Letters to the Editor

ADA Ramps

This nightmare has happened in front of my house [in Park Estates]. None of my neighbors or myself ever received notification of this project. On top of that, my husband went out and talked to the supervisor (Jas) and he informed him we were getting a new sidewalk and curb. No mention of the ramp.

All of my neighbors thought it had something to do with a drainage problem. We have a manhole right in front of my house and they are constantly here cleaning it out so it made sense that they were going to fix that issue.

On the day they came to make the saw cuts for the removal of the curb and sidewalk, I once again asked what was going on, the response was we were getting new curb and sidewalk. The following day, the workers showed up and started digging right next to my Pepper Tree. I freaked out and thought they were removing it.

Once again, they called Jas from the Public Works Department, and he came out. That is when he notified me we were getting the ramp. I couldn’t believe it; we have a ramp two doors from my house. It makes zero sense. He informed me that it was city property, and they could do what they wanted.

I reached out to Daryl Supernaw regarding this situation. He is beyond frustrated with the city and thought this project was killed two years ago! He found out about your [April 5] article and sent it to me. This project blindsided so many property owners which I believe was the plan! It gave us no chance to have a meeting, find out why this is happening, discuss the negative effects of our property values and talk to counsel to see if we could stop this project.

I now have damage to my walkway up to my home which Daryl is trying to get fixed. Also, he is trying to save my tree. Hopefully, they show up today to deal with the damage.

I appreciate your time and the attention you are bringing to this matter

Jennifer Coates

Failure to Recuse?

In early 2020, Beachcomber reporter Stephen Downing reported extensively on the shady business dealings and questionable residency requirements of then City Council candidate Cindy Allen (Anatomy of Campaign Fraud in Long Beach | Beachcomber). Now our sitting vice mayor, questions about Ms. Allen’s ethical behavior persist.

In that report, Allen admitted to once using her Ocean Avenue condo for short-term rental income (garnering between $10,000 and $100,000 annually). Why is that relevant now? Following an Airbnb-related shooting at a College Estates home in January, the City Council was tasked to re-evaluate the existing STR ordinance put in place in 2020.

Instead of recusing herself from the discussion and coming clean about her connection with Airbnb, at the April 2 City Council meeting, Allen instead heaped praise on the short-term rental program and asked an oddly incriminating question to a city attorney about the city ordinance overriding an HOA’s desire to restrict them.

Nowhere in the city’s presentation nor the discussion about regulating STRs came up the topic of HOAs, yet Ms. Allen felt compelled to veer off into this topic.

Is Allen still operating an Airbnb out of her condo? And if so, why is she weighing in on legislation or enforcement procedures regarding short-term rentals? The city’s own Ethics Commission states that a councilperson “will disclose all personal, financial, or professional interests or outside activities that may relate to or influence my role or official capacity.”

Allen’s role as an Airbnb operator (past or current) obviously shows a conflict of interest and quite possibly exposes the city’s vested interest in short-term rentals, especially when neighboring cities in LA and OC continue to crack down on them, particularly those of the “un-hosted” variety which Allen admitted to once operate.

To think that our sitting vice mayor would not wield considerable power on this subject is naïve. Furthermore, the last census tract that attempted (and failed) to petition un-hosted STRs out of their neighborhood was in Allen’s District 2. Maybe that’s just a coincidence, but it would not be far-fetched to believe Allen had an influence on that petition’s demise given her admitted prior status as a short-term rental operator.

Wherever one falls on the issue of unsupervised short-term rentals operating in residential neighborhoods, we should continue to demand transparency and honesty from our elected leaders. Unfortunately, in Long Beach, those two things are in short supply. Cindy Allen keeps proving the point.

Andy Oliver

Pretending to Listen

Unable to attend the April 16 Long Beach City Council meeting concerning the Fountain Street “affordable housing” development, I watched instead on YouTube.

There was citizen comment, and many citizens took time out of their lives to attend the meeting, caring enough to make their feelings and concerns known. As usual, they were treated as an annoyance and were abruptly stopped mid-sentence with a loud, game-show style exclamation of “time’s up!” Never mind that the councillors were encouraged to speak at length, no time restraints or countdown clocks for them!

As is historically true in Long Beach, by the time any information about the new housing development was presented to the public all decisions had already been made, the financing already decided and secured, and the council was simply going through the charade of pretending to listen to citizen input.

It was maddening to watch our tax-paying citizens, who pay the councillors’ bloated salaries, pouring their hearts out to councillors who drum their fingers and check their watches while awaiting their next round of smug, mutually congratulatory ass-slapping.

Government is not the master, it is the servant. When oh when will the City of Long Beach remember?

Merry Colvin