Residents of the Palm View Apartments are planning a demonstration on Sept. 14 to block construction workers from entering the building to complete renovations by its owner, the Actors Fund.
The 40-unit, three-building complex at 980 Palm Ave. is home to low-income people with special needs who are working or have working in the entertainment industry.
The residents have complained that the renovations will require them to leave their apartments for days or allow workers to enter their apartments, putting them at risk of infection with the COVID-19 virus. Some of those residents have pre-existing conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and heart and lung disease that make them especially vulnerable to the virus. The renovation project, which launched earlier this year, had been put on hold because of the pandemic. But the Actors Guild now plans to resume it the middle of next month.
Kevin Ross, a resident of the building, said the Actors Fund is “choosing financial obligations (money) over the health and safety of 50 special needs residents in a 40-unit building geared towards independent living for low-income, permanently disabled entertainment professionals.”
He and other residents have sent objections to the renovation to the Actors Fund, its building manager Levine Management Group, West Hollywood City Councilmember John Heilman, the City of West Hollywood, L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff.
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the Actors Fund informed Palm View residents in an email message that “In order to meet the project financing obligations, the construction must be completed by the end of October. This final phase of the construction was discussed with the city and we were informed to proceed.”
The financing obligations include a 2020 tax credit delivery commitment to the Royal Bank of Canada that is due on Dec. 21, 2020, the Hollywood Reporter reported. “If construction and the tax credit delivery is not completed as per the Fund’s initial guarantee, ‘it becomes an automatic default for a $25M construction bond for The Fund’s nursing home and assisted living facility in New Jersey’.” And if that happens, the City of West Hollywood, the L.A. Community Development Fund and the Actors Fund will have to make up the difference.
“I’ve been hiding in my apartment for months and now they’re making me either go out or stay in my apartment while people are here. It goes against everything that this pandemic is about,” said Kevin Ross, who is 55 and has heart and lung disease.
The renovations are anticipated to take five days and will include installing new windows, painting window frames and installing fire sprinkler heads and a bathroom vanity drawer. Residents have been offered several options: Free lodging in a hotel room, being paid $450 if they choose to stay with family and friends, stay in their apartments from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. while work is being done in the hallways, or leave their apartments during those hours and get a $17 stipend for lunch.
In addressing the objections, the Actors Fund said: “The September resumption of renovation work is allowed under the safer-at-home orders, as long as public health recommended precautions are followed. The project has current building permits and is approved to compete [sic] the work. All work will be done following public health recommendations.”
To qualify for an apartment at the Palm View, an individual must have a permanent disability, have worked in arts and entertainment and have an annual income of $12,000 to $21,930 for one person or a joint income of $15,000 to $41,800 for two people.)
How many of you have ever been displaced while renovations were going on your apartment?
I hated every f**king minute of it. I was physically uncomfortable. It was miserable.
The Actors fund have done nothing but bend over backwards for us the tenants here. This small group of complainers have been complaining of everything way before The Actors Fund took over ownership of the Palmview. This is a fact and I’ve been there at the meetings. Stopped going because got tired of this small group (about 3 or 4) of 45 apartment tenants complaints. This small group needs emotional help and they never show up to the emotional support programa/classes The Actors Fund offered before the pandemic hit.
They have to do the work and the tenants are being offered free hotel during the construction. While this may not be a perfect solution it beats the alternative of not having affordable housing available. Perhaps the City could provide a social worker to insure Mr. Ross has a safe place to stay during his relocation and to assist him in his efforts to isolate.
I live at Palm View also. I haven’t spoken with any tenant who thinks there’s a problem with finishing the renovations at this time and putting the project to bed. Kevin, in my opinion, is just a drama queen. For the last decade she sashays around here like she owns the joint. She wouldn’t be happy if the Actors Fund put her up in the Chateau Montmartre, gave her a major domo, handmaidens, a car, driver and four catered meals a day. As Cher would say, “SNAP OUT OF IT!” In my opinion!
It’s a pretty “perfect” solution.
This has Tom Demille written all over it. As my Dad used to say, he’d bitch at a free beer party if there weren’t any pretzels. 🙄
Wrong address. It’s 980 Palm Ave
Thanks for catching that error. It has been corrected.
“Kevin Ross, a resident of the building, said the Actors Fund is ‘choosing financial obligations (money) over the health and safety of 50 special needs residents’ …”
$25,000,000 vs 50 people who can “STAY INSIDE THEIR APARTMENTS”. That works out to $500,000 per resident – or about double what the original construction cost.
They’d be criminally mismanaging the building if they *didn’t* do this work.
I disagree. Get all the facts first. There are many residents here who are not part of this complaint. Why are these residents not being heard? Kevin lives here and will complain either way. Actors Fund has treated us great. Kevin Ross has done nothing but complain even before Actors Fund took over ownership of this building. Is the such thing as criminally being a bad tenant? Your thought WeHo Mikey? This is ONE person’s complaint of his many. The Actors Fund has treated us great during this renovation. The floors and updates are amazing! We now have great lighting… Read more »
They are fighting improvements to their own building? Typical coddled weho residents.
Wow, it’s being improved, and they are bending over backwards to accommodate these people. How absurd of these residents. Maybe they should move, if they don’t like it.
so agree