Citizens' Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line

UPDATE: Added Environmental Justice Fact Sheet

Some have emailed asking for a more extensive explanation of “environmental justice” and “environmental racism.”

It’s best to first look at the two most prominent civil rights protections among many others: Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Executive Order 12898 sign by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

Title VI, which was fought for through the blood, sweat, tears and ultimate sacrifices of giants in the civil rights movement reads as the following:

“No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

And this is how Executive Order 12898 begins:

“[E]ach Federal agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations in the United States…”

The FTA elaborates on these laws and explains how they apply to public transit projects with a powerpoint presentation on their website titled, “Environmental Justice: Principles, Policies, Guidance, and Effective Practices” (ppt), which was delivered at the FTA Region VI Civil Rights Colloquium in March of 2006. Among the slides in the presentation, is the following below, where a screenshot also shows the notes for the slide:

Click on the image to increase the size of the picture and you’ll see the following:

Adverse effect–can include economic as well as effects to the human and natural environment.

Disproportionately high adverse effects are those effects that are:

(1) Predominantly borne by a minority or low-income population or

(2) Effects that will be suffered by the minority or low-income population and is appreciably more severe or greater in magnitude than the adverse effect that will be suffered by the non-minority or non-low-income population.

The notes section of the slide states the following:

Adverse effects in transportation: air pollution, noise, vibration, property taking, effects associated with construction such as street closures and loss of business, loss of community cohesion, and dangers to pedestrians

Example of the first case: Bus depots that are disproportionately sited in minority or low-income communities.

Example of the second case: a fixed guideway alignment that would tunnel under predominantly white or affluent communities but would run at-grade in predominantly minority or low-income communities.

Compare the design of the Expo Line Phase 1 west of La Cienega to that in majority-minority South LA and it’s clear that Expo Line Phase 1 is textbook environmental racism.

The Culver City Census Tract (Tract 7024) is THE ONLY majority Caucasian census tract and affluent census tract along the Expo Line Phase 1 route.  (USC is plurality Caucasian but poor given students lack of income, which technically makes it an “environmental justice community.”)  In the Culver City census tract, indeed in every residential community in the mile west of La Cienega on Phase 1 of the Expo Line there will be:

a) no children forced to walk across Expo Line tracks

b) no chance of train-vehicle accidents

c) no train horns or crossing gate bells

d) no blight/privacy impacts to residential communities (see Section 4.4-40 of the Expo Line EIR/EIS)

e) no forced commuter detours
f) no delays in emergency services from crossing gates
g) no closed off parks

This is the exact opposite of how the Expo Line will operate in South LA where there are countless at-grade street crossings, almost all without even basic crossing gates, where THOUSANDS of children and HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of cars will be forced to cross every day.

There is an elevated structure at La Brea that is directly adjacent to residential properties having direct privacy impacts.

At some intersections that are directly adjacent to homes, schools and churches there will be noise from crossing gate bells and train horns blowing nearly 1000 a day.  At other intersections the train gong will be heard with each and every train crossings.

There are 9 street closures, the traffic impact of which can be felt today.

And the park access at one of our parks will be irreparably closed, while the other will be substantially reduced.

For more information about the Environmental Justice issues in transportation go to the USDOT Environmental Justice website and the FTA Civil Rights web page.

The law is clear. The Expo Line Phase 1 design places disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental impacts on the majority-minority and poor communities along the alignment compared to the majority Caucasian and most affluent census tract. This is accented by the fact that MTA is spending more money in the 1 mile from La Cienega to the Robertson terminus than in the 4.5 miles in South LA:

185 million for the one mile of the line west of La Cienega to the Culver City terminus

vs.

140 million for the 4.5 miles of the line in South LA from Vermont to Clyde (one block east of La Cienega)

Popularity: 49% [?]

On Thursday, May 22, we went to the MTA to demand an immediate investigation into ethics law violations of our Council Member and MTA Board Member Bernard Parks.

In total disregard for MTA’s ethics rules and California state law, Bernard Parks is taking in money hand over fist from contractors doing business and in current negotiations with MTA. These are hundred million dollar projects with MTA, and thousands upon thousand of contributions to Bernard Parks. It’s incumbent on all oversight agencies and authorities to conduct an extensive investigation to determine how egregious Parks has been.

California Senate Bill 89 (backup link) (“Limits on MTA Contributions”), by then State Senator Tom Hayden, was signed into law during the 1997-1998 session and established the following ethics laws which are still in effect today:

“Neither the owner, an employee, or any member of their immediate families, of any construction company, engineering firm, consultant, legal firm, or any company, vendor, or business entity seeking a contract with the authority shall make a contribution of over ten dollars ($10) in value or amount to a member, alternate member, or employee of the authority, or to any member of their immediate families.

“No member, alternate member, or employee of the authority, or member of their immediate families, shall accept, solicit, or direct a contribution of over ten dollars ($10) in value or amount from any construction company, engineering firm, consultant, legal firm, or any company, vendor, or business entity seeking a contract with the authority.”

And yet Parks has taken at least $21,800 in such illegal contributions:

continue reading…

Controversial MTA contractor Tutor-Saliba, which today is still involved in litigation with MTA for shoddy work done on the Red Line subway, and is currently constructing the new City Council-approved LAPD headquarters has contributed $18,000 alone through their executives and their relatives:

• Ronald Tutor: $1,000 on 12/28/07.
• Gerarld Brown, Vice President: $1,000 on 12/28/07 (the same day “Homemaker” Patricia Brown gave $1,000).
• Mark Fischbach Vice President: $1,000 on 12/28/07 (the same day “Homemaker” Rosemary Fischbach gave $1,000).
• James Foster, Equipment Manager: $1,000 on 12/28/07.
• James Frost, Construction Executive: $1,000 on 12/31/07 (the same day “Homemaker” Nicole Frost gave $1,000).
• Joseph Guglielmo, Construction Manager: $1,000 on 12/28/07 (the same day “Homemaker” Ardis Guglielmo gave $1,000).
• Michael Kerchner, Vice President: $1,000 on 12/28/07 (the same day “Homemaker” Carolyn Kerchner gave $1,000).
• Robert Lewis, Executive: $1,000 on 12/31/07.
• David Randall, Sr. Vice President: $1,000 on 12/28/07.
• Roger Sexton, Business Executive: $1,000 on 12/28/07 (the same day “Homemaker” Diane Sexton gave $1,000).
• Williams Sparks, CFO: $1,000 on 1/24/08 (the same day “Homemaker” Vicki Sparks gave $1,000).

Koar Development Group, LLC and Archeon International Group are jointly building a $160 million dollar mixed-use project with the MTA at the Wilshire/Western Station.

• Archeon International Group contributed $1,000 on 2/25/08.
• Koar Development Group CEO Edward Dong, contributed $500 on 2/29/08.

Hope Bullock III of Bullock & Associates, Inc., the Utilities Consultant on the Draft EIR for the Canoga Transportation Corridor project contributed $300 to Parks the same day the EIR was released on 3/5/08.

MTA contractor URS Corp Vice President Gerard Orozco gave Parks $1,000 on 12/31/07.

Carter & Burgess, Inc. Professional Engineer Bruce Russell gave Parks $1,000 on 12/17/07.

Bernard Parks put MTA in the mirror and saw ATM. The dirty money has clearly compromised his ability to be independent and serve his constituents.

Despite amassing our large and growing coalition of South LA community groups to encourage MTA to address the safety hazards and other adverse impacts of the current Expo Line design through the South LA community, the concerns of our group have fallen on deaf ears with Parks. In a moment captured on camera last fall and available on YouTube, Parks dismissively told the group leader Damien Goodmon, “Just because you don’t like the line, you should stop wasting other people’s time, because you have a concern about it.”

Parks’ actions were confusing, but it’s all beginning to make sense now. Our advocacy on behalf of the safety of the children in his district, and the parents who have trusted him to protect them, is clearly interfering with whatever backroom deals he’s made for his personal political gain.

The former police chief is acting like a true criminal.

As covered on Front Page Online

UPDATE:

• List of Bernard Parks for Supervisor Donors from 1/1/07 – 12/31/07
• List of Bernard Parks for Supervisor Donors from 1/1/08 – 3/17/08
  

Popularity: 3% [?]

$54 Million More for Culver City, $0 for South LA

Last month the MTA Board approved an additional $54 million for an overpass in Culver City from the same source of money we’ve been requesting they use to build the Expo Line underground in our South LA community and next to our schools and churches. The $54 million is part of an influx of $222 million extra dollars for the Expo Line, with not a single dollar going for putting the Expo Line underground through South LA. This is simply the latest act proving that this is not an issue about MTA’s access to money, it’s about their failure to value South LA lives and communities.

The MTA is now spending more money for Expo Line Phase 1 in the ONE MILE west of La Cienega than they are IN THE ENTIRE 4 MILES IN SOUTH LA! If the MTA spent the same amount per mile in South LA as they are in the 1-mile from La Cienega to La Brea Robertson [typo] they could put the Expo Line in a tunnel or trench, as we’ve been requesting, and still would have enough left over to paint every house on Exposition Blvd.

But instead they’re building Expo Line Phase 1 at mostly street-level in South LA, but totally grade separated west of La Cienega. MTA is building it in a way that forces thousands of our South LA children to walk across the tracks, with 225-ton trains coming 35-55 mph 240 times a day, while not one child will have to cross the tracks west of La Cienega. We in South LA will have 9 of our streets closed, our community divided, our traffic worsened, and our emergency services delayed, while none of that will occur west of La Cienega. We in South LA will hear 1000 train horns and crossing gate bells every day, 22 hours a day in the middle of our residential areas and next to our schools, while no train horn or crossing gate bell will ever be heard west of La Cienega.

Call it what it is: Plain-old fashioned ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM!

Popularity: 1% [?]

In April of 2008, the community groups and neighborhood councils decided to organize balanced Town Hall meetings, that allowed the major parties in dispute and the Expo Authority to discuss the issue before the community.

Reflecting both the utter contempt the Expo has for the community, and willingness to violate their legal agreement between the City of Los Angeles, Expo refused to show, and instead sent a couple of teenagers they paid off the street to pass out flyers in front of the auditorium calling the community group and neighborhood councils liars.

Section 2.0 of the Master Cooperative Agreement between the City of Los Angeles and Expo Line Construction Authority states:

2.0 Community Notifications and Review

The Authority is responsible to coordinate all designs of the Exposition Metro Line with the Council Offices, Neighborhood Councils, and community groups that are affected by the Project. The Authority is responsible to work with the communities to seek consensus of these design elements impacting the traffic circulation, safety, appearance, and quality of life. These design elements include but are not limited to architecture, aesthetic of the stations, noise and vibration controls, and sound walls to the extent of complying with the approved Final Supplemental Environment Impact ReporUFinal Supplement Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIR/FSEIS) documents. The Authority is responsible to collaborate with City Departments and Bureaus to determine proper and effective mitigation measures to address community concerns.

Displaying the disrespect our local elected officials hold for the community and neighborhood councils, not one of the Expo Authority or MTA representatives showed either.

Below is the correspondence between our group and the Expo Authority staff and politicians.

Continue reading…

Popularity: 1% [?]

To bring the community up to speed on the recent political and legal developments, and partially in response to the Expo Line Construction Authority’s refusal to hold open public forums in their “community update meetings”, the neighborhood councils, community groups, and Dorsey HS Alumni Association, in coordination with the Fix Expo Campaign and schools will be hosting two community forums in the month of May:

THURSDAY – MAY 22, 2008
6:30 – 8:30 PM
DORSEY HS AUDITORIUM
3537 Farmdale Ave, Los Angeles, CA
(about 0.5-mile east of the Rodeo/La Brea intersection)

THURSDAY – MAY 29, 2008
6:30 – 8:30 PM
Foshay Learning Center Auditorium
3751 Harvard Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
(one block east of Western at Exposition Blvd)

The forum will have presentations/statements by the Expo Construction Authority, LAUSD, UTLA, Parent Collaborative, Fix Expo Campaign and if they’re in attendance our local and state elected politicians, followed by an open question and answer public forum!

Popularity: 1% [?]