Crowds turn out to apply for affordable housing

Police and affordable-housing advocates dealt with large crowds today as the Hollywood Community Housing Corporation prepared to hand out applications for affordable apartments.

Housing advocates were worried about crowd control, as hundreds showed up to apply for apartments in the faltering economy. The applications were handed out at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood.

-- Jessica Garrison

Photo: More than 500 people are in line at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on Santa Monica Boulevard to apply for low-income housing under construction nearby. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Ken]

All housing that rents or sells is affordable to someone.

Housing that is subsidized by taxpayers or neighbors who pay more to buy or rent so that someone else can pay less is certainly not more affordable. It costs people like me more money.

[susan]

People like Ken above will feel even more ripped off if this housing goes to illegals but I"m sure there is no check of legal status, so no doubt many recipients are illegal. But even if the response is that it's not the housing agency's job to check for legal status (debatable, when housing is so rationed and subsidized by taxpayers), what protection does the landlord have if the illegal person using fake ID just skips off without paying rent, commits a crime, etc.? Are there at least ID checks to see if the person has a criminal record? We have serious economic rationing going on in cases like this and these factors must be taken into account.