522 Landfair needed help, not banishment

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in
Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor
 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor
 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao
 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao

  Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of
the Daily Bruin Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and
artwork represent the opinions of their authors.   All
submitted material must bear the author’s name, address, telephone
number, registration number, or affiliation with UCLA. Names will
not be withheld except in extreme cases.   The Bruin
complies with the Communication Board’s policy prohibiting the
publication of articles that perpetuate derogatory cultural or
ethnic stereotypes.   When multiple authors submit
material, some names may be kept on file rather than published with
the material. The Bruin reserves the right to edit submitted
material and to determine its placement in the paper. All
submissions become the property of The Bruin. The Communications
Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints
against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete
procedure, contact the Publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall.
Daily Bruin 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA
90024 (310) 825-9898

The Sober Living House at 522 Landfair Ave., shut down on Monday
by the building’s ownership, is a victim of poor management,
bad ownership and the destructive actions of a vigilante
neighbor.

The largest share of blame for the demise of the house belongs
to William Hinton, the director of the 14-room building.
Hinton’s job was to provide support and residential housing
at 522 Landfair for people recovering from alcohol or drug abuse
through a daily 12-step program ““ the program, however,
proved ineffective. Indeed, some residents said there was no
program at all.

Over the past three years, Hinton has had ongoing problems in
the house, ranging from reports of petty theft to a reported
assault with a deadly weapon on May 2. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 23
of 2000, the Los Angeles Fire Department received 29 calls, most of
which were drug-related. But the problem does not fall solely on
Hinton’s shoulders.

Raphael Nissel, owner of the now-abandoned building, should have
given more attention to the well-being of the Sober Living House,
and he was equally inactive in regulating the actions of the
participants living there. Only after Nissel was pressured by the
L.A. city attorney did he take action. But instead of working with
Hinton to renovate the house, discipline the problem participants
and rethink the 12-step recovery program, Nissel allegedly took the
reckless action of removing Hinton and program participants, as
well as other tenants not participating in the program.

By allegedly opting to evict Hinton and other participants,
Nissel shows he is not willing to effectively address the problems
that arose. Evidently tired of the Sober Living program, Nissel is
now considering renovating the building and transforming it into a
regular boardinghouse for the public.

This must overjoy Shelley Taylor, founder and managing director
of the North Village Improvement Committee in Westwood. Taylor, a
Westwood resident, has complained openly of the problems at 522
Landfair. She even has a Web site for Westwood residents that lists
the Sober Living House as a “Problem Property.”

It seems Taylor has gotten her way by complaining loudly enough
to city officials. The problem is, Taylor would rather use her
influence to sweep the problem out of Westwood instead of
addressing the problem head-on with Hinton and Nissel. Her
idealistic view of Westwood is elitist and unaccommodating to
residents who don’t fit her profile of a good tenant.

Other places Taylor has dubbed “Problem Properties”
include a well-known student residence at 424 Landfair Ave. She
cites trash and noise complaints as the main reasons, as well as
other more serious allegations. Obviously, 522 Landfair isn’t
the only target buildings on Taylor’s agenda.

Perhaps the real problem isn’t the handful of managers who
can’t control their tenants, but overzealous residents trying
to eliminate every apartment building that gets a little out of
control every once in awhile. Taylor could do more good for the
Westwood community by using her influence in other ways. She could
promote change in the management of other troubled housing
complexes like 522 Landfair in a productive, not needlessly
aggressive manner. She could have pressured both Hinton and Nissel
to clean up their act instead of simply forcing them out of
Westwood by complaining to city officials.

While Taylor has made it clear how difficult it is to live with
poorly-managed buildings like 522 Landfair, she fails to realize
that facilitating a community-wide, community-endorsed solution to
problems is better than constant complaining.