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The fourteen now mostly barren acres of what used to be the South Central Farm is slated to become a warehouse for clothing company “Forever 21.” Representatives of what was the largest urban community garden have denounced the development plans. They demand a California State Attorney General ethics investigation into local officials involved in the sale of the property on the corner of 41st and Alameda to real estate developer Ralph Horowitz. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was cited as chief among those city officials with a conflict of interest with the LA Times reporting that he has received nearly $1.3 million from Forever 21 over that last two years. The mayor assumed a mediator role more than two years ago between Horowitz and the families who tended their garden plots at the community farm. The sincerity of that position is now being questioned as business leaders in the women’s apparel company have fiscally supported Villaraigosa’s campaigns and initiatives. Among those, ironically enough is Forever 21’s one-million dollar contribution to the mayor’s Million Trees L.A. Initiative. Now poised to develop a warehouse on the razed farm, activists opposed to the plan are still demanding that it be subject to an environmental impact report.

GUEST: Tezozomoc, a spokesperson for the South Central Farmers

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