Frustration, fury reign at Boyle Heights town hall on Lineage warehouse fire

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Set us as preferred Tensions in Boyle Heights reached a fever pitch Thursday evening as residents — fed up with exposure to toxic smoke, the smell of rotting food, and a lack of answers after the Lineage warehouse fire — made their frustrations known at a feisty town hall meeting.Mayor Karen Bass struggled to open the meeting over the loud boos and yelling of community members, actions that were repeated as other elected officials took the microphone.The crowd grew even louder when Lineage Chief Operating Officer Jeff Rivera took to the stage and was met with a chorus of “Liar!” Scores of protesters marched a mile from the site of the hazardous blaze to the meeting, chanting as they walked that the warehouse had poisoned their community and they wanted it removed permanently.

More than 200 people were turned away at the door as the venue reached capacity and continued to rally outside with drums, whistles and signs that read “Lineage out” and “We can see your greedy side.”“We are one community and city and are making sure we get the solutions needed,” said protest leader Jazmine Garcia.“This is about quality of life.

This is about not being ignored anymore.”Firefighters for several days struggled to knock down a stubborn blaze that started on the roof of the Lineage cold-storage warehouse in Boyle Heights on June 17.Air quality has been a constant concern for the community since the incident began.

Beyond the health hazards of breathing in smoke from a building fire, there was a brief, temporary scare when an ammonia line that helped keep the building refrigerated was compromised, though Lineage has said the chemical was not detected in the air.There are also the 85 million pounds of food that thawed, burned and spoiled inside, creating a terrible smell emanating from the property.“I know the la...