By Kevin Lee
Daily Bruin Contributor
A Westwood housing complex for recovering drug and alcohol
addicts is currently under the watch of Los Angeles Police
Department officers, in light of numerous emergency calls from the
site over the past two years.
But directors of the 522 Landfair Ave. property say they have
been unfairly demonized by some Westwood residents, citing that
students living in the Village also cause disturbances in the
community ““ such as Midnight Yell.
Called by the directors a “Sober Living House”, the
property is home to former drug users and alcoholics, as well as
those suffering from depression.
The most recent incidents at the property include three cases of
assault around early May, including a stabbing on May 2, according
to Shelley Taylor, director of the North Village Improvement
Committee.
William Hinton, director and co-master tenant of the house, said
the stabbing happened when a resident and a friend became drunk and
high, which is against house rules.
“We try to have our residents strictly follow our policy
of no alcohol and drugs ““ actions that may cause a
disturbance to the surrounding community,” Hinton said.
Hinton said he plans to evict the tenant soon.
Addressing community concern about the property, Battalion Fire
Chief Larry Schneider of the L.A. Fire Department held a meeting
last October with LAPD, UCLA and L.A. Housing Department officials
to discuss the large volume of distress calls he received from the
house since the beginning of 2000.
Schneider said he received a total of 29 calls over the course
of the year, most of them drug-related.
Schneider then recommended the property for review to the Los
Angeles Nuisance Abatement Program, which is run by the L.A.
District Attorney’s Office.
The NAP opens cases on at-risk properties that they believe pose
a danger to the surrounding community, according to Asha Greenberg,
co-founder of the program.
But the NAP eventually turned down 522 Landfair Ave. as a
candidate for an open case because there was not “sufficient
evidence that the property was the site of a continuous, ongoing
problem,” according to Greenberg.
As a result, 522 Landfair Ave. is now under the jurisdiction of
the LAPD West Bureau Division.
Before the LAPD gained jurisdiction over the house, the UCPD
responded to most of the emergency calls.
“Everyone on the force recognizes the house as a
problem,” said Nancy Greenstein, Director of Community
Services for the UCPD.
“The house stands out, especially in an area mostly
inhabited by college students.” Greenstein added.
Master tenants of the property, Denise and William Hinton, began
leasing the house Aug. 7, 1997. Prior to that, the house was a
fraternity.
“The house is a haven for people struggling with drugs and
alcohol who otherwise have nowhere to go,” Denise said.
Sam Hurt, the owner of the property, said the house is in much
better condition compared to when the fraternity was leasing
it.
522 Landfair Ave. provides no medical treatment or psychological
therapy, but does have a daily 12-step regimen for the residents,
during which tenants discuss their day and any problems they may be
having. Residents of the house include some UCLA students who join
the house of their own initiative, according to William.
William said that after an incident in early January when a
former tenant allegedly offered a UCLA student drugs in exchange
for sex, the Hintons took steps to more carefully monitor current
and future residents.
The Hintons will add questions about previous arrests and
convictions of a sexual nature to the regular interview they
conduct with potential tenants.
“We’re doing everything we can to be on the side of
the community,” Denise said.