more than the wood floor above, joist and all," according to the City Attorney's court papers.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.