Harkham Hotel Rejected by City Planning

December 14, 2021 in original reporting

It would be inaccurate reporting to say that the L.A. Planning Commission unanimously found Dan Harkham to be a bad person. But only a little?

Harkham Hotel Project Dealt Another Setback [Updated 9/9/21]

July 12, 2021 in original reporting

Nearly a year to the day after being overwhelmingly opposed at the local neighborhood council, Dan Harkham’s hotel project gets pulled from the City Planning Commission agenda.

Neighborhood Council Opposes Harkham Hotel Project

June 19, 2020 in original reporting

More than three hours into a neighborhood council meeting, community support for a proposed Harkham hotel project in Pico Robertson turned into opposition.

Harkham Hotel Project Goes before Neighborhood Council

March 12, 2020 in original reporting

Dan Harkham’s proposed hotel is going to the South Robertson Neighborhood Council for a vote. Will his track record at Cinefamily endear him to the community?

Union Busting Is Disgusting

January 16, 2020 in commentary, short feature

Rather than oversee Cinefamily or Fairfax Cinema, Dan Harkham develops hotels. What can we learn from a 20-year old dispute involving a Harkham strike, rabbis marching with bitter herbs, and a hotel rebranding?

Two New Harkham Projects Emerge

December 20, 2019 in commentary, original reporting

Dan Harkham is trying to open a theater and a hotel at the same time. This website unearths a Cinefamily Employee Handbook. How do those two things connect?

Focus, and ask again.

TL;DR

For the decade of Cinefamily’s existence, and for a certain sort of weirdo, the nonprofit single-screen cinematheque was the best thing about L.A.

In August 2017 we discovered Cinefamily was also a harmful place, especially for workers and for women. Reporting at the time focused on workplace sexual harassment, but when this website investigated we found a deeper rot. Former insiders told us of alleged assault, retaliation, wage theft, and embezzlement—as well as fraud against distributors, taxpayers, and regulators.

Cinefamily’s $2 million annual budget was subsidized by taxpayers and overseen by professionals. If the board of directors had done its job, damage may have been reduced, and Cinefamily might still exist. Instead, evidence indicates some directors were not only aware of problems, but were involved in covering them up.

This website provides original reporting as an ongoing call for institutional responsibility. We seek what the board promised: a credible and comprehensive accounting, victims heard and creditors paid, and a new approach to corporate governance and community accountability.

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