Greg Dulan, owner of Dulan’s on Crenshaw, disputes LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson’s claim that Destination Crenshaw awarded his business over $1 million dollars in grants.
This is a Keith Sweat moment, “Something something just ain’t right!”
Harris-Dawson Defends Destination Crenshaw as Questions Over Spending, Timeline Persist
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson defended Destination Crenshaw and cited business aid, but Dulan’s disputes a key funding figure as stakeholders seek a timeline and transparency.
Stephen Oduntan
LOS ANGELES — After weeks of mounting criticism over Destination Crenshaw, Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson has issued a detailed response defending the still unfinished project, outlining improvements along the corridor and disclosing financial assistance to legacy businesses.
But the response has generated new questions of its own, including how some of the financial assistance cited by Harris-Dawson was calculated.
Tavis Smiley, who moderated the recent community town hall and helped organize a coalition demanding action on the project, said Harris-Dawson’s response still falls short.
“Responding is not the same as answering,” Smiley said in a KBLA Talk 1580 editorial.
Smiley argued that restoring parking, repairing streetlights and repaving streets and sidewalks should not be confused with completing Destination Crenshaw.
“The community was promised a transformational project,” Smiley said. “So where is it? When is this thing going to be finished?”
Harris-Dawson’s open letter said nearly 40% of sidewalk access along the corridor has been restored, with full restoration expected within 20 business days. He also cited restored parking spaces, 30 additional temporary spaces near Bethesda Temple Church, relaxed parking enforcement between Vernon and Slauson, repaired streetlights and ongoing street repaving.
Pastor Kyron Shorter of Bethesda Temple acknowledged that improvements have been made around the church but disputed the implication that Harris-Dawson deserved credit for getting them done. Instead, he credited city transportation workers with responding to concerns raised by the community.
“Who showed up? The Department of Transportation showed up. The city workers showed up,” Shorter said. “Who did not show up, who was absent, was Marqueece Harris-Dawson.”
Shorter said the church is still waiting for construction impediments affecting its operations to be removed.
Harris-Dawson also pushed back against what he characterized as allegations of corruption, arguing that accusations had been made against him and the project without evidence.
“Unsubstantiated accusations of corruption have been leveled at me and at this project, without a shred of evidence,” he wrote.
He said Destination Crenshaw files financial reports with the IRS, its grantmakers and its board of directors, and that its annual nonprofit tax filings are publicly available.
Harris-Dawson went further in criticizing the recent town hall, writing that he found it “especially profane that a church sanctuary would be used as the backdrop for such lies and incendiary accusations.”
Shorter, whose church hosted the meeting, rejected that characterization. He said Harris-Dawson and his representatives had been invited to participate but did not attend.
“Accountability, not corruption,” Shorter said. “I think corruption might be too strong a word, but accountability is not.”
Shorter said he was not accusing Harris-Dawson of corruption but wanted greater transparency surrounding the project and its finances.
“The allegation of corruption, I can’t get in the middle of—that’s not necessarily my vantage point,” Shorter said. “But accountability is, and we will continue to hold Dawson and Destination Crenshaw accountable.”
He also defended the church’s decision to host the town hall.
“The church has always been a place where people have been allowed to come and speak truth to power,” Shorter said.
Smiley made a similar argument in his editorial.
“Transparency should not scare anybody,” he said. “That’s how accountability works.”
Questions Emerge Over Business Assistance
Questions about the financial assistance cited by Harris-Dawson have become more pointed following his disclosure of specific amounts he said were used to support businesses along the corridor.
Harris-Dawson said Destination Crenshaw’s commitment to preserving legacy businesses had been backed by “real investment,” citing $1,039,010 in financial support for Dulan’s on Crenshaw, $77,534 for Vergee’s Palace De Bella Donna and $39,000 for Dog Lovers Pet Grooming.
Greg Dulan said the figure associated with his restaurant does not reflect money the business actually received.
Dulan, who opened Dulan’s on Crenshaw in 1991, said the council district supported efforts several years ago to obtain an approximately $840,000 façade-improvement grant. According to Dulan’s account, however, the application was unsuccessful.
“According to my records and understanding, Dulan’s was ultimately unsuccessful in obtaining the grant, and those grant funds were never received by or disbursed to our business,” Dulan said in a statement.
Dulan acknowledged receiving other assistance from the council district, including recent temporary help with valet parking, and expressed appreciation for that support. But he said the public record should distinguish between assistance officials attempted to secure and money actually received by the business.
“Any public funds or financial assistance actually received by Dulan’s should be reflected in the appropriate public records and can be independently reviewed and verified,” Dulan said.
He emphasized that he was not accusing Harris-Dawson or his office of wrongdoing and said he values his relationship with the council president.
“This clarification is not intended to create conflict, attribute improper motives to anyone or question anyone’s integrity,” Dulan said.
But he added: “I believe it is important for the public record to distinguish accurately between efforts made to help Dulan’s obtain funding and funds that were actually received by our business.”
Smiley also raised questions about the business-assistance figures in his editorial.
“Who received the money, how much money and who didn’t?” he asked.
A coalition of Crenshaw Corridor stakeholders has called on Harris-Dawson to complete Destination Crenshaw within a year, establish a public construction timeline and create relief funds for businesses and residents affected by years of construction. The coalition has given Harris-Dawson a September 4 deadline to formally respond to its demands.
The differing accounts have raised questions about what, for example, constitutes the $1,039,010 in financial support Harris-Dawson attributed to Dulan’s. L.A. Focus asked Harris-Dawson’s office to provide documentation and a breakdown showing how the figure was calculated, including whether it represents money paid directly to Dulan’s.
Harris-Dawson’s office responded Wednesday with documents related to Community Development Block Grant funding for façade improvements, the Jobs and Economic Development Incentive (JEDI) Zone along Crenshaw Boulevard, and a senior meals program.
The information provided by the council office did not include an itemized breakdown reconciling the various forms of assistance cited in Harris-Dawson’s statement.
L.A. Focus also submitted a California Public Records Act request seeking city records documenting financial assistance provided to businesses along the Crenshaw Corridor and records supporting the specific amounts cited in Harris-Dawson’s statement.
Years of Frustration
The latest questions come after years of complaints from institutions along the corridor about the effects of prolonged construction.
In earlier reporting by L.A. Focus, Dr. Jennette Parker, CEO of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School, said barricades, reduced visibility and access problems had contributed to enrollment losses that forced staffing and program reductions.
“Nobody can see the school. It’s just been covered up,” Parker said. “We’ve lost hundreds of students.”
Lifelong Leimert Park resident and civil rights attorney Kamilah Moore placed the delays within a larger concern about investment in the neighborhood.
“I’ve been in this community for almost 35 years,” Moore said. “In terms of infrastructure and community beautification, this community has been stagnant.”
Those concerns helped propel the recent town hall and subsequent demands for a construction timeline, financial transparency and relief.
The debate that began largely over when Destination Crenshaw would be completed has now expanded to include questions about the impact of years of construction, the assistance provided to affected businesses and institutions, and how some of that assistance has been calculated.
Harris-Dawson has now responded to some of those concerns, but community stakeholders continue to press for a firm completion timeline, greater transparency and relief for those who say they have been affected by the prolonged construction.
With the coalition’s September 4 deadline approaching, the attention now turns to whether those answers—and a clear path toward completing Destination Crenshaw—will follow.
LA City Council President and CD 8 representative
Marqueece Harris-Dawson has finally shown up.
To say that this statement is an insult, ignores the sheer nerve it took to even write this. Does he really believe that the folks who live, work, and worship in the Crenshaw Corridor Community are too stuck on stupid to realize when they’re being gaslit?
Mr. President, we only have one thing to say – see you on September 4th.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson Letter to Crenshaw Residents
Dear Crenshaw Residents,
Destination Crenshaw grew out of the community’s dream to reclaim the boulevard and create a public space where Black culture is celebrated in a historic and monumental manner. While this project reflects thousands of hours of community input, over the past few weeks, real concerns have been raised about parking, sidewalk access, and the pace of the Destination Crenshaw project. I take these concerns seriously, and we have redoubled our efforts to address them. Here is where things stand:
- Sidewalk access: Nearly 40% restored along the corridor now; full restoration complete within 20 business days
- Parking Restoration: Restored one space at KBLA, five spaces at Angeles Vista Pet Medical Center, 10 spaces near Bethesda Temple Church
- Parking Expansion: 30 additional temporary spaces were made available near Bethesda Temple Church
- Parking enforcement: Relaxed enforcement of time-limit parking in effect from Vernon to Slauson for the duration of construction
- Streetlights: Fixed on the east side of Crenshaw between 54th and 57th
- Street repairs: Repaving underway between Westmount and 57th
This progress is only possible because of years of tenacious work, driven by a steadfast commitment to our shared vision of a monumental public boulevard that reflects our neighborhood and that prioritizes Black culture and community. Know that Destination Crenshaw is now under construction!
Understand the road we’ve walked. This project broke ground in 2020, days before COVID shut the city down. The pandemic triggered supply chain disruption that drove material costs up by more than a third. Then came Trump-era tariffs and cuts to DEI funding, the storm of the century, unprecedented wildfires, and more—driving costs up another 40%. Every major construction project in this period faced the same ordeals. Our project’s supporters and donors made a choice: no shortcuts, no shrinking the promise. When costs rose, we took time to fight for more resources—we did not narrow the vision to fit a smaller budget. That is not weakness. That is standard-setting. Crenshaw deserves the best, and we will not cower from that standard.
Community permanence has been central to the mission from day one, and we’ve backed it with real investment in the legacy businesses that make this corridor what it is: $1,039,010 in financial support for Dulan’s on Crenshaw; $77,534 for a facelift and mortgage assistance at Vergee’s Palace De Bella Donna; $39,000 for rental assistance and to modernize the facade of Dog Lovers Pet Grooming; and many more. Nearly every business on the corridor has been offered assistance of some kind over the past 24 months.
This is a gargantuan undertaking, and I will say plainly what it’s up against: the cycle of half-stepping, second-rate projects handed to our community while other communities get first-class and first-in-line. That cycle ends here. It ends because we build together, because we refuse to let disappointment become the default. We will not be neglected or left to fight for scraps. Instead, we will stand united and resolute that Crenshaw deserves the best. Anything less than unity produces exactly the outcomes we already know too well.
With that unity in mind, I have to address the false claims directly. Unsubstantiated accusations of corruption have been leveled at me and at this project, without a shred of evidence. In a moment of rising bigotry, hurling baseless corruption charges at Black elected officials and community leaders is not just wrong, it is dangerous. We’ve seen firsthand how accusations are used to stifle progress, feed into the white supremacist desire to incarcerate Black leaders, and how it not only harms the target but the whole community. I watched every minute of the recent Town Hall at Bethesda Temple Church, and I found it especially profane that a church sanctuary would be used as the backdrop for such lies and incendiary accusations.
Destination Crenshaw files financial reports with the IRS, with its grantmakers, with its Board of Directors. It is a Black-led nonprofit, and its annual 990s are public record available to anyone, exactly as they are for every nonprofit in this country.
It’s no secret who is behind these recent and dubious attempts to sow division, and they are willing to put their personal interests and ambitions above those of the community they purport to represent. The same people driving this spectacle have my direct cell number—and have used it before, asking for financial help for their own organizations and businesses.
Rest assured that I will not be distracted by a charade. I’m spending my energy on the work to invest in a Crenshaw District that is prosperous, safe, and enduring. Those who don’t share in the vision that this community has developed for itself can remain where they’ve put themselves: on the sidelines.
Crenshaw has waited long enough for what it’s owed. This project and this community are going to get it. Not the half-measure. Not the compromise. The world-class, world- recognized result we set out to build, on the timeline we’re now delivering. Let’s get to work TOGETHER.
We have a commitment from Destination Crenshaw to get regular updates to the community. Sign up here to get the latest information for the project via text or email at destinationcrenshaw.la.
Sincerely,
Marqueece Harris-Dawson
Request for the Completion of Destination Crenshaw and for the Creation of Crenshaw Corridor Business Interruption and Resident Relief Funds
Marqueece Harris-Dawson
President, Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Spring Street, Room 450
Los Angeles, CA 90012
August 5, 2026
Re: Request for the Completion of Destination Crenshaw and for the Creation of Crenshaw Corridor Business Interruption and Resident Relief Funds
Dear Council President Harris-Dawson,
On behalf of a coalition of businesses and residents1 that constitute the Crenshaw Corridor Business District (“Crenshaw Corridor Community”), we write to request that a concrete timeline and resources for fully completing Destination Crenshaw within a year be developed and announced; a year is the outside time it should take, and we hope and expect that it can be finished considerably sooner. We also request the immediate establishment of a Business Interruption Relief Fund for the merchants, entrepreneurs, churches, and property owners who have borne the disproportionate economic burden of the prolonged delays associated with the Destination Crenshaw project and a Resident Relief Fund for the residents of the Corridor who have been most adversely affected by the prolonged construction and delays associated with this unfinished development.
Destination Crenshaw was presented to this community as a transformational investment in Black culture, Black commerce, and the future of South Los Angeles. Initial reports stated that construction would begin “in early 2019 with plans to open in Spring 2020.”2 The project did not “break ground” until 2020,3 after which the team behind Destination Crenshaw promised a public opening by February 2024.4 It has now been six years since the project “broke ground” and over two years since the promised completion date. Construction has stalled with no apparent end date in sight.
any of the harms suffered by the residents of the Crenshaw Corridor communities. It is also not an exhaustive list of
the harms businesses and residents have suffered or the compensation they should receive.
2 https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/destination-crenshaw_o/
3 https://perkinswill.com/news/destination-crenshaw-groundbreaking-celebrates-black-l-a/
4 https://destinationcrenshaw.la/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Destination-Crenshaw-Architectural-Fact-Sheet.pdf
The Crenshaw Corridor Community embraced the vision of Destination Crenshaw, but the obstruction from the delayed construction has caused prolonged health and safety hazards, uncertainty, reduced customer access, declining revenues, disruptions, and mounting financial hardship. A broad spectrum of the community expressed their frustration over these delays and the impact they have had on the community at a standing-room-only July 30, 2026, town hall at Bethesda Temple Church widely covered by the media, including ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.
Many of the businesses along the Crenshaw Corridor have closed. Those that remain suffer more harm every day. Homeowners cannot access their driveways and have endured extensive property damage, including cars totaled while parked on the street. Members of the community, including senior citizens, have to walk long distances to enter businesses or residences, and must live among the blight of unfinished construction. Some streets are now pitch black at night, endangering residents and businesses. The burden of the unexplained delays should not rest on the shoulders of the Crenshaw Corridor Community, which acted in good faith and supported this historic project.
Accordingly, the Crenshaw Corridor Community requests the following from the City of Los Angeles:
- Develop and announce a concrete timeline and resources for fully completing Destination Crenshaw within one year of the date of this letter.
- To ensure transparency and accountability, provide an itemized accounting of (a) funds spent to date, (b) remaining construction budget, and (c) estimated remaining cost of completion.
- Identify and explain each of the reasons for material delay since the commencement of the Destination Crenshaw project.
- Establish a Business Interruption Relief Fund dedicated exclusively to businesses located within the Crenshaw Corridor that have been adversely impacted by the prolonged construction and delays associated with Destination Crenshaw. This includes the expedited creation of a relief program providing (i) direct financial assistance based on documented business interruption and economic loss over the past five years; (ii) a transparent claims process with clearly defined eligibility criteria; and (iii) ongoing communication with affected businesses regarding project milestones and relief efforts.
- Establish a Resident Relief Fund dedicated exclusively to residents of the Crenshaw Corridor who have been most adversely impacted by the prolonged construction and delays associated with Destination Crenshaw.
- Provide a written proposal within 30 days detailing the City’s plan to address the Crenshaw Corridor Community’s request for a Business Interruption Relief Fund and a Resident Relief Fund and hold a hearing to receive community input.
The City asked this community to embrace the promise of a historic cultural center that would help revitalize the community. For the last five years, the business owners and residents have suffered from the City’s broken promises. While we continue to support the vision of Destination Crenshaw, the burden of inaction cannot be borne indefinitely by the businesses and residents that have sustained this corridor for generations.
If the City fails to provide a complete and substantive response to this correspondence within 30 days of the date of this letter, the Crenshaw Corridor Community reserves its right to pursue its rights and remedies.
We remain committed to working collaboratively with your office to ensure that Destination Crenshaw ultimately fulfills its promise—not only as a cultural landmark, but as an economic success for the community it was intended to serve.
Sincerely,
Crenshaw Corridor Business District
Angeles Vista Pet Medical Center
Bethesda Temple Church
Calvary Chapel Crenshaw
Gavin Morris, Resident
O’Lita Schafer, Resident
SmileyAudioMedia, Inc./KBLA Talk 1580
Today’s Fresh Start Charter School
WLCAC Southwestern Senior Center
Join the community effort to keep Destination Crenshaw transparent, accountable, and moving forward.
FAQ ABOUT DESTINATION CRENSHAW
- Would this happen on the Westside of Los Angeles? On their streets? In their neighborhood? Why are elected officials never nervous about disappointing Black constituents?
- Where did the money go? The project started at a $100 million goal, but a 2026 report puts the real cost closer to $150 million, with another $35 million still needed. What explains that jump, and who’s tracking it?
- How many opening dates have slipped, and why? The flagship piece, Sankofa Park, was originally due in 2023, pushed to February 2024, and the wider project still isn’t finished five years after groundbreaking. What’s the pattern behind the repeated slippage?
- What’s happened to nearby businesses during the wait? Community members have dealt with years of construction dust and disruption. Has anyone measured the economic toll on Crenshaw Corridor businesses during this stretch?
- Are the promised jobs materializing? The project touts job creation and local hiring goals. Is there public reporting showing how many jobs and hours actually went to local residents so far?
- Can it realistically finish before the 2028 LA Olympics? A local elected official said the project “must” open before the Games. Is that timeline grounded in an actual construction schedule, or aspirational?
- What exactly does the $50 million cost increase cover? Is the extra money going toward new elements that weren’t in the original plan, or is it covering cost overruns on things that were already promised?
- How much of the pledged $100 million was actually collected before construction even started? Reportedly, by early 2023 only $72 million had been raised toward the original goal. Did building begin before the funding was fully secured, and did that contribute to the stalling?
- Is there an independent audit of spending so far? With public money involved (county funds, Metro contributions, federal dollars), has any outside body reviewed how funds have actually been spent versus budgeted?
- What happens to the artists and vendors under contract if delays continue? Murals, sculptures, and installations from named artists are part of the plan. Are they still being paid or supported during these repeated pauses, or are some walking away?
- Who is paying the private security firm 24 hours a day 7 days a week to protect whatever half-finished project sits behind the wall at Leimert and Vernon? And at what cost?
- Why was there no business interruption fund established to compensate the businesses impacted by this years long disruption? And what about the Black-owned businesses that held on as long as they could but eventually had to close down? Who do we hold accountable for that?
- What happened to Jason who was in charge of the Destination Crenshaw project who now apparently “on leave”? Who is in charge of this project now? Who’s the point person?
- Why was neither CD 8 Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson nor his staff in attendance at the recent KBLA Talk 1580/Bethesda Temple Church town hall meeting? Why is he doing media interviews but not reporting to the people who live and work in this community? The folks who have been harmed by his indecisions.
