Three weeks after the Lineage warehouse fire, Boyle Heights community leaders pressed company officials for weekly public briefings, clearer communication and commitments to protect residents during cleanup efforts. But when asked to commit to regular meetings, Lineage stopped short of agreeing to the request.
The closed-door meeting convened by District 14 Councilmember Ysabel Jurado at Boyle Heights City Hall on Monday was the first formal discussion between community organizations and Lineage officials since the fire broke out June 17. Boyle Heights Beat was the only news outlet invited inside.
The room was tense as residents questioned Jeff Rivera, chief operating officer at Lineage and Bryan Martin, vice president of emergency response and crisis management at Clean Harbors, a third-party company hired to conduct the waste removal and environmental cleanup of the site. Residents asked for accountability, transparency and commitment to keeping the community safe and informed as crews work to demolish the charred cold-storage warehouse and remove millions of pounds of rotting food and debris from the site.
“Will you commit to a briefing next week?” Jurado asked Rivera repeatedly throughout the meeting. “This community is an in-person community.”
Jurado stressed that what residents need from Lineage is weekly, in-person briefings and consistent communication on the latest information related to cleanup and community health and safety.
“I can commit to improving communication,” Rivera said. “My only pause with weekly meetings is if they’re not going to be constructive, then I don’t think it makes sense to do that.”
For Jurado and attendees, that answer was frustrating and unacceptable.
“You’re asking for us to be constructive when you came to be destructive in our community,” said Eva Garcia, an organizer with Community Power Collective.
Three weeks since the fire first choked the surrounding community with smoke, residents continue to feel the effects — and the stench of rotting food lingers.
“Every day that this goes delayed is a quality of life issue that [residents] are having to bear on their own accord,” Jurado said.
The meeting came hours after Lineage officials met with Mayor Karen Bass to discuss a letter she, Jurado and LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis wrote to Lineage President and CEO Greg Lehmkuhl on July 4.
In the letter, local officials demanded that Lineage leaders and contractors attend and participate in community meetings on Monday, July 6, and Thursday, July 9, to directly inform and take feedback from residents and business owners in this neighborhood.
“Our goal tonight is to listen and understand more,” said Rivera. “You have my commitment that we will follow up with a plan.”
Martin told attendees that Clean Harbors was brought on board last week to help lead Lineage’s recovery and cleanup efforts. He shared a list of priorities he received from Lineage that the company will be tackling, some of which include:
- Protecting surrounding communities, workers and agencies involved.
- Removing fire-impacted food waste and debris.
- Supporting odor reduction in the area. (The company wrapped the building with plastic sheeting to help control odor.)
- Supporting environmental air monitoring and sharing data with officials.
- Keeping clear documentation and communication concerning progress.
- Making sure the response is aligned with the needs of the local community, as well as state and federal regulatory requirements.
“I know trust has got to be earned,” Martin said. “It’s going to be a team effort, and we are going to ask for a little bit of patience.”
Rivera acknowledged that so far, Lineage’s communication with multiple city and county agencies has been “confusing and chaotic” and has not been reaching residents, “which is the most important.”
In addition to hearing directly from the community at the meetings, Rivera said Lineage is working on a hotline for residents to ask questions and get answers in multiple languages. Within the next 48 hours, Rivera said, Lineage will begin going door-to-door to drop off informational flyers to residents near the fire site, and will share information on radio channels and at local churches.
Lineage has a landing page on their website dedicated to providing updates on the response and recovery efforts regarding the fire. Their last progress update on July 2 said a 45-day goal for cleanup had been set, “and we are committed to meeting it.”
The community groups present urged Rivera and Martin to listen to the community’s demands and come prepared with concrete answers next time.
“We are asking you both as individuals to think about your kids, your families,” said one attendee. “What would you do if this happened in your backyard?”
How to attend the next meeting:
The second meeting, which is a town hall open to the public, will be held Thursday at the Stevenson Middle School auditorium at 6 p.m. Bass, Jurado, Solis and Lineage representatives will be in attendance.
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP at bit.ly/BoyleHeightsTownhall.
Here is a summarized list of the demands community leaders presented to Lineage on Monday:
- Provide immediate voluntary relocation assistance for residents in the most impacted areas.
- Provide long-term housing assistance for affected residents during the remediation efforts.
- Seed a neighborhood relief fund to support small businesses and street vendors.
- Ensure full and proper testing and cleanup of the site and provide PPE, air purifiers and masks to affected communities.
- Create a smoke and toxin remediation program at no cost to residents and business owners.
- Fund community health centers that provide mobile health clinics to the community.
- Fund community-based organizations that are providing emergency financial support and other resources to residents and local businesses.
- Establish a community notification schedule with 48-hour advance notice of all major hauling activities, demolition and operations likely to generate dust, odor, noise and traffic.
- Establish a dedicated, multilingual claims and case management center to provide residents and businesses with a single point of contact for information, claims, and case management throughout recovery.
- Clear, science-based and accessible communication of information for community members
