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A racist email sent to two local developers has roiled the Burbank community. Neighborhood leaders denounced the email, but developers say they allowed it to occur.
Developers Galen Gozmian and Charles Boyajian have approved the Burbank City Council’s plan for the Rancho horse community, despite opposition from residents concerned about horse safety and access to an equestrian bridge. He said the email came last week after the council unanimously approved a 40-unit apartment complex. In the email, the person wrote: This is why the (expletive) Turks killed your family. ”
“It’s like the deepest wound you can feel. I was targeted so directly,” Gosmian says.
“We’re used to people denying genocide, but it’s shocking when some people say it outright and say we deserved to be genocide,” Boyajian says.
The genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) in 1915 is recognized annually by the people of Southern California.
Groups representing the Rancho area told NBC4 in a statement that they “categorically condemn all forms of hatred, intolerance and violence.”
The City of Burbank called the email “…very disturbing and unacceptable. The City takes this matter seriously and the report filed with the Burbank Police Department will be thoroughly investigated.” is.”
“The idea that anything proposed here can be canceled is backward thinking,” Galen said.
Developers say they tried to accept horses as part of the project but were met with hostility. The person who sent the hate mail has been identified, but the person does not want to be named.
“We want to avoid escalation. We want to come together and move forward with peace and unity,” Galen says.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity. It’s not going to phase us out, it motivates us to go further,” says Boyajian.
Galen added, “To those who say this is an isolated incident and not representative of the Rancho community, I would say they are part of the problem.” .
In approving the project, Burbank City Council members noted that they were forced to do so by SB35, a state law that limits the city’s ability to block affordable housing construction.
Members of the Armenian community said they planned to attend Tuesday night’s Burbank City Council meeting to express their concerns about the email.
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