Goal: 25,000
Send your message to the public pension funds, Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS, and local elected officials
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Send a Message for Community Ownership of the Crenshaw Mall
Read the Current Petition Message
Dear Board Members of the Pension Funds Involved in the Sale of the Crenshaw Mall, Deutsche Bank's DWS and Local Elected Officials:
We write today with a specific ask: support the Crenshaw community's bid to purchase the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza through Downtown Crenshaw Rising.
Los Angeles’ Black community has a right to own it’s future. As displayed by the historic fundraising accomplished in less than 60 hours, there is a national groundswell of financial support for Black community ownership of the Crenshaw Mall. The many donors coupled with the tens of thousands in the community who have signed petitions over the past several months reflect a broad base of support for a new model of economic development that uplifts instead of uproots the community.
Since its establishment in May of 2020, Downtown Crenshaw Rising has been the only group that has conducted an inclusive process of open meetings and expressed an intent of uniting the entire community. The broad coalition of over 300 community-based groups, neighborhood associations, civil rights organizations, elected officials, merchants, property owners, business leaders and artists supporting Downtown Crenshaw Rising is unprecedented. It speaks to the power of the moment and the development team.
We respectfully ask that you allow Downtown Crenshaw Rising to help cure this challenge for the respective pension funds by placing this critical Black community asset into the hands of trusted and capable community leaders who will build a community-centered development. Your representative Deutsche Bank’s DWS has tried traditional developers unsuccessfully repeatedly. Direct them to give the community a chance. Allow Downtown Crenshaw Rising the opportunity to directly present all parties with a win-win solution, and make your funds and the nation proud.
Sincerely,
Second Petition Signed by 13,280
The second petition to the pension fund board members involved in the sale of the Crenshaw Mall requesting they stop the sale to LivWrk-DFH Partners and provide the community the opportunity to purchase the mall was signed by 13,280 individuals and organizations, and it was successful too! For reference, here was the message in that second petition:
Dear Public Pension Funds, Deutsche Bank's DWS and Others Involved in the Sale of the Crenshaw Mall:
I join the large coalition demanding you stop the sale of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to LivWrk-DFH Partners, and support the Crenshaw community's bid to purchase the mall through Downtown Crenshaw.
Dear Public Pension Funds, Deutsche Bank's DWS and Others Involved in the Sale of the Crenshaw Mall:
I join the large coalition demanding you stop the sale of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to LivWrk-DFH Partners, and support the Crenshaw community's bid to purchase the mall through Downtown Crenshaw.
First Petition Signed by 9,719
The first petition to the pension fund board members involved in the sale of the Crenshaw Mall requesting they stop the sale to CIM Group and provide the community the opportunity to purchase the mall was signed by 9,719 individuals and organizations, and it was successful! CIM Group withdrew from the sale in June of 2020. That first petition began circulation in May 2020 and had a very similar message to the new/current message. For reference, here was the message in that first petition:
RE: Proposed Sale of Asset Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza/Crenshaw Mall to CIM Group
Dear Board Members:
We write today with a specific ask: stop the sale of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to CIM Group, and allow the community the opportunity to present a solution to the current challenges presented by the non-performing asset.
We are active leaders in the majority-Black community that is home to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, also known as the Crenshaw Mall. Located at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd in South Los Angeles, the Crenshaw Mall is an iconic economic center of Black Los Angeles. Built in 1947 as the first indoor shopping center in the United States, the original May Company and Broadway buildings have been determined to be eligible for inclusion in the local, state and national historic registries. As part of an effort in the 1980s to generate economic activity and job creation in South Los Angeles, substantial public resources were dedicated to the expansion and renovation of the mall by former Mayor Tom Bradley.
The proposed sale of our Crenshaw Mall to CIM Group, as reported in the Los Angeles Times on April 29, 2020, sent shockwaves across the community and America. Los Angeles’ Black community, and many who have concern for its future, do not want Crenshaw’s economic anchor put into the hands of a company with such a troubling history and business practices in communities undergoing severe displacement pressures. The concern is so profound that “Crenshaw Mall” was trending on Twitter on April 29th, with nearly all negative comments.
We write today not just to express our concern for the problem that selling the mall to CIM Group creates, but with a solution. Just hours after the article announcing the intent to purchase was published in the LA Times, community-based and community-focused leaders, experts with over 200 collective years of experience in finance, acquisition, and development, began collaboratively identifying strategies to quickly acquire the Crenshaw Mall. In short order and with laser-like focus, a historic coalition, with extensive experience working with and for public pension funds on development projects and commercial assets, has come together, identified the financing partners and mapped out a variety of exit strategies to the current challenge posed by the non-performing asset.
Deutsche Bank subsidiary, DWS, is the current manager of the asset and is taking direction from each of you. We respectfully ask that you allow us to help cure this challenge for your respective funds, and place this critical community asset into the hands of trusted and capable community leaders who will build a community-centered development that will make us all proud. Direct DWS to stop the sale, and allow the community the opportunity to present you with a win-win solution.
With respect and hope,
Honorable Robert Farrell
Los Angeles City Councilmember (Ret.)
African American Cultural Center (Us)
Ayuko Babu
Pan-African Film Festival
Dr. Michael Batie, Ph.D
President, Los Angeles Council of Black Professional Engineers
Black American Political Association of California - Los Angeles
Black Community Clergy & Labor Alliance
Fannie Lou Hamer Institute
Damien Goodmon
Founder & Executive Director, Crenshaw Subway Coalition
Michael Guynn
President, Association of Black Social Workers of Greater Los Angeles
Kevin Harbour
Past President, UCLA Black Alumni Association
Hyde Park Organizational Partnership for Empowerment
Liberty Community Land Trust
Los Angeles Urban League
Niki Okuk
Los Angeles Union Cooperative Initiative (LUCI)
Jackie Ryan
Past President, Leimert Park Village Merchants Association
Clint Simmons, P.E.
Commissioner, Los Angeles County Aviation Commission
Dwayne Wyatt
Former City Planner, City of Los Angeles
Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles
Lance Collins, AIA, NOMA
President, Southern California Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCalNOMA)
RE: Proposed Sale of Asset Los Angeles’ Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza/Crenshaw Mall to CIM Group
Dear Board Members:
We write today with a specific ask: stop the sale of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to CIM Group, and allow the community the opportunity to present a solution to the current challenges presented by the non-performing asset.
We are active leaders in the majority-Black community that is home to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, also known as the Crenshaw Mall. Located at the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd in South Los Angeles, the Crenshaw Mall is an iconic economic center of Black Los Angeles. Built in 1947 as the first indoor shopping center in the United States, the original May Company and Broadway buildings have been determined to be eligible for inclusion in the local, state and national historic registries. As part of an effort in the 1980s to generate economic activity and job creation in South Los Angeles, substantial public resources were dedicated to the expansion and renovation of the mall by former Mayor Tom Bradley.
The proposed sale of our Crenshaw Mall to CIM Group, as reported in the Los Angeles Times on April 29, 2020, sent shockwaves across the community and America. Los Angeles’ Black community, and many who have concern for its future, do not want Crenshaw’s economic anchor put into the hands of a company with such a troubling history and business practices in communities undergoing severe displacement pressures. The concern is so profound that “Crenshaw Mall” was trending on Twitter on April 29th, with nearly all negative comments.
We write today not just to express our concern for the problem that selling the mall to CIM Group creates, but with a solution. Just hours after the article announcing the intent to purchase was published in the LA Times, community-based and community-focused leaders, experts with over 200 collective years of experience in finance, acquisition, and development, began collaboratively identifying strategies to quickly acquire the Crenshaw Mall. In short order and with laser-like focus, a historic coalition, with extensive experience working with and for public pension funds on development projects and commercial assets, has come together, identified the financing partners and mapped out a variety of exit strategies to the current challenge posed by the non-performing asset.
Deutsche Bank subsidiary, DWS, is the current manager of the asset and is taking direction from each of you. We respectfully ask that you allow us to help cure this challenge for your respective funds, and place this critical community asset into the hands of trusted and capable community leaders who will build a community-centered development that will make us all proud. Direct DWS to stop the sale, and allow the community the opportunity to present you with a win-win solution.
With respect and hope,
Honorable Robert Farrell
Los Angeles City Councilmember (Ret.)
African American Cultural Center (Us)
Ayuko Babu
Pan-African Film Festival
Dr. Michael Batie, Ph.D
President, Los Angeles Council of Black Professional Engineers
Black American Political Association of California - Los Angeles
Black Community Clergy & Labor Alliance
Fannie Lou Hamer Institute
Damien Goodmon
Founder & Executive Director, Crenshaw Subway Coalition
Michael Guynn
President, Association of Black Social Workers of Greater Los Angeles
Kevin Harbour
Past President, UCLA Black Alumni Association
Hyde Park Organizational Partnership for Empowerment
Liberty Community Land Trust
Los Angeles Urban League
Niki Okuk
Los Angeles Union Cooperative Initiative (LUCI)
Jackie Ryan
Past President, Leimert Park Village Merchants Association
Clint Simmons, P.E.
Commissioner, Los Angeles County Aviation Commission
Dwayne Wyatt
Former City Planner, City of Los Angeles
Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles
Lance Collins, AIA, NOMA
President, Southern California Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCalNOMA)
Why it is important to speak out
Your voice is urgently needed and critical to stopping the sale to those who would displace residents of the historic Black Crenshaw community and support the effort for community ownership of the Crenshaw. It was the community’s voice that prevented the business partners of Donald Trump and his family members from purchasing the mall, and it will be the community’s voice that will convince the sellers of the mall to sell the mall to the community.
Our key targets are a) the public pension funds that are the major investors in the Crenshaw Mall; b) Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS, which is the entity making the decision on who to sale; and c) and the local elected officials LA City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas who have land use authority.
By using this form you are sending a direct message to each of the leading decision-makers.