A racist email sent to a pair of local developers has roiled a community in Burbank. Neighborhood leaders have condemned the email but the developers say they allowed it to happen.
Developers Garen Gozumian and Charles Boyajian say the email came last week after the Burbank City Council had unanimously approved their proposed 40-unit apartment complex in the horse community of Rancho, despite opposition by residents concerned about horse safety and access to the equestrian bridge. In the email, the person wrote, “You aren’t welcome here. This is why the (expletive) Turks killed your families.”
“It’s kind of the deepest wound that you could feel. I’ve been targeted so directly,” says Gozumian.
“We’re used to people denying the genocide but for some people to outright say it and say we deserved it, it's shocking,” says Boyajian.
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The 1915 genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, now modern-day Turkey, is recognized yearly by Southern Californians.
In statements, the group representing the Rancho Neighborhood told NBC4, “We absolutely condemn all forms of hate, intolerance and violence.”
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The City of Burbank called the email “….deeply troubling and unacceptable. The City is taking this matter seriously, and the report filed with the Burbank Police Department will be thoroughly investigated.”
"The notion that you can cancel anything that’s ever proposed here is a backward-looking mindset," Garen said.
The developers say they tried to accommodate horses as part of the project, but were met with hostility. They say the person who sent the hateful email has been identified, but they don’t want to reveal his name.
“We want to avoid an escalation. We want to come together to move forward with peace and unity,” says Garen.
“We have faced a lot of adversity; it’s not going to phase us, it motivates us to push on further,” says Boyajian.
Garen adds, “To those who would say this is an isolated incident and not representative of the Rancho community, I’d say they’re part of the problem.”
As they were approving the project, Burbank City Council members noted they were forced to do so by SB35, the state law that limits cities' ability to stop affordable housing construction.
Members of the Armenian community say they plan to attend Tuesday night’s meeting of the Burbank City Council and voice their concerns about the email.
