Monica Rodriguez blasts Nithya Raman over LA’s homeless disaster

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman has been accused of specializing in herself as a substitute of fixing the town’s horrific homeless disaster.

Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez tore into Raman in Metropolis Corridor on Tuesday, claiming she has ignored long-standing issues whereas prioritizing her political future.

Referring to calls to overtake the area’s homelessness paperwork, Rodriguez famous there had been “no motion for greater than two years” regardless of rising issues concerning the Los Angeles Homeless Providers Authority, the area’s largest homelessness company.

“Sadly, there was no motion for greater than two years on this problem. And we all know precisely what the supply of that drawback was,” Rodriguez mentioned.

Rodriguez then appeared to take direct goal at Raman, who chairs the Housing and Homelessness Committee whereas working for mayor.

“We have to cease permitting individuals to attend for a promotion earlier than they really do their job,” Rodriguez mentioned.

The feedback got here throughout debate over a decision urging the White Home and the US Division of Housing and City Improvement to restore federal funding to the Los Angeles Homeless Providers Authority.

Final week, HUD suspended LAHSA’s participation in federal applications whereas its inspector basic investigates allegations of economic mismanagement, weak oversight and what federal officers described as “wanton mismanagement.”

The company receives almost $200 million a yr in federal funding.

The transfer adopted a blistering rebuke from the White Home Activity Drive to Remove Fraud, which accused LAHSA of losing taxpayer {dollars} after almost $1 billion in federal cash flowed to the company since 2021.

However the criticism of Los Angeles’ homelessness system didn’t cease there.

As council members debated the funding disaster, one other report shifting by way of Metropolis Corridor highlighted the town’s wrestle to show taxpayer-funded housing into items utilized by the homeless.

The Metropolis Council voted to notice and file a Challenge Homekey standing report displaying 1,104 homeless housing items sitting vacant regardless of roughly $911 million spent buying properties for homeless housing.

Challenge Homekey was launched in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as a fast-track program to purchase resorts, motels and condo buildings and convert them into housing for homeless residents.

The town and the Housing Authority of the Metropolis of Los Angeles acquired 45 properties by way of three rounds of Homekey funding, creating 3,067 items and beds.

The California Publish has beforehand reported that many Homekey tasks carry eye-popping per-unit prices and that greater than one-third of this system’s items stay vacant years after properties had been bought.

Questions concerning the delays have been brewing.

In Might 2024, Councilwoman Traci Park demanded solutions about why Homekey properties remained vacant whereas homeless residents continued dwelling on close by sidewalks.

“Given the Homekey program was introduced as an expeditious various to new development, which might be price and time prohibitive, the Metropolis ought to perceive instantly why Homekey items proceed to take a seat empty whereas 1000’s of people proceed to stay and undergo on sidewalks outdoors these properties,” Park wrote in her movement.

One venture highlighted in Park’s movement was the previous Ramada Inn in Venice.

The town bought the property in 2020 and later shut down its interim housing operation to transform the constructing into everlasting supportive housing. Almost six years later, the venture remains to be not full.

Metropolis information beforehand reviewed by the California Publish present the property’s price ballooned from about $8 million to almost $20 million.

The 32-unit venture is predicted to price roughly $625,000 per unit and isn’t projected to open till late 2026.

The newest Homekey report suggests the Venice venture is way from distinctive.

In response to metropolis officers, 471 items stay below rehabilitation, 218 are present process conversion work, 131 are nonetheless in search of financing and 24 stay below development.

The vacancies span all three rounds of Homekey funding.

Spherical 1 price taxpayers $258.8 million and produced 1,441 items, however 450 stay vacant.

Spherical 2 price $508.7 million and created 1,257 items, with 406 nonetheless sitting empty.

Spherical 3 has the bottom occupancy fee. Taxpayers spent $143.4 million to accumulate 369 items, however solely 121 are occupied, leaving 248 vacant.

The California Publish reached out to Raman’s workplace for remark.

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