South Central Farm
Before the creation of the garden, the land belonged to nine different owners, the largest of which was Alameda-Barbara Investment Company, a real-estate firm which purchased its share in 1980.
After Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles, led by Juanita Tate, stopped the project in 1987, the land lay fallow.
In 2001, Ralph Horowitz, a partner in Alameda-Barbara sued the City for breach of contract, for failure to honor the original right of repurchase.
The South Central Farm's lawyer, Patrick Dunlevy, claims that despite repeated requests, negotiation documents relating to the session have never been released.
In response members of the South Central Farmers Feeding Families obtained legal counsel (Hadsell & Stormer, Inc., and Kaye, Mclane & Bednarski LLP) and filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the sale of the property.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order and later a preliminary injunction halting development of the property until the lawsuit could be settled.
[8] Fundraising efforts continued as farmers and celebrities began both a tree-sitting campaign and occupation of the land, while under the threat of forced eviction by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Horowitz told the Los Angeles Times and KFI that he would not sell the land to them even if they offered him $100 million, because of the picketing of his house and anti-Semitic remarks directed towards him.
On July 12, 2006, Judge Helen I. Bendix heard pre-trial arguments in a class-action suit filed by the farmers that the sale of the land to Horowitz "should be nullified on grounds that there was no prior public notice" of the transaction.
[18] The City of Los Angeles provided 7.8 acres (3.2 ha) of land at an alternate site, which some of the farmers have relocated to and begun cultivating.
A group of farmers who were originally at the 41st and Alameda farm continue to provide healthy foods for families in impoverished neighborhoods.
[21] The SCF held an estimated 100 to 150 species of plants, 37 of which have been identified by Devon G. Peña, professor of anthropology at the Acequia Institute of the University of Washington.
All roles taken by members of the SCF exist solely to fulfill a need or set of needs to continue the healthy life span of the farm.
[23][24] It was also the subject of the PBS documentary, with an AFI Film Festival Premiere, in the Natural Heroes Series, South Central Farm, Oasis in a Concrete Desert.
He also claimed that the SCF is not an "open" organization, since the entire city cannot be members nor can all residents have access to farm on the land.
He also stated that he would consider giving preference to a "quality tenant", alleging that anything that he does with the property will generate jobs in the community, unlike its use by the farmers.
Claims of internal corruption within the South Central Farm such as farmers being evicted for not supporting the actions of Juarez and Tezozomoc had also been made.
