Fired with motivation, the Crenshaw Subway Coalition — spanning residents, merchants, property owners and stakeholders concerned about the future of Crenshaw Boulevard and Leimert Park Village — last Friday took the historic step of filing a lawsuit against the Mayor Villaraigosa-led MTA for allegedly violating environmental and civil rights laws when the MTA board approved the Crenshaw-LAX light rail project on Sept. 22.
[img]1274|left|||no_popup[/img]The current MTA/Villaraigosa plan — with no station at Leimert Park Village and a business killing street-level segment on Crenshaw Boulevard from 48th to 59th Street — is disruptive, destructive, dangerous, disrespectful and discriminatory.
MTA broke the law, the Crenshaw Coalition believes, when approving the project.
This unacceptable and illegal plan, an attack on Crenshaw businesses, a threat to the school children of View Park Prep and Crenshaw High School, will kill our community's dreams of a Crenshaw Boulevard revitalization. The plan exists only because at the May 26 MTA board meeting, Mayor Villaraigosa decided he would ignore the chorus of over 600 South L.A. politicians, clergy, business and community leaders and lead the charge against a motion to appropriate the funding to put the rail line underground the entirety of Crenshaw Boulevard and return the Leimert Park Village station to the project.
Reason for the Suit
It is clear we are in court today against MTA, because Mr. Villaraigosa refuses to return our own tax dollars to South L.A. so the Crenshaw-LAX project can be a good, safe and productive neighbor to the Crenshaw community.
To quote Danny Bakewell Sr. after the meeting: “We've tried friendly negotiations, trying to use our influence. At this point, we've come up short with nothing.”
The Crenshaw Subway Coalition’s attorneys are environmental law specialists Johnson & Sedlack. They've successfully represented clients as esteemed as the Sierra Club, Audubon Society and Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice. They are perhaps best known for repeatedly taking on corporate retail giant Wal-Mart for violating environmental laws in their expansion plans.
When we went searching for the best possible representation we knew we needed accomplished warriors who regularly face goliaths bigger than MTA — and beat them. Johnson & Sedlack is that firm.
In the lawsuit, the Coalition’s attorneys identified a dozen major legal violations with the project's environmental document, including the state's civil rights act and 11 specific violations of the California Environmental Quality Act. Each claim is strong. Yet it only takes a judge validating one for our case to be successful. Click here to read the lawsuit.
Donations are Needed
In this epic battle there will be some costs. The largest in the near term is the compilation of what is known as the administrative record — all the studies, correspondence and memos. MTA has in their records regarding the project. It is a legal requirement that the Coalition pay this cost. Based on other lawsuits for similar projects, it is projected to cost at least $25,000.
A deadline of Nov. 30 has been established to raise $25,000.
We can do it, but only with your help. Please donate today.
For those who care about the future of Leimert Park Village and Crenshaw Boulevard, if you care about the safety of motorists, elders, pedestrians and children, if you care about environmental laws being adhered to, if you simply care about the South L.A. community being respected and the protection of civil rights for all people, you may donate with your debit or credit card. Alternatively, you can send a check made out and addressed to Crenshaw Subway Coalition, P.O. Box 432181, Los Angeles 90043.
