Regular readers know that criminality, in general, and gangs, in particular, are major interests of mine. It’s kind of unavoidable, when you manage buildings in gentrifying neighborhoods. If, like me, you’re interested in why people join gangs and how gang life has changed in LA over time, take a look at this personal essay in … Continue reading “A really interest personal essay on gang life”
Category: City government
Another flare-up in Boyle Heights
Am pretty sensitive to the concerns of many in Boyle Heights regarding gentrification, particularly after our whole blown-up bike tour. Still, can’t help but feel like chasing an opera company and a walking tour out of the neighborhood is conduct unbecoming of what appears to be an otherwise quite-thoughtful group of citizens. I know the … Continue reading “Another flare-up in Boyle Heights”
An irritating injunction
Per Curbed, a federal judge has just issued an injunction blocking the city from confiscating the property of homeless people on Skid Row. His argument is that the city is not doing a good job of distinguishing between trash and valuable items (identification documents, medicine, etc.). On the face of it, the judge’s argument makes … Continue reading “An irritating injunction”
Attack of the zombie street dedications
All over the city, there are zombie street dedications increasing the cost of housing. Wait… what? (You say.) A street dedication is how the city responds to old, narrow streets that don’t meet modern standards. It can’t start ripping down peoples’ buildings and taking away their front yards (well, it could, but that would require … Continue reading “Attack of the zombie street dedications”
Some misguided thinking about rents in Highland Park
Just read this interview with the president of the Highland Park Neighborhood Council and it’s making me kind of mad. Before I get into “why”, I want to begin by acknowledging Ms. Alcaraz’s hard work on behalf of the whole neighborhood. Running a neighborhood council is no joke; it’s hard, important, often thankless work for … Continue reading “Some misguided thinking about rents in Highland Park”
One way the Fire Department raises rents in LA
Today, I want to talk about one of the unacknowledged factors driving up the cost of housing in LA: The fire code. Now, it’s obvious why we need the Fire Department to weigh in on the design of new buildings. The department is going to have to rescue the inhabitants in the event of a fire and it obviously … Continue reading “One way the Fire Department raises rents in LA”
A rising tide of (petty) crime
We’ve managed a bunch of buildings in gentrifying areas of LA for a long time, and I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that property crime (theft, tagging, etc.) has gone up markedly over the past few years. Most recently, we have a building where cars have been broken into in the … Continue reading “A rising tide of (petty) crime”
Why is the AIDS Healthcare Foundation supporting the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative?
Snapped this pic this morning (at some risk to life and limb): 2PreserveLA is the group pushing the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, which is an absolutely disastrous proposal that would effectively block most- or all large multi-use projects in LA. Why does this matter? Well, the only real way to slow the growth of rent in LA is … Continue reading “Why is the AIDS Healthcare Foundation supporting the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative?”
Yet another bad regulatory innovation
There’s a proposal up for discussion this week at the city council’s Housing Committee that warrants some discussion. In a nutshell, the city is considering requiring every landlord of a rent stabilized unit to report the rent she is charging to the city every year. Why? Because apparently there are hundreds of people being overcharged. … Continue reading “Yet another bad regulatory innovation”
A great article about robo-cars
On Friday, had a funny discussion with our largest investor regarding the value of parking spaces. His joke was that, when I’ve got loads of parking, I tell him how valuable parking is, and when I’m under-parked, I start talking about Uber. I’m not admitting that’s true, but I did tell him that I think … Continue reading “A great article about robo-cars”