Join us tonight at the first Crenshaw Subway Coalition community meeting of 2014: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 Community Meeting

So much has happened and is happening on the Crenshaw-LAX Line. There are important new developments in our efforts to make MTA underground the rail line on Crenshaw Blvd and encourage Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Mayor Eric Garcetti to assume their roles as leaders of South LA and the city to champion the effort.

Come to tonight's meeting to receive critical information on our lawsuit in federal court that challenges the entire Crenshaw-LAX project for violating civil rights and environmental laws, because the line is proposed to built at street-level in a manner that will kill the last black business corridor in Southern California and threaten our children’s lives. Also, come hear about the challenges with the MTA’s currently selected contractor for the project, Walsh-Shea.

The second half of the meeting will be dedicated to discussing MTA's eminent domain abuse along the Crenshaw-LAX Light Rail Line.

Over the past couple of years MTA has been giving itself the authority to enact eminent domain, the law that allows government to take private property, to displace property owners, small business owners and homeowners along the Crenshaw-LAX Line and/or force them into selling at less than they would receive otherwise. In fact, at just last Thursday's MTA board meeting they gave themselves the authority to take yet another home and business near the corner of Slauson & Crenshaw, a property take that wouldn't be necessary if the rail line were underground.

In many instances the choice of which properties to acquire have been illogical and some cases illegal. For example, with the strong backing of County Supervisor/MTA Board Member Mark Ridley-Thomas, MTA chose to take a school and five small businesses at Exposition & Crenshaw for portal location for the future subway station, when they could have and should have instead taken the properties right across the street - a county probation office and gas station. Read more about that here.

With eminent domain abuse rampant along the Crenshaw-LAX Line it is critical that the community know its rights, and be prepared to protest these unjust actions.

Join us tonight for this important conversation. Your property just might be at risk.