Streetsblog Los Angeles

Esther Park of LA Food Policy Council explains the CMC to Fabian Ligtmaer of La Causa Youth Build. Rafael Cardenas/LAStreetsblog

Last week, hosted in a small campus in Boyle Heights, the Healthy Neighborhood Market Network (HNMN) held a Neighborhood Market Training, an informative workshop program that helps our little corner markets put a focus on healthy foods from local farms for their customers. 

The plan is to put the fruits and vegetables in prominent views so that they stand out more than the Cheetos and Snickers. Also, they want to educate store owners on what good produce is so that they can pass it along to you.

The HNMN is a componet of the Community Market Conversion (CMC) program. The CMC program transforms convenience stores in neighborhoods with limited healthy food access in to good food community markets. They do this by providing technical, financial and community engagement resources.

Market owners who enroll in the CMC program receive one-on-one coaching and customized support related to business development, marketing and community outreach and can qualify for financing capital improvements and new equipment. 

One instructor mentored store owners, inspiring them to want to learn how to answer when a customer asks, “How do I select a cantaloupe?”

She added, “We want the customer to think of you as a destination for produce.”

Briana Perlson, a student at Pitzer College, attended the training. Perlson and group of students are working with a local business, helping to establish a sustainable system that brings in produce from local farms in the area to local convenience stores. 
 Read more…

The alleyway a few blocks from Whittier Boulevard and Soto Street is used for open markets and festivities. One neighbor of the alley used the space for her daughters birthday party. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog

“Necesitamos apoyo para casa de Teresita Alfaro, la policia esta alla hostigando. Puedes venir? Callejon atras de Whittier Blvd y Matthews (Street)”

I was leaving to Mexico City in two days, and I get this message at 4 pm Saturday, April 13. The Los Angeles Police Department  officers stopped by the party and told the group to shut it down. But the police officers left, and didn’t return.

When I arrived, the party was still going strong. Kids played in the jumper at the top of the alley, as adults talked talked amongst themselves at tables on the opposite end. I had only reported on the alleyway a few weeks back, but I never got to see the place actually come alive.

Police have warned they would shut down this and other alleyway activities if they weren’t ended voluntarily. But despite the threats and harassment the LAPD have yet to close one, said Elizabeth Blaney, co-founder of Union de Vecinos.

The residents didn’t ask for permission or receiver permits to paint the ground or have a party in the alleyway, but they try to be flexible when cars are around. They coordinate with vehicles to not enter the half-block stretch and they also coordinate with residents exiting driveways.

“Having demonstration models, we want someone to tell us that this doesn’t work,” said Leonardo Vilchuis, co-founder of Union de Vecinos. “We have an alley that can be used in so many different ways than just for cars,” Vilchuis said.

So what impact does opening an alleyway for uses beyond moving cars? Look on after the jump to see L.A.’s Livable Alley. Read more…

In an effort to create an online and physical map of community gardens throughout Boyle Heights, the Las Fotos project is asking for your help. The map will include original work by the young women who participate in the program. You can submit leads on any public or private gardens or fruit trees by clicking here. If your lead is confirmed, you could win a $100 gift card.

Click on the image to see a larger version of the flyer. To see the poster in Spanish, click here.

Las Fotos Project has since worked with Latina youth throughout Southern California, and has developed partnership with national and international nonprofit organizations and schools to expand the movement of empowering Latina youth through photography and self-expression. It was founded in 2010 by Los Angeles-based photographer Eric V. Ibarra after seeing a need for teenage girls throughout Los Angeles to have a skill that could help build their confidence and self-esteem.

“Las Fotos Project’s student photographers are creating a resource map with all the gardens and public fruit trees for the community of Boyle Heights,” writes Natalie Franco, a professional advisor and advisor for this project. “We need your help! Please submit your leads to any gardens or public fruit trees here: www.lasfotosproject.org/boyleheightsgardens“

Over the course of ten weeks, 14 students will use Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping to document the location and size of all gardens throughout the community. The map will distinguish between gardens and green spaces on public property, shared community gardens, and school gardens, and will distinguish them by size: small medium, or large. Read more…

Bailey WEB

In November of 2009, I took a bike ride with Carlos Morales and other members of the Eastside Bike Club, not to be confused with the Eastside Riders, and Browne Molyneux of the Bus Bench to explore the bicycle and pedestrian access to the Gold Line’s about-to-be-opened Eastside Extension.

During the ride, we ran into City Council Member Jose Huizar who was not yet a member of the Metro Board of Directors. Huizar listened to the concerns of some of the riders, and engaged with us about what kind of fixes we would like to see.

Today, the first round of those are much closer to reality. Earlier today, Huizar  the Department of Public Works and Metro joined with community members Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony in Boyle Heights for the first part of the Eastside Access project. This project would turn Bailey Street into an extension of the Mariachi Plaza station, creating a pedestrian connection from the plaza to Pennsylvania Avenue and Bailey Street.

“Since the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension route opened in 2009, our goal all along was to enhance and transform the areas around the light-rail stations to improve pedestrian and bicycle access and traffic, as well as support business, community and art-related projects,” said Councilmember José Huizar. “The Garden Street on Bailey Project is an important part of a multi-million dollar, multi-agency commitment to do just that.”

The Eastside Access project is a $12 million pedestrian improvement project in and around four stations of the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension along First Street. A graphic showing all of the remaining projects can be found at the bottom of this story.

 On Bailey Street, the city will construct a series of small improvements along the one block between Mariachi Plaza and Bailey Street. These improvements include: Read more…

(One of the ongoing stories in our Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles coverage has been the debate over whether or not to proceed with the redevelopment of Wyvernwood Garden Apartments. Jesús Hermosillo has a master’s degree in urban planning and contributes regularly to Boyle Heights Beat. Streetsblog has not taken a position on the project and welcomes an op/ed by the Fifteen Group or any proponents of the project. – DN)

To save or not to save Wyvernwood Garden Apartments, and build something else in its place, is the question more and more people are grappling with as city officials prepare to decide on the proposed Boyle Heights Mixed Use Community Project.   Anti-redevelopment arguments center on preserving a cultural landmark, and averting another mass displacement reminiscent of Chavez Ravine. No matter which side of the debate you fall on, there is no doubt a new Wyvernwood will change Boyle Heights forever. The consequences of the $2.2 billion real-estate venture—one of the largest ever proposed in the United States—could spell an ecological catastrophe for Boyle Heights.

Google earth image via Los Angeles Times

Despite its billing as an exemplar of New Urbanism—an urban-design movement promoting compact, mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods as a green alternative to automobile-reliant development—one of the proposal’s central features is undoing the historic garden community’s pedestrian-oriented design to make way for vastly expanded car facilities.

Fifteen Group, the Miami-based company that owns Wyvernwood, proposes to replace the seventy acre “Garden City” campus containing hundreds of orange-colored buildings, 1,187 homes and over 6,000 residents, with something similar to an Eastside version of Playa Vista,. The proposed development contains  4,400 condominiums and rentals; 325,000 square feet of stores, restaurants and offices, recreational facilities for residents including swimming pools and spas; and parking for 9,048 cars.

Although total parking spaces proposed is over five times more than 1,799 spaces currently on site, the number ultimately built could be higher if Fifteen Group fails to obtain an exemption from city minimum parking rules requiring 10,903 to 11,003 spaces for a project this dense.  Fifteen group justifies the project as creating “a healthier place to live and work.” At the same time, the developer wants to continue subsidizing automobile ownership after describing Wyvernwood’s current provision of 1.5 parking spaces per home as “inadequate,” corresponding to “a time when there were fewer automobiles” than today. Read more…

Image from Merkado Negro Facebook page

After  a seven month hiatus, Merkado Negro announced last week that CaminArte, the Eastside art walk, will return to Mariachi Plaza on May 10.

“It’s back,” said Nico Avina, co-founder of Merkado Negro arts collective.

CaminArte, a collaboration between Merkado Negro and the Boyle Heights farmers market, is a play on Spanish words of caminar, “to walk” and arte, “art.” While it rarely spilled onto First Street and remained centered on Mariachi Plaza, Avina hopes other nearby venues will begin to participate in the monthly event.

CaminArte gave local artists a space to sell their wares at a reasonable rate. Last year, artists paid for a CaminArte booth $40-35 a booth, and $15 for a 3×5 table space, said Avina.

If interested in participating, message Merkado Negro at their Facebook page.

Maria Cabildo, president of East Los Angeles Community Corporation, speaks to a crowd at the La Casa del Mexicano visioning meeting. ELACC took ownership of the building in January and are looking to create a community center at La Casa. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog

Hugged between Fourth and Sixth Streets and in the middle of a residential area, La Casa del Mexicano has been neglected for years, and it’s continued existence was in doubt only a few years ago.  But on Wednesday, more than 80 community members inside La Casa del Mexicano shared their ideas on what the iconic space could become.

La Casa was most recently an events hall, hosting concerts, parties and even lucha libre matches. Residents at thursday meeting were calling for La Casa to become an all-purpose community center, complete with technology training, job services, and activities for youth and families.

Hosted by East Los Angeles Community Corporation, the local non-profit affordable housing developer, the task to revitalize the space officially fell on ELACC in January. Staff at ELACC estimated the cost to rehabilitate La Casa as high as $5 million, said ELACC president Maria Cabildo in an interview.

After a lengthy process that reached as high as the California Attorney General, the rights to La Casa were handed over to ELACC along with the debt incurred from the previous owner. Mexican Benefit Corp., the previous owner, took out a loan of $165,000 in 2006 and failed to repay it leading to the foreclosure of La Casa, said Cabildo. Not content to let the space languish, activists took complaints to city officials and even got the attention of the state attorney general Kamala Harris.

This is ELACC’s first venture outside of creating affordable housing. Known for its preservation efforts from its work at the Boyle Hotel, La Casa del Mexicano provides a difficult challenge to create revenue out of a community center, said Cabildo. Read more…

The next tech boom in Boyle Heights? Repurposing alleyways  to create new social spaces and community empathy? These are a few of the topics Eastside community groups are bringing up in LA2050. Only 10 ideas will be chosen for the $100,000 prize, but there are many worthy causes in Boyle Heights and East L.A., many of which are regularly covered in our Eastside coverage.

Learn more about the projects and programs by clicking on the image.

All the ideas listed in this post were the one’s I found that would have a direct impact on the Eastside. While I couldn’t highlight all, some honorable mentions are included at the end.

THE i.am.angel EAST L.A. INCUBATOR PROJECT

by i.am.angel Foundation

Indicator: Entrepreneurial training, Technology, Economy

Quote: “We want to build a startup incubator program in East LA to foster entrepreneurship in underserved communities that have low access to technology and startup resources.”

“By bringing this startup incubator program to East LA, we are fostering local talent and providing top-notch education and mentorship from successful entrepreneurs. This will bring valuable jobs and job skills to underserved communities. Not only does this help to uplift a struggling neighborhood, but it creates a better overall startup ecosystem for the entire city of Los Angeles – by creating a larger pool of talent coming from diverse backgrounds and walks of life.”

Learn more and vote, by clicking here.

DIY Social Spaces Read more…

Residents and supporters came out Saturday to tour the Caltrans owned Bungalows in El Sereno, which are expected to be converted into a community center. Kris Fortin/LAStreetsblog

Signs posted on the doors of the boarded up  El Sereno Bungalows are also dreams nearly realized. One yellow sign tapped to the 1920s buildings say “dance studio”, another “community kitchen.”

At last Saturday’s tour of the El Sereno Bungalows off of Huntington Boulevard, residents and supporters got a first glimpse at would could be a local community space in an area that lacks the type of recreation. The El Sereno Community Arts Center, which would be built inside the existing, abandoned buildings, would be complete with a garden, dance studio, and a tiendita, a small vending shop.

The eight buildings, which are owned by Caltrans, have been vandalized and left neglected for years. Yet, aside from an exterior cosmetic cleanup of the facades, and the gutting of the interior to make a more flexible space, there is no strucutral damage to the building, said Rey Gutierrez, freelancer at Ambulante Design Studio.

Those neglected buildings, which still show some scars from being used by drug abusers as safe-houses and places to complete business, can be reborn as a true community space.

The Bungalow Collective is a volunteer-run group of El Sereno natives or residents that have been working to convert the abandoned buildings into a community center. The Bungalow collective raised more than $10,000 from their Indiegogo campaign last September to refurbish and repurpose the abandoned buildings.

Here are some photos of the bungalows:

A "Save Wyvernwood" banner was lowered two nights ago above a northbound 101 Freeway overpass. Isabel Avila/isabelavila.com

Last week, the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council’s executive committee struck from tomorrow’s general board meeting agenda the action item to support the Wyvernwood redevelopment project. After issues were brought up ranging from securing a proper location, to whether or not their decision would make a difference on the project, the neighborhood council doesn’t appear likely to revisit the motion in the future, said Edward Padilla, president of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council.

“This is probably one of the most prominent issues we’re going to deal with,” said Padilla in an interview. “And it’s not that we don’t want to address important issues . . . (but board members) are being attacked about it and it’s causing division.”

The $2 billion mixed-use redevelopment was originally voted for by the Boyle Heights neighborhood council at its January meeting and was approved with a 9-3 vote, the Boyle Heights Beat reported. Since the neighborhood council didn’t give 24-hours notice of a location change, the vote was nullified and was expected to be voted on this month.

The $2 billion Wyvernwood redevelopment project’s contentiousness has reached as high as city advisory meetings, and as low as town halls. 15 Group, the Wyvernwood developer, expects the project to be an economic stimulus by replacing the rent controlled housing with multiple affordable housing units. Opponents including El Comité de la Esperanza and Frente de Apoyo del Comité de la Esperanza (FACE) argue that the project would displace its residents.

Members of el Comité felt the neighborhood council’s decision to abandon the vote was a victory, said Roberto Mojica, El Comité’s public relations officer and 25-year wyvernwood resident. Yet when the executive committee decided to strike the motion, 15 Group Principal Steven Fink didn’t object the decision.(15 Group representatives did not respond to our request for comment in time for publication.)

When the neighborhood council  discussed changing the location of the meeting from the Boyle Heights Senior Center to Lou Costello Junior Youth Center, the developer and some board members Read more…