Perhaps few places captured California’s notorious housing shortage and its effect on older folks quite like Cathay Manor.
The 16-story apartment building in Los Angeles’s Chinatown provides cheap units for a mostly older clientele. But tenants paid a costly price — living for years in moldy apartments, with a dilapidated laundry room and a pair of elevators that broke down about as often as the Santa Monica Freeway has traffic jams.
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The elevator shutdowns became so frequent during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that elderly Cathay Manor residents described being trapped as virtual prisoners in their high-rise units. Those dependent on walkers and wheelchairs had to rely on friends and relatives to deliver food. One 86-year-old Chinese immigrant told The Times in 2021: “Living here, it’s like a jail.”
A settlement brings repairs
But protests from politicians, a federal Housing and Urban Development department investigation and a lawsuit by two nonprofit groups began to turn the tide. And now the nonprofits have announced a settlement that follows many improvements, including functional elevators and new ownership.
“For a long time, we felt ignored and forgotten,” Cathay Manor resident Wai Wing Ng said in a statement after the settlement. “Some of us could not leave our apartments, and others had to risk our safety just to go down the stairs.”
The Cantonese speaker credited the two nonprofits — Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Southern California and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County — with giving tenants a voice. He added: “Now the building is safer, repairs have been made, and we feel respected again.”
The precarious nature of housing for senior citizens has become painfully evident. People over age 50 now make up nearly 40% of those who don’t have regular shelter, according to a report by the California Budget & Policy Center. Today in Sacramento, more than 100 community leaders will gather and meet with legislative leaders, as the nonprofit Housing California holds its annual advocacy day to talk about the affordability crisis.
Elderly residents had to climb several flights of stairs to get to their apartments because the elevator at Cathay Manor was out of service for an extended period in 2021.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
The high demand for affordable housing in Chinatown
Despite the subpar conditions at Cathay Manor, the depth of the housing crisis is demonstrated every time a unit opens in the complex, one of the few affordable buildings in Chinatown, with some monthly rentals hovering in the $200-plus-a-month range. Those vacancies are met by hundreds of prospective tenants lining up, hoping to move in.
In announcing the legal settlement, the two nonprofits said the previous owners and managers had engaged in “a years-long pattern of abusive behavior that escalated significantly over the summer months of 2021 when both elevators broke down, forcing disabled seniors to climb low-lit, dangerous stairwells and leaving others trapped in their apartments for weeks.”
Nearly 200 tenants named in the lawsuit were represented by attorneys for the two nonprofits. Repairs of the elevators and laundry room followed, along with fixes for other long-standing habitability concerns. Residents received settlements ranging from about $1,000 to roughly $7,000. The federal HUD investigation led to a $1.5-million fine and a requirement that the owner sell the building, an action completed in June 2023.
Catherine Hwang, an attorney with the Asian justice organization, said the case had given the tenants, largely Chinese immigrants, “their deserved dignity and respect.” Neighborhood Legal Services attorney David Pallack noted that the tenants also received compensation for the harm they suffered, along with “real accountability and lasting changes that have made their homes safe again.”
Today’s top stories 
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, left and fellow Republican candidate Steve Hilton are leading Democratic hopefuls in the race for governor.
(Jason Armond and Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Republicans top California’s race for governorA new poll shows two Republicans are leading by slim margins in the state’s 2026 race for governor as the June primary election fast approaches.The results appear to be mostly due to the state’s left-leaning electorate feeling uninspired by any single candidate in the crowded field of eight top Democrats. ‘Profoundly shocking’ allegations against Cesar ChavezThe United Farm Workers union said it will halt celebrations of founder Cesar Chavez amid “troubling allegations” against the revered Chicano leader.The union did not detail the accusations against Chavez but said they were concerning enough for the organization to take action.Southern California’s heat waveSouthern California broke more than two dozen temperature records Tuesday, with Woodland Hills reaching 101 degrees.Heat warnings continue through Friday as forecasters predict this will be the hottest March heat wave on record.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must readsOther must readsFor your downtime 
(Karsten Petrat / For The Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: What are some of your favorite things to do during spring in California?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
California poppies bloom near the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve in Lancaster.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Kayla Bartkowski at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve, one of the many places to catch colorful blooms around SoCal.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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