The Flipper and the Corpse

119-121 N. Mathews Street was a sweet little RSO duplex in Boyle Heights, a stone's throw from Otomisan.

Was. Past tense. It burned down on Wednesday.

These fires aren't just killing the city. This one also most likely claimed the life of someone who has not yet been identified (publicly, at least).

I've been sitting on this story for days because I was waiting to see if the medical examiner's office would release the name of the poor soul who was also lost to the fire. That hasn't happened so far; the authorities may not have been able to locate the deceased's next of kin yet.

May he rest in peace, whoever he was.

Neighbors who spoke to Fox 11 off camera disclosed that homeless people would often seek shelter in the empty duplex. This tracks with LADBS receiving complaints about the building being left open to the public in June and July.

119-121 N. Mathews last sold six months ago. The thing is, the buyer was a flipper and the site was being considered for an ED1 project submitted last year. ZIMAS says it was used for housing within the last 5 years and the only code enforcement complaints on file are from the last two months, so I'm not sure how long it's actually been empty.

An abate order was just issued eleven days ago.

By the way...if you've ever been to Boyle Heights, you already know it's not easy to find street parking there. The 40-unit building proposed for the site will include ZERO PARKING SPACES.

"But bike parking!" Bikes get stolen every day in Los Angeles (good luck getting LAPD to care about your stolen bike making you miss work) and not everyone has the luxury of biking to work or school (and Los Angeles is sadly not the safest city for bicyclists).

"But the Metro is a block away!" Yes, it certainly is, and Metro doesn't go everywhere (nor does every prospective transit rider feel safe on Metro). LA is still very much a city of drivers for a reason, and that's not going to change until transit is more accessible and all non-car forms of transit are clean, safe, and reliable.

Speaking of parking problems, Boyle Heights is, or rather WAS, also home to the Wabash Market, very recently demolished without notice. The developer for the Wabash site plans to build 55 units with, again, ZERO PARKING SPACES in a neighborhood that already has very limited parking.

Unbelievable.

119-121 N. Mathews Street, Boyle Heights.

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