Silbiger’s Question of the Week — Affordable Housing in an Office Building?

Just as with Mr. Vera, when you strew the 750 pieces of the Silbiger character jigsaw puzzle across the living room carpet, it is a complete mystery to me — even after watching him for 5 1/2 years — how the pieces fit together.

He is charming and sincere, but entirely enigmatic.

Surely he tested the far limits of loyalty at the Council meeting two nights ago when he again demonstrated his extraordinary penchant for being wildly out of step with his colleagues and with Culver City.

Jim Suhr and Wally Marks, the much-praised developers for the old Baldwin Motel site on Washington Boulevard, were up for formal city approval.

Who Could Object?

Mr. Silbiger’s peers regarded this project as the Cinch of the Year. The developers drew raves all around by sketching out a pure 21st century model, a modest-sized, green-oriented mixed-use building, restaurant(s)/retail on the ground floor, roomy offices on the two stories above. Unlike virtually all other recent redevelopments, there wasn’t a hint of controversy. This was Brooks Brothers gentrification.

More than any of his peers, Mr. Silbiger is known for hammering away at his pet projects.

If you can imagine being asked eight times in five minutes if you want a drink of water, you will understand how he has accelerated the pace of his hammering this summer.

A Coincidence?

Far be it from me to imply cynicism. But Mr. Silbiger’s latest pet-project campaign started heating up in mid-spring as organized protests by merchants and residents started to slow up the disputed South Sepulveda Boulevard redevelopment.

I may be wrong.

But it seems to me as if Mr. Silbiger has beat the drums at every weekly meeting since then, aggressively, unrelentingly promoting power-sharing in decision-making with residents. It is like your mother reminding you 11 times before school to wear a clean shirt to class today.

Unwavering

With strenuous rigidity, Mr. Silbiger adheres to the original script each Monday night, almost regardless of the subject.

After the presentation, he was the second to speak during the discussion on the dais. His first two questions concerned community input. Had neighbors been consulted? A fair question. No, said Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld. Community meetings would be held during the next step. Unsatisfied, Mr. Silbiger pressed the issue.

Point of Departure

Then came the kind of head-scratching moment we have learned to expect this summer, a question as unrelated to the subject as it was to a moon landing. Wasn’t the Councilman listening to the presentation? Didn’t he read the voluminous materials?

Affordable housing is the Councilman’s other currently hot favorite topic.

And so Mr. Silbiger turned to Mr. Blumenfeld and said, “Is affordable housing proposed?”

Huh?

How Do You Answer?

From my seat, I could not see Mr. Blumenfeld’s face. I presume he blinked and rolled his eyes, as happened with numerous people in Council Chambers.

Pulling himself together, Mr. Blumenfeld calmly explained, “No this is a commercial building.”

Unfazed by the startling exchange, Mr. Silbiger determinedly ploughed on.

“But there could be if we wanted to?” he asked.

A succinct affirmation was all Mr. Blumenfeld could manage.