Residents fight to stay in homes meant to be demolished for failed 710 Freeway extension

A failed freeway expansion and a battle over housing only partly sum up the fight over hundreds of homes that were supposed to be destroyed for the 710 Freeway expansion.

"We are not disposable," said resident Martha Escudero. "We deserve housing."

Escudero stood alongside fellow residents and activists fighting to stay in their homes in El Sereno. These homes have been forsaken and locked in limbo for decades because of the failed plans to expand the 710 Freeway from the Port of Long Beach to Pasadena. 

"This is where I belong," said Escudero. "I'm going to be in El Sereno forever."

This is the latest chapter in this battle over a group of homes owned by The California Department of Transportation and leased by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles or HACLA. 

"What's called 'the gap' is one of the longest-running land-use disputes in American history," said United Caltrans Tenants Tim Ivison. "This 4.5-mile area of Los Angeles County has been the site of many struggles, not just about housing but about the future of the transportation system in L.A."

In November 2020, there was a tense standoff in this same El Sereno neighborhood. We're told the California Highway Patrol showed up in force to evict people who were living without permission in a vacant home.

Some of those people were allowed to stay and are now being told they must leave. Activists blame Caltrans for displacing people. 

"They have bought managed, sold and destroyed houses for over 100 years now," said Ivison. "They know exactly what they're doing."

Caltrans said they have no control over the homes where tenants may be forced to leave. 

"Caltrans in collaboration with the Housing Authority for the City of Los Angeles has provided homes for the authority's use in its transitional housing program," the organization said in a statement. "Participants are part of HACLA's program, not a Caltrans rental program."

HACLA has not responded to a request for comment. 

"Now, it is time for the state to give those homes back to the city so that they can be put in the El Sereno community land trust and put the reclaimers on a path of homeownership for these homes," said former LA Mayoral candidate Gina Viola.