Little Tokyo Against Gentrification is inviting local residents and the public to share their concerns about the giant development proposed for the entire block of 4th Street and Central Avenue in Little Tokyo.
The purpose is to gather all people’s concerns so they can be addressed with the developer on Sunday, May 26, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Union Church, 402 E. 3rd St. in Little Tokyo.
The $2 billion development will have 10 buildings with thousands of square feet filled with offices, malls and businesses. Building #2 next door to Centenary United Methodist Church will be 44 stories tall, with others being two to 26 stories.
Little Tokyo Community Council/Sustainable Little Tokyo held a community forum to discuss the project on May 14.
The developers are Continuum Partners from Colorado. Although the developers claim that the project will create thousands of jobs and 1,521 units of housing, local residents shared some concerns, ac-cording to LTAG organizers.
Aiko, a senior at Little Tokyo Towers, commented, ”It’s going to take five to seven years. That’s a long time for fine dust from the construction to pile up.”
Sachi, another senior, stated, “We want our friends and family to move near us but the [Little Tokyo] Towers has a one-year wait list and no other places are close to affordable. We need affordable housing badly. I don’t have a problem with the jobs it creates.”
Some seniors raised concerns about security and safety. “We get robbed sometimes because we are old and frail by desperate people,” one said. “Some have homes, others do not. If we had cheap housing, they can have a safe place to live too.”
A larger meeting for the residents at Little Tokyo Towers and Miyako Gardens will be held in Korean, Japanese and English, and the entire public is also invited.
Little Tokyo Against Gentrification (LTAG) is composed of J-Town Action & Solidarity, Save Our Seniors Network and the Greater L.A. Chapter JACL.
For more information, call (626) 999-7528.