A lawsuit calling for dissolving the Chinese Community on Aging Housing Corp., a nonprofit public benefit corporation that operated a Chinatown senior citizen residential complex allegedly beset with health and safety issues, was filed Monday, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta.
CCOA incorporated in 1979 to provide affordable housing for elderly persons and handicapped persons and its sole charitable activity was the operation of Cathay Manor, a 268-unit apartment complex north of downtown in that is financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under a housing assistance payment contract.
The residents of Cathay Manor are low-income senior citizens, many with disabilities or impairments that require them to use wheelchairs or walkers to travel any distance. The Los Angeles Superior Court suit alleges that many of the notable health and safety issues at the Cathay Manor have included inoperable elevators in late 2021 that effectively trapped many residents in the building.
In 2023, CCOA was forced to sell Cathay Manor as a result of pervasive and persistent mismanagement, the suit states. The complaint seeks the appointment of a receiver pending the court’s resolution of this case and to transfer the proceeds from the sale of the building in the 600 block of North Broadway to another charity with a similar charitable purpose to provide affordable senior housing.
The suit also seeks an accounting of all financial transactions the charity has had with its directors and any related entities.
A CCOA representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
“There is simply no denying that CCOA Housing Corporation and its board members failed our seniors miserably when they operated Cathay Manor. It was and still is inexcusable,” said Bonta. “While CCOA Housing Corporation no longer owns or manages the building, my office is taking legal action to ensure that the proceeds from the sale of Cathay Manor cannot be used, in any way, by the organization’s current leadership. Their track record speaks for itself.”
Rep. Jimmy Gomez and City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez echoed Bonta’s criticisms.
“For years, I’ve heard from Cathay Manor residents about the unacceptable conditions they’ve faced under CCOA Housing Corporation,” Gomez said. “I’ll keep fighting to protect Chinatown seniors and hold landlords accountable to ensure they meet their responsibilities to our communities.”
Hernandez said CCOA “cannot be allowed to benefit from the sale of the building that they so woefully mismanaged and neglected.”
In October 2021, the City Attorney’s Office filed 16 misdemeanor charges against CCOA and its CEO, Don Toy, alleging a failure to maintain operable elevators at Cathay Manor, to keep the building in good repair and to comply with fire safety protocols, according to the suit, which further states that Toy decided to sell Cathay Manor the next year.