Irvine Apartment Firm Denies Putting Out Flier Targeting African-American Residents
IRVINE (CBSLA.com) — Two fliers put out to residents at an apartment complex in Irvine calling for African-American residents to keep their noise level down at night has gone viral on social media.
The fliers were reportedly posted inside two different elevators at the Toscana Apartment Homes at 35 Via Lucca and bore the logo of property management company Equity Residential.
Citing "multiple complaints" about noise levels after 10 p.m., the flier states, "We also would like to remind our African-American residents to keep conversation volume down and reduce music levels between 10p-7a. Multiple complaints have been made regarding this issue."
The Toscana apartment complex is listed as an Equity Residential property on the company's website.
A spokesperson for Equity Residential posted the following message Friday morning on the company's Twitter page: "Equity did not create or post this flier. We are outraged by its content and are actively investigating its source."
"The flier was a fake. It did not come from any employee of Equity Residential. They are disturbed by the content and currently investigating this," the company further said in a statement. Equity Residential says there are no cameras recording activity in the elevators.
"It's all said to push us out. To make us not feel comfortable and not feel safe in this space so that we can leave," said one UCI student, who didn't want to be identified. The woman says she and her roommates have received three noise complaints when there was no music playing in their apartment.
UCI Student Affairs has weighed in and said in a statement: "The Toscana Apartments are not affiliated with UCI, but some students live in the complex. We are outraged by this message and quickly contacted the apartment management and the City of Irvine."
The Irvine Police Department has taken a police report and is investigating.
