And at another time, it was stated that in February 2003, notices had been sent out to all tenants at the Ardmore Apartments informing them that the parking garage was scheduled to be closed in March, and that if a tenant wanted to receive a garage remote control, they would be required to fill out a two-page form which included questions about the tenant’s place of birth and citizenship.
Ms. Davenport, the property supervisor who had visited mom after the flooding had occurred and who had patiently listened to her while she showed the photo album which held my and Jazmine’s pictures, shared that Sterling told her per court documents, “I don’t have to spend any more money on them, they will take whatever conditions I give them. (meaning Koreans) and still pay the rent. so, I’m going to keep buying in Koreatown”; serving only to support claims regarding his preference for Asian culture, yet an extreme disdain for certain minority groups, of which my mom was one.
And yes, mom’s own depositions were part of the record; saying the very words she would not be able to speak now. All of those difficult trips she had made previously on days when she could find no other purpose to keep going or reason to leave the house, were now paying great dividends by giving her a voice during the case.
Therefore, it was now on record that mom had continuously faced the threat of eviction by Sterling’s property management company, even though she had always kept her rent payments up.
And, it was now on record that there were many times my mom, in her poor condition, had walked over to the apartment manager’s office… pleading for them to provide a solution to the issues she and others were facing, only to be ignored.
ALMOST FINISHED
Once the court case was in full swing, it had become abundantly clear that the concerns raised in the lawsuit were not just those of one legally blind, partially paralyzed, black, elderly woman. Witnesses to Sterling’s manifold racially charged statements and discriminatory housing practices disproved any claim that my mother had pursued the filing of this case with a hidden agenda.
That was never her motivation.
There was too much court documentation, depositions and testimony to the contrary.
Not only were there allegations brought out regarding harassment and violations of housing practices toward those who currently lived at the Ardmore Apartments, but there were also strong allegations that management personnel had a practice of lying to potential Latino and African-American tenants as it regarded to the availability of units. This was demonstrated when undisclosed Korean and African-American “testers” were sent to apply for an apartment and the Korean applicant was shown twice as many units as the latter.
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