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At a stormy meeting attended by more than 700 Northridge residents, Mayor Tom Bradley and City Councilman Hal Bernson on Sunday promoted different plans for halting crime and blight in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Northridge.
The two sparred before an overwhelmingly Anglo crowd that repeatedly cheered its approval of Bernson's controversial proposal for cleaning up the Bryant Street-Vanalden Avenue neighborhood by forcing out at least some of the 3,000 tenants.
About 25 tenants of the crime-plagued apartments attended the town hall-style meeting at the Wilkinson Senior Center.
Tenant leader Raul Morales said most tenants declined Bradley's invitation-extended only to tenants and landlords-after reading news reports that Bernson had sent letters to 4,000 residents who live near the apartments urging them to attend.
`Scared Away'
Many tenants were "scared away because they feel the people in the neighborhoods hate them," said Morales, who engaged in several angry exchanges at the session.
Bernson said he packed the meeting because he was angry at not being invited "even though it's something in my district" and because those living near the Bryant-Vanalden area "have a point of view that also should be heard."
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