In a time of social distancing and self-isolation, Los Angeles residents are turning to their cars and sounding their horns to protest high rent prices and demand protection from eviction.
Gloria Tso reports.
This isn't your average day of bad Los Angeles traffic.
In a time of social distancing and self-isolation, a handful of the city's advocate groups are still making their voices heard, loud and clear.
They're demanding rent suspensions and further eviction protections.
The Tuesday (March 31) protest was organized online, enlisting a convoy of around 50 cars to let loose with their horns outside the home of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.
LA Tenants Union member Jacob Woocher says Garcetti has not been doing enough to prevent evictions and homelessness during this time of crisis.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) LOS ANGELES TENANTS UNION MEMBER, JACOB WOOCHER, SAYING: "Eric Garcetti would love if all we did was tweet at him and e-mail him and call his office but it's going to take a lot more than that to make him work for the millions of tenants in this city." Despite Mayor Garcetti and California governor Gavin Newsom mandating last week that landlords not to enforce any evictions until May 31, Woocher says tenants could still be evicted.
He argues it only means tenants have an additional defense in court.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) LOS ANGELES TENANTS UNION MEMBER, JACOB WOOCHER, SAYING: "Rents are extremely high in Los Angeles.
It is the homelessness capital of the country, if not the world.
We have a real estate market where property values and rents keep going up and up and up and wages are not going up and people are struggling to stay in their homes and now this pandemic comes and people are being laid off and are losing hours and it's even harder."
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