It is a rare occasion when I ever have fun at neighborhood council meetings or events.  Granted, I didnt join the neighborhood council for its fun appeal and there have been some good times in the past.  Lately however it seems its been an epic drag.  I’ve taken to making pop culture references in my arguments at the risk of sounding unprofessional and silly but the purpose is to see how many of my colleagues actually get the reference or if they are as dull as I suspect.  Don’t hate me if I’m still not 30.

Two weeks ago for example, we were discussing a post office that falls withing the Little Armenia neighborhood.  When the question was brought up to possibly rededicate it several great suggestions were made for example, William Saroyan and Charles Bukowski.  Both have there merit and both deserve to have their name immortalized on a Post Office wall but when you consider the content Charles Bukowski is the most logical choice.  He wrote a novel called ‘Post Office’ for crying out loud and he lived in that very neighborhood when he penned it.  For all I know he may have actually worked there.  Of course, I had another idea and wanted to lighten the mood a little and test my colleagues knowledge of pop culture.  I suggested we rededicate it as the Armen Tamzarian Post Office.  I got one chuckle (Thank you Silent Android).  Armen Tamzarian is of course a world famous Vietnam War Veteran of Armenian descent.  If you do not know his place in pop culture then maybe you shouldn’t be reading this entry since he has graced our television screens for 22 years now in the longest American prime-time entertainment series.

Today while chairing a committee meeting we heard from a great developer that is creating low income housing in a neighborhood that is slowly gentrifying beyond the communities means.  In short, yes the developer is asking for four code variances which if you don’t know, are exceptions to the law which of course means this could take forever especially when you have professional NIMBY’s holding projects hostage and will no doubt continue to held them hostage through appeals and lawsuits and litigation which in the end only hurt the community we are trying to help by leaving either a blighted lot or a rundown property in the middle of an otherwise thriving community.  During this 105 minute hearing that oh-by-the-way was tabled I made yet another pop culture reference only this time it went unnoticed.  Excellent. OMG I just wrote a pop culture reference into this blog entry without even thinking about it and most of you are probably wondering “wtf?”.  Anyways, near the end of the hearing I made my feelings regarding the project known, since as the chair my primary objective is to make the meeting move smoothly rather than flood it with my thoughts.  I said:

LA is a major city that needs to start acting like it. Transit oriented development is a must and affordable housing is a vital component of it. “These people cook our meals, haul our trash, connect our calls, drive our ambulances and guard us while we sleep”.

Of course that last sentence is a quote from Tyler Durden. 

]]> http://lanative.net/2010/10/259/feed/ 21 http://lanative.net/2010/02/dc-next-month/ http://lanative.net/2010/02/dc-next-month/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:42:33 +0000 Alfredo http://lanative.net/?p=243

So I finally bit the bullet and booked my passage to Washington DC.  I wish I could say this was a pleasurable vacation trip but most likely I’ll be working my butt off advocating for a new park in Hollywood.  A park so special that my dream is for Hollywood residents to call it “The Park”.

This park will be 44 acres of never before used land.  Never before because until we build it, there is no land.  What? Yeah.  The plan is to build over the 101 freeway between Santa Monica Blvd in East Hollywood where the freeway runs below city grade and extend it roughly one mile to Bronson Ave in Central Hollywood.  Essentially making that part of the 101 a tunnel.  I’m crazy you say?  I’d have to agree with you except this isn’t the first time something like this has been built.  There are ‘cap’ parks in San Diego, Seattle, Chicago and Boston.  Right now the only major hurdles we have are economic.  What else is new in this town.  Thats what this trip is for.  Asking the Federal Government to fund this project much like they funded our High-Speed Rail to San Francisco last month.

How can you help?  You can write a letter of support.  You can email them to me at Alfredo@LAnative.net or get them to me in person.  I leave Saturday March 13th so get those in to me before then. Thanks. For more details on what this project is please visit: http://hollywoodfreewaycentralpark.org/

Seeing as this is my first ever trip to DC I plan on visiting a few museums and monuments and maybe some friends. 

So I guess this really will be a pleasurable trip after all.

I have no problems with the Church of Scientology.  I learned to be tolerant of other religions a long time ago. I believe in a persons freedom to have faith in whatever they see fit so long as they don’t try to shove their faith down my throat but when I saw this the other day I was a bit startled.  We all know how big of a presence Scientology has in Hollywood what with all the buildings they own and on Sunset, Hollywood and Franklin and they have signs making their presence felt but this sign felt a little too big, bright and out of place.

What are they trying to prove with this sign? Is it meant for identification or recruitment? Is the sign up to city codes? What do the neighbors think? What do you think?

Both pictures taken from the corner of Santa Monica & Heliotrope in East Hollywood one late and eerie night.

Volunteers will take to city streets and help make a difference in various ways.  Big Sunday is the largest regional community service event in the Nation.  This year I will be volunteering at two separate events.  One on Saturday and another on Sunday.

Saturday in East Hollywood on the corner of St. Andrews and Virginia for a community clean-up from 8am-12pm.  After putting in a couple of hours of brush clearance, cleaning tree wells and parkways I plan on heading down the street to the Fountain Community Garden Work Day were we will finish building the garden from 9-12pm so that the community can finally begin growing their food.  After another couple of hours I will head down Fountain to Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall and participate in the 3rd annual Hollywood Clean-up Day which runs from 10am – 2pm.  Food, Fun, T-Shirts and Tote Bags to everyone who participates.  YAY!

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust is organizing a Big Sunday Event at the Francis Ave Community Garden in Koreatown.  Come by and help us plant shrubs, paint existing structures, put down gravel, mulch and help out in any other way to help this special Koreatown gem.
Another Big Sunday event that I wont be able to attend but highly recommend will be a project to build a learning garden at Thomas Star King Middle School.  Come by and help out as they clean and green their space. On Big Sunday they’ll be installing a beautiful and peaceful new learning garden. Not only will they be installing a learning garden but they will also be painting and cleaning the Fountain Avenue Breezeway entrance. They will host a “recycled clothing store” with proceeds going to Children’s Hospital, and will host a health and wellness fair, a community outreach fair, a book exchange and a safe play space for young children so everyone can get involved. All the while there will be live music.

This past weekend was full of events and things to do.  There are weekends where I struggle to find stuff to do then there are weekend where I don’t have enough time to squeeze in all I want to do.

As I mentioned in an earlier post this weekend had the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival and an Art Gallery Fundraiser in Chinatown.  What I forgot to mention was the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA.  I somehow managed to do a little of all three.

First I attended the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival at the Vermont/Santa Monica Metro Station.  I got to see lots of friends and a few musical performances as well as one Aztec Dancing group which is always fun to watch.

At the festival the EHNC also dedicated a tree in honor of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was tragically assassinated in 2007.

After a little fun in the East Hollywood sun I was off to Chinatown and the Chinatown Art Walk.  This quarterly event has some fantastic galleries in Chung King Court off of Hill Street.   With over 35 art galleries in Chinatown this event is one of the better art walks in LA if not the best rivaling that of the Downtown variety.  My interest in this event was a fundraiser I helped produce at the Fifth Floor Gallery.  Over 500 people came through the gallery looking at and buying art from various artists from around the world benefiting Empowerment Works and their Global Summit as well as their Grassroots Orphan Care Program in Zimbabwe.

After a well needed few hours of sleep I went down to UCLA Sunday morning to catch the Festival of Books.  Unfortunately I did not get a chance to see any of my favorite authors and the discussion panels I was interested in were either too late or already filled.  I did manage to buy a new book by Kevin J. Anderson “The Edge of the World” and I am anxiously awaiting the release of  “The Winds of Dune” later this year.

I leave you with a few more pictures from my weekend.  Enjoy.

Shortly after 2am this morning an empty and gutted home on the 600 block of New Hampshire at Melrose in East Hollywood caught on fire engulfing it in a matter of seconds.  I was the first on the scene.  Neighbors called emergency crews but by the time they arrived their apartment building also had caught on fire.  The North end of their building and the second story was ablaze as firemen raced to control the flames before they spread to yet another building to the South.  for a moment I thought perhaps it had already happened. Residents had to jump out of the second story window to reach safety as the blaze spread quickly.  Nobody was injured.

In total I believe there are three structures there; the two that I visually saw ablaze and a secondary structure in the back of the property.   Having lived on this street for seven years I’ve become familiar with the people there this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.  As little as a month ago I turned onto my street to find one of the current tenants car on fire.  An apparent retaliation for a fight earlier that night.  Although firemen refuse to tell me if arson is the cause I think its safe to say these two events are related.

It took a good hour for firemen to control the blaze needing to climb to the roof and open up ventilation holes.  The sound of the chainsaws coming from men both on top and inside the structure made me cringe at the thought of that being at one time, somebodies bedroom.  I can’t imagine how horrific and painful it must have been for those who live there. 17 people lost their homes.

Beyond the sadness of people losing their homes and all their belongings a disgusting truth was brought to my attention and I was faced with it first hand.  People who do not live or work in this quiet residential area taking photographs of the fire.  I’ll admit I too was taking pictures after I made sure that everybody was out of the home and firemen had taken over the situation.  This being my instinct after my CERT training.  Nobody was injured so I grabbed my camera.  After shooting the blaze and the firemen who worked to put them out I decided to walk back to my home only to be approached by some men asking me who I was going to sell my photos to.  What? Really?  Do people find ways to profit on other peoples tragedy?

In times like these few people step up and assist the unfortunate souls who lost everything.  One neighbor brought out bags of clothes and blankets and another gave out bottles of water.

Let it be known: The LA Native is not for sale; he cannot be bought.

More Pictures:

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1st is the East Hollywood Earth Day Festival that will take place Saturday and Sunday April 25/26 at the Vermont / Santa Monica Metro Station in wonderful East Hollywood.  This event will have live music, green booths and more.  This event will also have a satellite location at the Cahuenga Branch Library located at 4591 Santa Monica Blvd just a few blocks East of the main festival where there Voices from Chernobyl will be performed at 1pm and later at 5pm on Saturday starring good friend Enci.

2nd is an event that I helped coordinate, The Empowerment Works, Humanity Uniting; Gallery Event located at Fifth Floor Gallery in Chinatown.  This event coincides with the quarterly Chinatown Art Walk and is a fundraiser for the Empowerment Works’ Orphan Care Program in Zimbabwe.

Displayed will be art by Carolina Marchiori, Michelle Carmen Gomez, Hieronymus, Rebecca Setareh, Aaron Edelson, Mike Chamness, Cathy Wysocki, Kevin Balluff, Rebecca Elswit, Bonnie Munoz, Toufic Beyhum, Nancy Mungcal, Renee Barron, Dana Arak, Sara Sikich, and more!

DJ Nero will be spinning and there will be drinks served by Transphusion.

Both events are free to the public.  Hope to see some of you there.

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