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Redondo Beach’s controversial “Waterfront” redevelopment remains in limbo

Redondo Beach King Harbor
REDONDO BEACH — Not all is quiet on the Redondo Beach waterfront, despite the apparent calm surrounding The Log’s recent visit to King Harbor. The peace of beachgoers, business patrons, residents and visitors along the Redondo Beach waterfront juxtaposes against the longstanding battle for its future. City leaders, boaters, residents...
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9 Responses

  1. Emdee and Bruning accusing residents of playing the race card is purely revisionist fiction. Early in the process, Bruning was quoted in a local paper saying the area needed revitalization because there are “scary people down there.” The most avid supporters of CenterCal posted about people with “ghetto blasters” at Seaside Lagoon; Mexicans camping on the pier, and people “not reflective of Redondo demographics. “.

    Bruning took what a few people said about a theater at the waterfront and ignored the overwhelming majority who spoke in opposition. The fact of the matter is Bruning was the first to talk about a theater as part of the development.

    And Emdee is copping out. The people want broad harbor revitilization. But they want one that is not so impactful on long standing recreational uses of the harbor as an actual harbor.

    We have many, many alternatives to shop, dine and see movies, but in the 25 miles of coastline between MDR and the Port of Los Angeles there is only one harbor. Harbor uses should remain the priority of the harbor. And we can revitalize without supersizing.

  2. Fiction: ***Emdee and Bruning also stated a common thread was seeing locals who did not want “those people” in their neighborhood, which referred to “black gangbangers” and Mexicans.***
    Did you ever read the pro-CenterCal Facebook page moderated by Tony Trutanich, Jr. and Chris Voisey? It is full of race-baiting and fear of “the other”, with many, many instances of derogatory rhetoric directed at non-Redondo residents. This article makes no mention of that, and instead swallows the CenterCal-approved B.S. claiming the racism is actually coming from…we, the residents??? CenterCal, you miserable scumbags: get the hell out of our city and bring your fired ex-VP and chief propagandist Ms. Marraffino and your unwanted Mall by the Sea with you. You are not worthy of our time.

    1. Thank you for your comment, John. Staff at The Log has been reviewing Facebook pages from both sides, but we haven’t seen/found anything you have mentioned to this effect yet. However, if we do stumble upon it, we will share the findings in this thread.

      1. They haven’t posted in quite a while on that page and their most egregious racist comments were months ago now. They might even be deleted after they were called out repeatedly by residents. Comments about the “demographics” of pier visitors looking nothing like residents–really? Slams against cultures, etc…ignorant racism out in the open, all in CenterCal’s name.

      2. If you give us your email address, I can send evidence. In the meantime, here is the article where Bruning fearmongers about “bad people”:

        “From the greater community, we heard, ‘I never go to the waterfront anymore. It’s rundown. It’s just a bunch of bars. I wouldn’t go there after dark,’ ” he said. “And we found people wanted to reconnect with the waterfront, but there wasn’t anything to reconnect with right now.”
        Locals told Bruning they would perhaps go to Kincaid’s restaurant once a year, or stop into Quality Seafood on the occasional Saturday, but they would leave immediately after.
        “ ‘Because there’s bad people there,’ comments like that,” he said.

        https://www.dailybreeze.com/2014/08/29/redondo-beach-waterfront-developer-fred-bruning-envisions-renaissance-not-mall-by-the-sea/

      3. Tony Trutanich, Jr., from a pro-CenterCal Facebook page with purchased likes and followers they call “The Redondo Harbor Boardwalk and Marketplace” which Trutanich moderates with Leadership Redondo alum and Waterfront sales rep Chris Voisey, Aug 9, 2016:

        “This is Tony Jr
        So I had a private event at New Tonys (Maison Riz) this past Sunday.
        I say that because so many people have mentioned or made comments like
        ” why a hotel, the hotel does not benefit the locals at all. ”
        A few things. One example is that an upscale hotel will definitely bring down a better crowd. This past Sunday the pier was packed with non locals, blasting their car stereos, camping out literally in the middle of the pier, the cheap beer and churro places were packed. Great crowd at Old Tonys but if I had to bring friends from out of town to OLD Tonys I would need to walk them through a very shady crowd to get there. There were no locals walking the pier.
        Secondly, Terranera is an awesome resort in Palos Verdes and when I go there I always bump into friends who are staying there for the weekend. I think after all the changes are made down at the pier the new hotel will be used by a lot of locals.
        Lastly, the revenue the city will receive will be great.”

        Let’s review:

        1. Pining for “a better (read: whiter) crowd”: Check
        2. Whining about “non locals”: Check
        3. Other examples of entitled racism?: “I would need to walk through a very shady crowd…there are no locals walking the pier.”: Check

        Just a small example of the casual racism from a pro-CenterCal FB page. As a reminder, it was Fred Bruning himself who fretted about “scary people down there”, referring to the Redondo Beach pier in a Daily Breeze article from Aug. 29, 2014.

        Other examples abound. Just do the reserach…

        1. John’s quote is authentic from the Facebook Page supporting the CenterCal project. And it is just one. The staunchest CenterCal supporters repeatedly fear mongered about the need to upscale the harbor to get rid of the outsiders who visit the pier, harbor and seaside lagoon today.

          For Bruning and Emdee to state those opposed to CenterCal used the race card is simply not true. The campaign flyer they presented is a political cartoon showing large vacancies, a traffic jam and a traffic accident overplayed on a picture of CenterCal’s model. It hit two main themes: the risk of the failure of the retail component, and the traffic the development would generate. It also showed sea lions on the new Seaside Lagoon which is also a very real possibility. There is no racist thread in the flier. To report there is is really stretching the flier’s content. Post the flier and let the public decide if it is at all racist.

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