Los Angeles Councilman Curren Price has issued an apology for insensitive comments he made to a reporter about constituents living in city-provided housing after their neighborhood was blown up.
The comments were made in an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times titled L.A. wants to evict families living in luxury hotel since botched 2021 fireworks detonation.
“Folks have got legal counsel and have decided not to accept our help. I think others are kind of gaming the system a little bit,” said City Councilman Curren Price, who represents the neighborhood. “They’ve had it good living in the hotel rent-free for several months. They want that to last as long as it can.”
The families were displaced in June 2021 after a man was found to be storing a cache of illegal fireworks in Price’s district. Once the LAPD arrived on the scene to confiscate them they determined it was a good idea to detonate them in the middle of the street. Many of the homes were impacted by the blast which blew out windows and caused damage to the foundation and countless cars were destroyed.
The residents were then put up at Level, an extended-stay hotel, which provides furnished rentals for short-term and long-term stays. Level is owned by the Onni Group who has been linked to the FBI investigation into former Los Angeles Councilman Jose Huizar.
According to their website, a one-bedroom suite rents for $365 per night. According to The Times article the City has already spent close to $2.1 million on housing the constituents so far. To book a unit for over 30 days you must contact the property directly.
The residents were placed in the units during the pandemic when traveling was all but at a standstill. Now that traveling is back up, is it the owner who wants them out or the City under the guise of “it’s costing us too much money”?
Price posted his apology nearly 24 hours after The Times article initially ran, however, comments on his social media post found the apology too late.
When people tell you who they are, believe them.
Councilman Curren Price (@CurrenDPriceJr), you meant what you said. You are a multi-millionaire with several homes… did the @LAPDHQ ever blow up one of your many homes? Sir, please resign. You are sickening!
Price will term out from the city council in 2026.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist for 2UrbanGirls.com and a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Wave newspaper.
