Photo: Araceli Martinez Ortega / Impremedia
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernández’s resounding refusal to hand over to the non-profit organization still resonates The Wall The Memoriesthe $500,000 that had already been allocated to him in the past administration by his predecessor, Councilman Gil Cedillo and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The councilwoman only agreed to give them $100,000. Her reasons were that The memories They’re not in District 1, which she represents, and they haven’t been given anything in the last three years. Councilwoman Tracy Park asked the city manager to search for resources in the city coffers to compensate The memories with the resources removed while Councilman Kevin de León awarded them $250,000. Even De León publicly called on Eunisses to put up another $250,000, but he ran into a wall when he could not find an answer.
Now we hope they deliver the $100,000 on time and they won’t make them tired again.
Everything indicates that behind the refusal to deliver the $500,000 to The memories, there is the close friendship between Richard Zaldívar, its founding director, and former councilor Gil Cedillo, whom Eunisses dethroned. Zaldívar has never denied being a friend of Cedillo, but he has also commented that he did not participate in his re-election campaign.
However, Councilor Eunisses doesn’t seem to forget and applied them to The memories drastically cutting their funds. Now, from the plate to the mouth, they dropped their $500,000 to The memories.
change of mind
An issue where she could not withstand the pressure of the protests and Councilor Eunisses had no choice but to soften her positions was in a motion for the residence of Morris Kight (1919-2003), pioneer of the rights of the LGBTQ + community in the 20th century, it was considered a historical cultural monument.
Initially, Eunisses was in favor of a designation that would have allowed the owner to demolish the property and redevelop the site on 4th Street in the Westlake neighborhood of District 1.
However, for the LGBTQ+ community, it is very important that the modest home be preserved as it is because it was the center of LGBTQ social activity in the 20th century, and Kight was a leader in the creation of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In the end, his protests were successful. Councilwoman Eunisses relented.
Votes against the Mayfair Hotel
Councilors Monica Rodriguez and Tim McOsker opposed Mayor Karen Bass’s plans to purchase the 294-room Mayfair Hotel to dedicate it to housing the homeless. Rodríguez, who has proven to be a tough councilwoman, not easy to convince, said the transaction was a bad deal, since the City recently had to allocate $11.5 million to settle lawsuits that arose when the hotel was used for the project. Roomkey. They remember that this project allowed several hotels in the city to become homes during the pandemic. In the specific case of Mayfair, there were many complaints from the neighbors regarding security, because crime and the open use of drugs proliferated in the surroundings.
Despite the opposition of Rodríguez and McOsker, Mayor Bass obtained 12 votes that will allow her to buy the Mayfair Hotel to provide transitional housing for the homeless. Councilwoman Eunisses Hernández criticized that they had not allowed community participation in the hotel purchase proposal, but in the end, after expressing her concerns, she aligned herself and voted in favor.