Streetsblog Los Angeles

Along with announcing the upcoming CicLAvia on April 15, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragosa introduced at a press conference in McArthur Park the Spanish-language Bicycle Safety Public Service announcement. The PSA was inspired by the ideas from day laborers.

At the press conference to announce the fourth CicLAvia, a Spanish-language Public Service Announcement for bicycle safety, the first of its kind in L.A., was also introduced.

“PRECAUCIÓN: Tu Familia Tam­bién Usa La Bicicleta” or Precaution: Your family also uses the bicycle was a message resulting from a collaboration with City of Lights Volunteers and day laborers. The image for the PSA was created by artist Aaron Kuehn and will be installed in bus shelters across the city. There was also a 60-second video PSA, produced by Jordan Melograna, that will eventually be cut down to 30 seconds for possible broadcast on television.  You can find the 60-second video online by clicking here.

“It’s a new way of developing PSAs on the grassroots level,” said Andy Rodriguez, a City of Lights or Cuidad de Luces organizer. “Low-income representation is really important for all of us.”

The message for the Spanish-language PSA was created and chosen with the help of day laborers from the Central American Resource Center, Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, and volunteers at City of lights and Bici Digna. Los Angeles Department of Transportation printed the bus shelter posters and some have already been installed.

It was important for the day laborers to help create the message, said Jose Roberto Veliz, a day laborer organizer for CARECEN, because it would be a message they know they could connect  with. Read more…

The route for the April 15 CicLAvia from the physical flyers that can be found across the city. Except, the route is not going toward Mariachi Plaza as shown.

So, the Eastside CicLAvia re-route is finally happening this April . . .  or so it would seem on some of its flyers. The route shown on CicLAvia’s printed flyers being distributed in the Eastside marks a route going north on Boyle Avenue toward Mariachi Plaza, a small spur off the 10.5 mile route from last October.  Unfortunately, the map is a mis-print.  The April 15 CicLAvia route will follow the same path as the October 9th route, without an extension north to Mariachi Plaza.

Initially, CicLAvia planned to extend the route to Mariachi Plaza, but the costs to extend the route proved too high for the upcoming CicLAvia, explains Joe Linton, CicLAvia community organizer. Linton added he didn’t know how many flyers were printed with the error.

Before the error was revealed, some Eastside community leaders were excited at the thought of an expanded CicLAvia.  Boyle Heights community blogger Erick Huerta pointed out the re-route to me when he picked up a flyer at Primera Taza Coffee House on 1st Street and was already spreading the word on Twitter.

ElRandomHero @ciclavia is extending the #boyleheights route from Boyle/4th to Mariachi Plaza for the Mariachi Festival. Moving on up, to the Eastside 4/3/12 5:02 PM

Read more…

South of Cesar Chavez Avenue on Soto Street, Bus riders sit inside the bus shelter or rest on the wall behind it as they wait for their bus. The lean bar (shown far left) sits unoccupied, and is exposed to the sun for most of the late afternoon Thursday. Photo by Kris Fortin

Ever wondered what those waist-high bars at the bus stop at corners on Soto Street and Cesar Chavez Avenue  are?  You’re not alone.  But, according to LADOT, I have the answer: you are supposed to lean on them.

Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transit Services pursued Call for Project funding from the City of Los Angeles to install “lean bars” at four bus stops at the corners of Cesar Chavez Avenue and Soto Street.  Bus stops that receive street furniture are chosen by a contractor with the city, who profits from the advertisements on the benches and shelters.  As a result, many popular bus stops don’t receive benches, while less popular ones do because the advertisements are visible to the motorists zooming by.

But, that’s not the case for lean bars.

This is what Bruce Gillman, communications director for LADOT, said about lean bars:

The lean-bars were placed at busy bus stops that did not have the physical space to accommodate either a transit shelter or bus bench, or where the placement of a shelter or bench would have impeded the flow of pedestrians too much at these locations. The lean bars were also typically placed with enhanced pavement at the bus stop,  There were two different lean-bar configurations; one was a straight bar (in plan view) and the other was curvilinear and formed a shallow “S” in plan view.

Pedestrians walking on sidewalks at the intersection of Cesar Chavez Avenue and Soto Stree thave to wade through people waiting at the bus stop, street vendors, and other pedestrians when walking at this corner. The density at this intersection makes sense to use the lean bars because it saves walking space, and can provide a simple rest for riders waiting for their bus. But, like many physical spaces installed by city agencies in Boyle Heights, they are not always used as intended. Read more…

Libros Schmibros Lending Library and Bookstore opened Wednesday at its new location at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. Photo by Kris Fortin

After two years at the corner of 1st Street and Cummings Street, Libros Schmibros Lending Library and Bookshop opened Wednesday at its new location on Mariachi Plaza, right on top of the Metro Gold Line Station.

The addition of Libros Schmibros with the already existing businesses at Mariachi Plaza has made that area one of the most human-friendly Metro-affiliated sites.

“If you visit train stations in any city in the world . . . so many of them have newsstands. And most of those newsstands don’t just sell magazines, they sell books,” said David Kipen, co-founder of Libros Schmibros.

The prime location Libros Schmibros has at Mariachi plaza is a result of the property being locally family-owned and the landlord wanting a community-focused tenant, Kipen said.

The owners of Libros Schmibros, a nonprofit that both lends books to patrons and sells books at extremely low rates, jumped almost immediately at the chance to get the property at Mariachi Plaza, said Colleen Jaurretche, Libros Schmibros’ co-director.

Though the space is smaller than the old space, the new format and location of the store lends itself to new opportunities, Kipen said. For events, groups can spill onto the plaza and not have to worry about traffic. Kipen is also working with a UCLA graduate film student to put on a Mexican film series on Mariachi Plaza, where they hope to screen a film with Pedro Infante.

The human-focused promise that continues to blossom at Mariachi Plaza is something that Metro stations, portals, and platforms have not been able to take full advantage of, said Will Wright, American Institute of Architect Los Angeles Director of Government & Public Affairs.

The Metro Redline portal at the W Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, for example, used a design that looks like it would create community interaction, but security there will tell patrons to move if they station themselves.

Books will be stacked on opposite ends of the bookshop's wall up to the edge of the ceiling. Photo by Kris Fortin

“If you go to Singapore, London, they’ve enabled these portals, and platforms to be more enjoyable,” said Wright. “The portals and stations are the community’s living room.”

Thought the new Libros Schmibors location will open up the store to more foot traffic from the Gold Line, Libros Schmibros service will stay the same said Kipen, with books available in both Spanish and English, and available to Boyle Heights resident as low as $1.00.

After being closed for one month, Libros Schmibros opened despite still settling in the new location. On Friday, one wall was completely full with books to the ceiling while the opposite wall was still waiting for some additional book shelves to be installed.

Kipen hopes to maintain his current local customer base, but he also has a Los Angeles section for the curious Angeleno.

“In a place where people more and more have to ride to get to and from, it would be nice to give them something more interesting than the same ads on a Metro train to read,”

Libros Schmibros is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 6PM.  Libros Schmibros will also have a quasi store-opening party on April 19 when it hosts a party for publisher Heyday Books release of the “New California Writing 2012,” which Kipen wrote the introduction for.

A recent analysis by Boyle Heights Beat showed there were 100 liquor vendors in Boyle Heights. A man walks pass the front of Brooklyn Liquor on the corner of Cesar Chavez Avenue and St. Louis Street. Photo by Kris Fortin

As the Boyle Heights Community continues to grapple with a lack of access to healthy foods, the liquor store business continues to thrive. For those trying to improve the charectar and image of Boyle Heights, this needs to change.

Boyle Heights Beat reported last week that the community has more than 31 percent more stores per square mile that sell liquor than Compton, Santa Monica and West Covina. With 100 stores that sell liquor in Boyle Heights, the area has 31 more than Compton and Santa Monica, and 43 more than West Covina.

Researchers contend that stores that sell liquor can contribute to urban decay and draw in crime, creating a risk for youth. Community groups are working to limit and ultimately reduce the number of liquor licensees in Boyle Heights. Boyle Heights Stakeholder Association, Boyle Heights Coalition for a Safe and Drug Free Community and the Voice Community News hosted a community meeting on Thursday at Resurrection Church to discuss the issue.

“This issue has been around forever in Boyle Heights. That’s how it feels. If you grew up in Boyle Heights, it’s the norm,” (says 26-year-old Denis Quiñonez, director of the Boyle Heights Coalition for a Safe and Drug Free Community.)

Read the rest of the post at Boyle Heights Beat.

While some members of the Ovarian-Psycos Bicycle Brigade have left the group (two current members are not shown), the women come from similar backgrounds and have been able to support each other throughout the growth of the group. Photo courtesy of the Ovarian-Pscyos Bicycle Brigade

(This is the second of a two-part series. To read the first part how the Ovarian Psycos started, click here.)

Whether they are charras on bikes like Ova Andrea Ramirez says they are, they work hard to make Ovarian-Psyco Bicycle Brigade work. Though the all-female Latina bicycle collective turned out mostly Latina, the group is open to inviting people into the core as long as they are willing to work, and step up when the time calls.

The following post features brief biographies on the current roster of the Ovarian-Psycos (a photo isn’t provided for two members). The women chose to conceal their face not for fashions sake, Xela de la X says, but to signify that the group is not just about each of them as an individual, but it’s about the collective. Wearing the paño, or bandana, conceals their identity, but it’s also represents the forgotten female victims from war torn regions, and from those that disappear in Los Angeles, she adds.

(While they are not included in this post, past active members include Yolanda Posada, Mayra Aguilar, Monica Perez, Eyerie Zenzele and Elizabeth Piedra. Also, the Ovarian-Psyco’s newest edition, Cinthia Garcia, was brought into the group yesterday.)

Photos courtesy of Maryann Aguirre, and shot by Rafael Cardenas (eastsiderwriter.com). 

Joss the Boss Read more…

The Ovarian-Psycos Bicycle Brigade is a all-women bicycle group based out of the Eastside. Xela de la X of the Ovarian-Psycos Bicycle Brigade throws up the Ova's sign with the rest of the group in the background. Photo by Rafael Cardenas via EastsiderWriter.com

(We’re working on a photo essay tomorrow following up on today’s story.  So, come back Monday. D)

Two months ago, when 22-year-old Bree’Anna Guzman was murdered in Lincoln Heights, the all-women bike group Ovarian-Pscyos Bicycle Brigade scrapped their previously planned ride to ride instead through the neighborhood to protest the killing.

“Whose Streets,” one woman called out.

“Our Streets” the more than 30 women riding answered.

While many recent bike groups are either bicycling for recreation, bringing awareness to bicyclists on the road, or use the bicycle for social justice movement events, the Ovarian-Psycos Bicycle Brigade is a community inspired women’s movement that does all of the above and then some.

In Los Angeles, fewer than 1 in 5 people cycling were female, according to preliminary data from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s most recent bicycle count. While this trend has been the constant in cities across the nation, the number of female bicycle groups in Los Angeles has grown from just a couple a few years ago, to at least four.

The currently all-Latina collective with roots from various parts of the Eastside pride themselves with their exclusivity to women, with sticker slogans like “Ovaries so big, we don’t need no fucking balls.” Their monthly all-women Luna Rides, which takes its name from the moons connection with a woman’s menstrual cycle, bring up to 30 women riders each ride. For their two-year anniversary in July, the Ovarian-Psycos are also planning the first female version of the monthly Critical Mass, which will be called Clitoral Mass.

For many of the women it’s their first time being involved in an all-female collective. The oldest members are 33 and the youngest is 20. Some are artists that ride bikes, and some are pure bicyclists. Yet the Ovarian-Psycos has become a type of sisterhood that, for many, they have never had before.

“Being around women, learning that we can interact in a way that was not hostile or competitive; it’s been a very new experience,” said Magally “Maga” Miranda. Read more…

Even since this photo was taken in the 90s, mariachi's waited at Boyle Heights' Mariachi Plaza for work. Photo by James Rojas

Twenty years ago when I started documenting Latino’s use of public space, the triangle site of today’s Mariachi Plaza was a donut shop. Mariachis would hang out at the donut shop waiting for work.  People would park their cars and negotiate with Mariachis to play for their events, while fruit carts would sell to the other musicians waiting nearby.

LA’s Latino residents have a long history of transforming underutilized triangular pieces of land based on social, economic, and cultural needs. Public life is integral for Latinos born and raised in the United States as it is to those from Latin America.  However American cities are not designed like cities in Latin America. In many Latino communities streets are used as “plazas” and other open areas to create places for interactions.  Many Latinos live in dense communities where open space is very important and parks are not easily accessible.

Mariachi Plaza site was bonded by three streets: First Street, Pleasant Street and Boyle Avenue, which was laid out as a diagonal to follow the ridge line of Boyle Heights. The small donut shop structure was located in the middle of the site surrounded by parking. The Mariachis would hang out at the donut shop or across the street. Read more…

East Los Angeles Community Corporation organizer Jorge Villanueva speaks to more than 36 participants at a Clean Air Boyle Heights Campaign meeting on March 8, 2012. Community organizations are recruiting their community members to participate and give input in shaping the direction of the campaign. Photo by Kris Fortin

(This is the second of a two-part interview. To read the first part, click here)

Yesterday, Eastside Streetsblog published the first of two parts of an interview with KCET’s SoCal Connected Associate Producer Rocio Zamora on her elaborating on her story about Boyle Heights air quality.  In this second part, Zamora talks about stories that didn’t make the aired SoCal Connected report,  the difficulty of pinpointing pollutant sources outside of the neighborhood and importance of knowing what clean air is.

Was there anything in the So Cal Connected report you would have liked to include but couldn’t?

We did. We had a story we were going to focus on at Resurrection Church. It’s very different from Clean Up Green Up, because what Clean Up Green Up’s thing is about not kind of protesting against industry. They’re just like, hey, work with us. We’ll make it easier for you if you go green. We’ll give you like either tax breaks, or we’ll help you go green. We’ll subsidize things here and there. And so they’re trying to work with incoming businesses in Boyle Heights. They don’t want to give up business. And they realize a lot of these mom and pops shops either don’t have the money to go green, so they need a little bit of help, or they don’t know they are doing anything wrong. And so they need to be kind of taught. And that’s what Clean Up Green Up is doing, which I think is great. Read more…