Two years after it was bulldozed, the 14-acre Los Angeles community garden known as the South Central Farm is being developed for a clothing chain with strong ties to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Forever 21, one of the city's fastest-growing women's apparel businesses, wants to operate a warehouse and distribution center on the site owned by real estate developer Ralph Horowitz.
Supporters of the garden -- still angry that Horowitz tore it up despite support from such Hollywood luminaries as Daryl Hannah and Danny Glover -- have been trying for weeks to kill the proposed project by demanding more rigorous environmental review.
Villaraigosa, who championed the farm's preservation two years ago, is staying out of the latest fight.
He has received nearly $1.3 million in contributions and commitments from Forever 21 and its executives over the past two years for initiatives ranging from tree plantings to his own reelection campaign.
That relationship troubles the activist known as Tezozomoc, who has used noisy protests and persistent lobbying to try to protect the land from development. Tezozomoc called Villaraigosa's relationship with Forever 21 "distressing for the community" and voiced doubts about the sincerity of the mayor's effort to save the farm two years ago.
Villaraigosa spokesman Matt Szabo said that the mayor did "absolutely everything he could" to save the farm in 2006, but that Horowitz was unwilling to make a deal. Szabo said the mayor has no opinion on the level of environmental review needed for the proposed Forever 21 project.
"It's being treated like every other proposed project in the city," he said.
The proposal for Forever 21 is the latest event in a 22-year political saga over a site once filled with cactus, fruit trees and vegetable gardens. The effort to preserve it drew worldwide attention two years ago, attracting celebrities such as folk singer Joan Baez and serving as the subject of a documentary film.
The development proposal for the farm site could force Villaraigosa to choose between environmental activists willing to stage protests outside his home and office, and a business that has a huge effect on the region's economy.
Forever 21 Senior Vice President Christopher Lee has said the site at 41st and Alameda streets is critical to the expansion of his business, which has been doubling each year.
