Sahra Sulaiman

Sahra is Communities Editor for Streetsblog L.A., covering the intersection of mobility with race, class, history, representation, policing, housing, health, culture, community, and access to the public space in Boyle Heights and South Central Los Angeles.

Street vendors rallied to call for the cancellation of rents and for access to assistance one day after the Department of Public Health asked Angelenos to report vendors that did not appear to have permits or be practicing proper social distancing. The rally, it should be noted, was planned for May Day - not in response to the DPH briefing. But the continued stigmatization of vendors underscores how urgent it is that they be heard.

As Public Health Prepares for Vending Crackdown, Street Vendors Call for the Cancellation of Rents

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 1, 2020 | No Comments

Street vendors decry having been left to fend for themselves during a disaster, seek cash assistance, the cancellation of rents, and an end to criminalization

Miguel R. has been homeless for just over three weeks in the University Park area. Sahra Sulaiman/StreetsblogLA

Evicted During COVID-19: “I Have Been Homeless for 20 Days…What’s Going to Happen to Me?”

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 25, 2020 | No Comments

A true eviction moratorium might have kept Miguel housed and stable; now he fears for his mental health and his ability to get back on his feet

Test train on Metro's Crenshaw Line - photo via Metro

Crenshaw Line Opening Pushed Back to Late 2021 – Nearly a Year Later than the Date Projected Six Months Ago

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 9, 2020 | No Comments

The 2021 opening will come nearly a year later than the date Metro offered last October, and two years later than its original projected opening

The empty council chambers during the March 17 meeting.

City Council to Hear More Proposals for Tenant Protections Today

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 7, 2020 | No Comments

Councilmember Mike Bonin took to social media yesterday to announce that he and councilmember David Ryu would be pushing for greater tenant protections at today’s city council meeting at 10 a.m. In addition to reintroducing a motion for an eviction moratorium, he said, they would also be submitting proposals to: classify COVID-19 rental debt as […]

A low-res screengrab from a video posted to the Foos Gone Wild twitter account shows the moment a mugger jumps on the back of an elotera and puts her in a chokehold at 92nd and Figueroa.

Vending in the Time of Corona: an Elotera Who Can’t Afford to Stay Home is Attacked

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 31, 2020 | No Comments

Vendors across the city wonder how they will feed their families; a Street Vendor Emergency Fund aims to help

Last Tuesday's city council meeting was held in an empty chamber. Those hoping to make public comment were kept outside under a tent in the cold. They could see and hear the councilmembers, but the councilmembers could only hear them. [Screenshot of the live feed taken at some point during the eight hour marathon.]

As Council Heads to Chambers Today, a Plea that It Abandon the Do-No-Harm-to-Landlords Doctrine

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 27, 2020 | No Comments

While arguing to limit the grace period tenants would have to pay back any missed rent to six months during the marathon city council session last Tuesday, March 17, Second District councilmember Paul Krekorian beseeched his colleagues to consider the Hippocratic Oath – the pledge physicians make to do no harm – and not enact […]

This past Monday, at 55th and Long Beach Ave., a driver turned in front of an oncoming Blue (A) Line train after failing to heed the flashing lights, bells, and lowered gate arm. Source: Google maps

Eyes on the Tracks: Driver Darts in Front of Blue (A) Line Train

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 4, 2020 | No Comments

At around 11 a.m. this past Monday, a driver ignored the flashing lights, bells, lowered barriers, and horns at 55th and Long Beach Ave. and made a left turn in front of an oncoming Blue Line (A) train. Miraculously, both the driver and the train occupants walked away largely unscathed (though the train operator was […]

Sankofa Park, at Crenshaw and Vernon, will give visitors the opportunity to take in the entirety of Destination Crenshaw. The groundbreaking, set for February 29, will happen here. Registration begins at 12:30; the groundbreaking ceremony begins at 2 p.m. (See flyer embedded in the story below.) Rendering: Perkins+Will

Destination Crenshaw to Break Ground February 29

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 5, 2020 | No Comments

On February 29, community leaders will gather at Vernon and Crenshaw to break ground on the 1.3-mile-long public art project that will celebrate Black life, culture, and contributions

The late rapper Nipsey Hussle filmed a number of music videos in Dorset Village over the course of his career, including "Higher," by DJ Khaled.

Periodo de Comentario Público sobre Dorset Village Extendido; Número de Unidades Asequibles Cae a 141

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jan 23, 2020 | No Comments

To read this article in English, click here. Hace dos semanas, el Departamento de Planificación de la ciudad de Los Ángeles (DCP por sus siglas en inglés) discretamente extendió el periodo de comentario sobre su Estudio Inicial con respecto a la demolición y reconstrucción de Dorset Village, hasta el 6 de febrero. Los planes incluyen […]

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