"Eagle Rock: Where land
use planning is a contact sport"
THE EAGLE ROCK ASSOCIATION
November 14, 2002
"Thanks for the TERA weekly update. I am continually amazed
by the level of professionalism and technical detail
your group is able to provide to your ever-increasing constituency.
What an asset to a community buried in the LA bureaucratic shuffle.
I've only seen such vigor and intelligence in Larchmont and Brentwood in LA,
and even they don't compare. Keep up the fine work -- while frustrating
--
very rewarding for the betterment of the community."
-- Tom Eidem, noted economic development advisor, San Clemente
In this issue:
1. COLORADO TERRACE SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT
MEETING -- NOVEMBER 19
2. POSSIBLE ESTABLISHMENT OF "PHILIPPINE VILLAGE"
3. "PHILIPPINE VILLAGE" DISCUSSION
4. WALGREENS APPEAL HEARING -- DECEMBER 11
5. HELP TERA IDENTIFY LOCAL COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES FOR LANDMARK STATUS
6. CRIME WAVE IN EAGLE ROCK
7. ATWATER VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL MEETING -- NOVEMBER 14 AND
DECEMBER 12
8. BLOOD DRIVE AT THE EAGLE ROCK TRADER JOE'S -- NOVEMBER 16
9. TENTH ANNUAL ARROYO ARTS COLLECTIVE DISCOVER TOUR -- NOVEMBER 24
10. LOS ANGELES 3-1-1
11. SEND YOUR NAME AND THOSE OF YOUR FAMILY TO MARS -- REALLY
12. FREE HYBRID TEA ROSES
13. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
14. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
1. COLORADO TERRACE SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT ANNOUNCEMENT MEETING --
NOVEMBER 19
Colorado Terrace will hold a Groundbreaking Announcement Meeting on November
19, 2002, 7:00 p.m. at the Eagle Rock Community and Cultural Center, located at
2225 Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock. The public is invited to attend to
hear all about the project and to view displays relating to it.
Refreshments will be served.
Colorado Terrace is a mixed-use housing complex with 70 units of senior citizen
housing and 9,000 square feet of commercial space to be built at the
intersection of Colorado Boulevard and College View Avenue in Eagle Rock.
The project will provide 28 market-rate and 42 affordable one-bedroom senior
citizen units. The ground floor and second floor is designated for commercial
use and are expected to be occupied by a market, a restaurant, and retail and
medical offices. Start of construction is expected between the dates of
December 2002 to February 2003.
The project is the first of its kind to be built under the Colorado Boulevard
Specific Plan. The community of Eagle Rock established the Colorado
Boulevard Specific Plan approximately 10 years ago as their vision of the
future for their neighborhood. The Specific Plan is geared to induce
pedestrian traffic through bringing more restaurant and retail business into
the section of Colorado Boulevard that is in the City of Los Angeles between
Glendale and Pasadena. Alongside the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan, a
business revitalization area is also being established.
Over a period of three years, the sponsor met with various community
organizations and obtained input to come up with a development that the
community desired to see in their neighborhood. More than 50 meetings
were held with various groups in the community. The final design that was
developed gained very strong support from all of the community organizations in
Eagle Rock. Subsequently, the community organizations asked the City's
help and assistance in making this project a reality.
The Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce and The Eagle Rock Association (TERA) were
the first to support the project.
As part of the improvements that the project brings to the community, the
intersection at Colorado Boulevard and College View will be signalized.
The project will also provide historic lights and lined palm trees at the
intersection, which are intended to make the intersection a more noticeable
one, as it constitutes one of the gateways to Eagle Rock. The project is
located across from a major regional mall, Westfield Shopping Town Eagle Rock.
As part of the public works improvements, the Public Works Department recently
relocated a 400-foot portion of an old sewer line to make way for the development.
Furthermore, sponsors of the development, in partnership with the
Department of Water and Power, will undertake the under-grounding of all aerial
power and telephone lines within a one-block radius, totaling 2,000 feet and 13
power poles. The combination of these improvements is expected to change
the face of the intersection and overall community.
A 140-kilowatt solar power plant is integrated into the project on its roof.
This will provide all of the electricity consumption on a day-and-night, "net
zero" basis for all power needs of the development, except for private
lease spaces. The solar power plant will be built with substantial
financial assistance from the Department of Water and Power under their solar
power program. This solar power system will be the largest ever installed
on an urban infill residential project in the nation.
Another first for the project is the integration of a rain water recycling
system that has been permitted for the first time by the City of Los Angeles as
a test case. This system collects roof rainwater into a large cistern and
pumps the water for toilet and irrigation use. It is expected to reduce
toilet water used from the City's system by 50% or more, technically bringing
the amount of water used per flush down to 0.5 gallons, instead of the
low-flush toilets' 1.5 gallon per flush. This system is expected to be
sponsored by the Department of Water and Power, although as of this date, an
agreement has not been finalized. A side benefit of this system is preventing
up to 500,000 gallons of rainwater annually from going into the storm drain
system of the City.
The facility will offer an 8,000-square-foot vegetable garden with plots
designated for use by residents, and a rose garden and an orchard with more than
40 fruit trees. The project will also provide 8,500 square feet of indoor
community spaces equipped with a computer room for seniors to take classes, a
library, a TV room, and an arts and crafts room.
The project will be a state-of-the-art development with a digital TV security
system that can be monitored by all residents, and computerized common-area
operations such as lighting, sound, fire alarm, electric motor readings, solar
power plant generation, water recycling facility will be monitored through the
building computer. Also, part of the project has a 70-foot-high corner
tower designed as required by the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan.
The building will exceed the energy efficiency requirements
imposed by the government for new buildings by more than 35%.
An internal truck loading dock facility (the first in Eagle Rock) has been
integrated into the design of the building to further elevate the quality of
the project.
The development has been designed with parking provided for the most intense
possible commercial uses, such as market and restaurant uses. The
sponsor, expecting the project to be a big success, decided to provide 118
parking spaces, 13 more than the 105 parking spaces required by Code.
The development received financial assistance from the Community Redevelopment
Agency, Housing Department, Community Development Department, Department of
Public Works, and the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles
in the form of low-interest loans, grants, and infrastructure assistance.
It has also received assistance from the State of California, housing tax
credits, and an allocation to issue tax-exempt bonds. The mortgage is
expected to be assisted by the federal government, through the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, by providing FHA insurance, which is hoped to
reduce the interest rate to 6% on a 40-year fixed-rate loan.
The total development cost is expected to be approximately $21 million dollars.
Expected occupancy is in May 2004.
The sponsor of the development is Mr. Kurken Alyanakian with DDCM Incorporated.
The sponsor has a 20-year record of providing quality affordable housing
developments within the City of Los Angeles and other southern California
communities.
The designer is Jeffrey Samudio, of Design Aid Architects in Hollywood, with
substantial experience in historic building architecture. The executive
architect is Donald Jacobs of JBZ Architecture and Planning in Newport Beach,
California. The contractor, Mert Isaacman, with Southern Sun Construction
Company in Irvine, California, specializes in affordable housing projects.
The solar power plant is designed and will be built by Schott Applied
Power Corporation, the largest solar power company in the nation. The
plumbing and electrical engineer is Cliff Ishii, who also designed the rain
water recycling system.
The following is a list of individuals who got personally involved in the
process with the City and spent extraordinary efforts and personal attention to
make Colorado Terrace happen:
Councilmember Nick Pacheco; Mr. James Santa Maria, 14th District Council Office
Legislative Deputy; Ms. Maryam Torben, 14th District Council Office Planning
Deputy; Mr. Bob Sutton, Deputy Planning Director, Planning Department; Mr. Gary
Pinney, General Manager, Housing Department; Mr. Ralph Esparza, Assistant
General Manager, Housing Department; Mr. Bopken Simonian, Housing Production
Director, Housing Department; Mr. Andrew Adelman, General Manager, Building and
Safety Department; Mr. Ray Chan, Director, Bureau of Engineering; Mr. Lincoln
Lee, Plan Check Division, Planning Department; Ms. Adriana Rubalcava, Board of
Public Works; Mr Jasper Williams, Director, Community Development Department;
Mr. Ernest Tidwell, Finance Officer, Commuity Development Department; Ms. Sarah
Dussault, Assistant Deputy Mayor, Mayor's Office; Ms. Hilary Norton Orozco,
District 14th Council office (Former Chief of Staff); Ms. Bernadette Kirkwood,
Director, Economic Development Department, DWP; Mr Jerome Champion, Director, HUD,
LA Area Office; Mr. Joe Hirsch, Deputy Director, HUD; and Mr. Mike Cracraft,
Finance Officer, Community Redevelopment Agency.
Special thanks go to Council member Nick Pacheco, Andrew Adelman at Building
and Safety, Bob Sutton at Planning, and Sarah Dussault at the Mayor's office.
2. POSSIBLE ESTABLISHMENT OF "PHILIPPINE VILLAGE"
As many of you know, representatives of the Philippine Village Center on Eagle
Rock Boulevard propose to place an official City of Los Angeles designation,
including City signage, called "Philippine Village," encompassing the
Eagle Rock Boulevard area from Norwalk Avenue in Eagle Rock down to Avenue 40
in Glassell Park.
It has been decided that the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council will work jointly
with the Glassell Park Neighborhood Council in exploring this issue further.
The Neighborhood Councils are considered neutral parties and are the
appropriate venues through which to resolve local issues. TERA is in full
support of this process, and we look forward to working with the Filipino
community in the future for the betterment of all of Eagle Rock. We will
keep you apprised of any developments.
For more information about this proposal, please call the Philippine Village
at (323) 344-3500 or send e.mail to radiomla@aol.com
and/or philippinevillage@philippinevillage.net.
For the purpose of promoting a wider community discussion, we invite your
comments, all of which we will post in our e.letter at artburn@earthlink.net, unless you request
otherwise.
A petition which opposes this special designation is also currently being
circulated. For more information, please contact erinfo@webtv.net or call (323) 257-2197.
3. "PHILIPPINE VILLAGE" DISCUSSION
"Regarding: Philippine Village Movement
Dear Business Neighbors, Clergy and Residents:
In mid-October it came to my attention that petitions are being circulated
throughout Eagle Rock and our surrounding neighborhoods to designate a portion
of Eagle Rock between Avenue 40 [in Glassell Park] and Norwalk Avenue [in
Eagle Rock] as 'Philippine Village.' This process would be done
through the city with official signs posted along Eagle Rock Boulevard.
What especially concerns me and the other Chamber directors and members
is the wording of the last sentence on their information page -- 'Your
support to this very significant movement means empowerment for the
Filipino-American community in the United States.' What does that
sound like to you? Did this group of people not move to America to join
the multi-cultured diversity of the land of the FREE? Did we not welcome
them? Why should one ethnic group in a small culturally diverse community
be recognized any more than any other ethnic group?
The Filipino group that is petitioning released information to the press
stating there is over 80% Filipinos in Eagle Rock. The United States
Census Bureau reports there is 18.4% Filipinos, while the Caucasians are 48.4%
and the Hispanics are 24.8%, with a small mix of other ethnicities. A
quote from the petitioners' literature -- 'The time has come for a motion
that directs a designation to be passed by the City Council to recognize the
Filipino community here in Eagle Rock and the surrounding communities of
Glassell Park, Highland Park and Mt. Washington.' Well, I ask, when
do the 'Americans' that grew up here or, for that matter, live and work here
today get recognition and have a portion of Eagle Rock designated on their
behalf?
Needless to say, we (business owners, residents and clergy alike) are in
opposition to the designation of any portion of our community to any one ethnic
group. We believe in a 'United Eagle Rock.'
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, when she was a member of our City Council, moved
forward a designation on Temple Street for 'Historic Filipinotown,' an area
where Filipinos first settled in the city, which is a great place to have been
designated on behalf of the Filipino people. Like any other ethnic group,
one area designation in the city should be sufficient.
The Chamber has petitions circulating opposing this movement. If you
would like further information, please call the Chamber office at (323)
257-2197. You may sign or pick up a petition at 1063 Colorado Boulevard,
Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
All signed petitions must be turned in at the above address no later than
Tuesday, November 19.
A community meeting regarding this movement for designation will be held on
November 21, 2002, at the Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center, 2225 Colorado
Boulevard from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Interested parties are
encouraged to attend. Your voice is important to our community.
Let's keep Eagle Rock Empowerment for all its people.
Respectfully --"
-- Dr. George Shapiro, president, Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce (and a Latino
Jew)
"I would like to voice my opposition to this movement. I have lived in
Eagle Rock for almost 50 years and it has always been a cultural melting pot.
But it has always remained -- Eagle Rock. To start splitting it off
to appease various ethnic groups could start a trend that would decimate our
community.
I am of Italian descent -- should we not then have 'Italian Town?' My wife is
German -- how about 'German Town.' Where does it stop? If it's fair
for the Filipino community then it MUST be fair for each ethnic group. Or
do we decide on the basis of percentages? Not a workable suggestion at
all.
While I have the greatest respect for our Filipino residents, my feeling is
that Eagle Rock was here first, they were welcomed into our community to help
it grow, not to change it. And, to make my motives perfectly clear, they
are 'still' welcome as members of the EAGLE ROCK community. Thanks
--"
-- Vic Baron, Eagle Rock resident
"I am strongly opposed to the designation of 'Philippine Village' in Eagle
Rock. We enjoy a true melting pot of cultural diversity in Eagle Rock.
I don't feel that any race or culture should get top billing or special
designation. This would only seem to create divisiveness.
Additionally, aesthetically the designation seems to be in opposition to TERA's
vision for Eagle Rock. I want to see changes in Eagle Rock that will tend
to beautify and enhance the physical characteristics and surroundings and
embrace the historical architectural roots. I've got a vested interest in
the success and improvement of this town.
Bottom line, I want to see changes that will increase property values and
improve way of life. A designation of any race would tend to exclude
others not of that race. The designation would make it more difficult for
Eagle Rock to attract non-Filipino home buyers and businesses and to maintain
its current non-Filipino homeowners and businesses. This would also
negatively impact property values.
This same situation has been borne out in the examples of 'Little Saigon' and
'Koreatown.' A designation that promotes one culture over another will
marginalize the rest of our population and be an overall detriment to the
future of our town. This is not my vision for the future of Eagle
Rock."
-- Alyssa Bellew, Eagle Rock resident and TERA Member
"As a first generation American of Hispanic heritage, I support
appropriate recognition of diverse cultures through community festivals,
special events, ethnic eateries, and niche businesses. However, I do not
support initiatives that impose any single ethnic identity upon a diverse
neighborhood.
Eagle Rock has been able to create a harmonious integrated community that
embraces all cultures. Although I have recently learned that there is a
large Filipino population in Eagle Rock, it is not overtly apparent by driving
down the proposed section of Eagle Rock Blvd. as it is in areas such as
Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Armenia and others. I would suggest that
these ethnic enclaves were granted their cultural designations after many years
of strong cultural identification as well as community/civic development and
business growth serving their residents. It appears to me that the
Filipino community in Eagle Rock has not reached that level of development and
visibility.
Another important note is that our Filipino residents were already honored by
the LA City Council in July 2002 with the official city designation of
'Historic Filipinotown' located in the Temple-Beverly Corridor just 5 miles
away. This area is reported to have 'one of the highest concentrations of
Filipinos in Los Angeles County.' It is home to one of the largest
Filipino-American murals in the nation as well as the Filipino American
Library, many Filipino civic organizations and the annual Filipino American
Veterans March for Equity. (Please see articles at: http://www.pinoylife.com/article.php?sid=61 and http://www.pinoylife.com/article.php?sid=7 ).
I like the ethnic-neutrality and historic charm that the Eagle Rock name
communicates, and I strongly oppose the additional city designation of
'Philippine Village' in the Eagle Rock/Glassell Park area."
-- Rafael M. Lopes, new Eagle Rock resident
"I would like to state my position on the proposed Philippine Village
issue. I am a resident of Eagle Rock where we celebrate the diversity of
a community of long-time residents melding with new neighbors from here and
abroad. I am opposed to all of those distinctions, except those which
make sense like Chinatown or Koreatown where there is an abundance of
businesses of that cultural distinction.
Establishing a cultural distinction would be in direct conflict with our goals
of maintaining a diverse community serving all cultures. It would be
entirely inappropriate for such a distinction to be made whether it be
Philippine or any other culture.
Another consideration should be that if the Philippine people believe that they
need an area designated as theirs -- it already exists in HISTORIC FILIPINOTOWN
which is in the area of First Street and Glendale Blvd. near downtown. We
Eagle Rockers must not allow this type of divisive movement to impact our area.
How beautiful it would be if we can maintain the standards of diversity
and recognizing all cultures equally by not allowing Eagle Rock to be labeled
AT ALL. WE MUST!"
-- Joan Early, Eagle Rock resident and TERA member
"We are very much against being called Philippine Village. We
happen to be in that area designated for that purpose -- Las Colinas Ave.
Eagle Rock is just starting to be a community of which to be proud.
We have lived here for many years, having graduated from ER High School
and raised a family. Eagle Rock is now on an upward trend -- receiving
recognition as a place to live -- a hip community and real estate value.
It seems renaming a part of it would be taking a giant step backward.
I thought we as Americans were suppose to be working towards a more culturally
and ethically integrated community -- not segregated. Why do we have to
identify with a certain ethic group -- like Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Saigon,
Japaneseville (Monterey Park), Little Armenia, etc.
Shame on us for going backward. Bad move. What a display of
insensitive aggressiveness on the part of the Filipino people."
-- Steve and Marilyn Mason
"I attended the meeting at Philippine Village tonight, 11/07/02. It
was a travesty. With the gross incivility of a number of Eagle Rock
residents -- especially several hyper-aggressive and breathtakingly offensive
self-identified 'Mexican' women, of whom one actually claimed that we were 'on
Mexican soil, right here, right now' -- I was really turned off. I was
embarrassed by the nearly racist statements and tones of a number of my
Caucasian and Hispanic neighbors and several of them actually appeared to be
off their (Eagle) rockers. A fist-fight nearly broke out at the beginning
of the meeting between a couple of Caucasian men when one of them -- an
inarticulate plumber -- spoke out in a very offensive way against the proposal
and he made some derogatory remarks about another Caucasian man in the back of
the room, who took umbrage with those remarks.
Then, at the tail-end of the meeting a couple of Filipinos started arguing
heatedly and a fist-fight nearly broke out between them. That altercation
ended the meeting and the cops had to be called. It was a disgusting
display of civic rudeness, of a tremendous breakdown in civility and just plain
courtesy, and it was doubly shocking to me because there were a number of
youngsters in the audience who appeared to be in their mid-to-late teens, and
what they were seeing was a version of the 'Jerry Springer Show' being brought
to their neighborhood. The adults were sending a message that it's
acceptable to engage in yelling, interruption, lack of respect, intolerance,
and that 'might makes right.'
The Filipinos who organized the meeting at the behest of Councilman Nick
Pacheco did an extraordinarily poor job in putting together the program and the
way they conducted it was typical of Filipino meetings, but since most of the
attendees were non-Filipinos it was very offensive. I see both worlds
since I'm a Caucasian married to a Filipina, and I've already gone through my
period of major 'culture shock,' but for non-Filipinos it was quite a shock to
the system. The MC, Awee (pronounced "OW-ee") Abayari, and the
Chairperson/prime mover, Oscar Jornacion, really should have first had the
meeting with the members of the Filipino-American community and raised their
consciousness before reaching out to their non-Filipino neighbors for approval
of the proposal.
I was also troubled because Mr. Jornacion's inability to articulate a clear,
simple, easily-understood purpose of the proposal, with well-defined benefits
or justifications, made it seem like the Filipinos wanted to change all of
Eagle Rock to 'Philippine Village.' The Caucasian plumber who started out
the mob's comments -- and I do mean to say mob -- insulted the
Philippine Consul, Malou Montero, by asking, in nearly these exact words, 'What
is this proposal, anyway, some kind of "adverse possession" of Eagle
Rock [by the Philippine government]?'
A gentleman---tall, thin, thick accent, self-identified as an immigrant -- made
this observation during his turn at the microphone: 'You [Filipinos] say you
want to be good neighbors, but we NEVER see Filipinos painting over graffiti,
planting trees, participating in our monthly community clean-ups, or showing us
that you are actively involved in helping to improve our community. Why
should we believe you when you say you are good neighbors?' Well, it's
hard to argue with that point.
I could go on and on, but both sides displayed an appalling lack of mutual
respect, civility/courtesy to one another, and self-discipline in the presence
of young people who were no doubt drawing their own rather negative conclusions
about the so-called 'adults' in their midst. In fact, the most mature comment
of all came from a 19-year-old Latina who, essentially, said that we have only
one race -- the human race -- and we need to stop doing the things that divide
us, such as this proposal for a designation of 'Philippine Village.'"
Anyway, I plan to have a private conversation with Oscar Jornacion and his
marketing manager, Awee Abayari, to reiterate the concern that this is neither
the place nor the time to push for the type of 'recognition' they are craving.
Now, if they want to put in some signs that say 'Welcome to Eagle Rock,'
well, they have my vote."
-- Steve Watkins, Eagle Rock resident
"I'm against further division of this community for any reason.
Who do I write? Thanks --"
-- Pat Rollie, Eagle Rock resident
"Keep up the great job of informing us about everything that is 'Eagle
Rock.' I know more about what is going on in my community than I ever did
when I lived in Pasadena.
As for the Philippine Village issue -- count me as an opponent of this
concept. I oppose it not because the Filipinos in our community aren't
worthy of recognition, but because Eagle Rock and Glassell Park are so diverse,
that an area designation for one group feels to me like segregation, as well as
one designation might lead to more designations from the other populous in
Eagle Rock, thereby breaking up the existing community. We are working on
making Eagle Rock a unified and diverse community and this would not aid our
efforts. One of the things that attracted me to Eagle Rock was the
diversity and how it all fit under one designation, 'Eagle Rock.'"
-- Maria N. Nazario, Eagle Rock resident and TERA member
"I'd like to know how I can help keep the designation of part of Eagle Rock
as Philippine Village from happening. I feel it would cause a split in
our great community and would like to help. Is there a petition we can
sign, are there letters we should send, are there flyers we can distribute?
Is there a future meeting to attend? Thanks in advance for any
direction you can give."
-- Kathy Stevens, Eagle Rock resident
"Dear Editor -- I would like to comment about the meeting regarding the
proposed designation of Philippine Village that occurred last Thursday night.
The meeting should have been an opportunity for the community to discuss
the proposal, and all parties should have had a chance to state their views in
a civil environment. I am sorry to say that while I was there many people
let their anger draw them into uncivil behavior.
The very long introductions and the irrelevance of endorsements from mayors of
other cities and the employees of a foreign consulate was abrasive indeed.
Still, that is no excuse for bad manners. I left the meeting after
two men started to call each other out to fight and a woman in the audience
started screaming about how we were all standing in Mexico.
I would have liked to join a two-way discussion about why I feel the
designation of an additional Filipino area in our city would be divisive and
counterproductive for our neighborhood; however, the behavior of the attendees
at this meeting did not allow for that kind of discourse. The meeting was
a perfect example of how this proposed designation would tear our budding sense
of community asunder.
Even though all of their speakers claimed the proposal was not exclusionary,
their priest said his prayer in Tagalog, which was exclusionary on several
levels. I was further put off when -- after an extraordinarily long
introduction -- the head of the proposal committee tried to explain how it
would not be divisive by describing the benefits to all the 'Americans, Blacks,
Latinos and Filipinos in the room.' Certainly Blacks, Latinos and
Filipinos are 'Americans' as much as whomever he was calling 'Americans.'
I bring this up to exemplify that however subconscious his separatist
view may be, it exists and was evident in his statement.
The gentleman also stated that if given the designation they would do more to
enhance our area. If they are sincere about wishing to do more to improve
our neighborhood, then why must they get this designation before they start?
Their involvement is welcome now and should not require any kind of
special pay-off to obtain it.
If they truly want to improve our community, then please start with that
'eyesore' of a building currently called The Philippine Village Center. I
am sure the building is very functional, but it looks like a prison compound.
It is given only the barest amount of maintenance required and there have
been no attempts made to make the exterior attractive in the 11 years I have
lived in this area. Another example is the strip mall at Eagle Rock and
Avenue 40. This mall is full of Filipino businesses, and its parking lot
is always full of trash which is hardly ever cleaned up.
I am never impressed when someone tells me that they will do something
altruistic after they get what they want. If the leaders of this movement
are sincere, why don't they do more to improve our neighborhood now?
I acknowledge that the Americans of Filipino descent are an important part of
the Glassell Park/Eagle Rock community, but they are not more important than
any other part of it. They do own many of the businesses in the area but
that does not make this area theirs alone.
If for no other reason, we should not allow this proposed designation because
it will create anger that might separate our community just when we seem to be
coming together on many fronts. I have been very excited by the recent
increase of activism in our community, and it is satisfying to participate in
it.
I would encourage these leaders who have invested so much time and energy
trying to get this signage on our boulevard to take that energy and enhance the
appearance of the businesses they own. I would also like to see these
leaders invest time and energy into some of the more global issues currently
facing the Eagle Rock/Glassell Park area. We have many issues that
transcend ethnic special interest which everyone can agree on. For instance,
I think that we all have a desire to increase property values through planned
growth. I think it is time for the community to come up with a universal
vision of where we see our area in 20 years and then pull together to achieve
that goal.
Our area is a great and historic part of Los Angeles, and if we can focus on
unity and work together we could make the city government see us for what we
are and not as the industrial wasteland they seem to think we are. If we
work together as a community, we can turn our area into something greater than
it already is. There is no reason we cannot be a Silver Lake, Pasadena or
Glendale.
I would ask that this designation not be approved. I hope that in spite
of its failure, we will see the Filipino community increase their participation
in the broadly diverse community of activists in our area.
Though this meeting was not an opportunity to have a productive conversation,
it was an opportunity to see how fragile the sense of community is in Los
Angeles these days. We absolutely don't need anything forced on us that
will divide us further.
Thank you for the forum to express what I did not have the chance to express at
the Thursday night meeting. Sincerely --"
-- Robert Boothby, Eagle Rock resident
4. WALGREENS APPEAL HEARING -- DECEMBER 11
As we previously reported, TERA has appealed the Planning Department's
misguided decision to approve the current Walgreens proposal, and so have at
least three other interested parties. The appeal hearing before the East
Area Planning Commission will take place Wednesday, December 11, at 4:30 p.m.,
at Ramona Hall, 4580 N. Figueroa Street in Highland Park. We
encourage you all to attend and be heard.
We cannot emphasize this enough. The proposal as it stands is ILLEGAL,
and, if it were to be approved by the East Area Planning Commission, it would
bear lasting negative consequences on future development in Eagle Rock AND
THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. We cannot allow Eagle Rock's vastly
improving commercial district to be thrown off course, to be sacrificed for the
errors of those who are ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC, and to be served up as
guinea pig for the introduction of backward land-use law.
Eagle Rock wants and needs to MOVE FORWARD, not regress. We have fought
long and hard to rise above and beyond bad development. Please help us
get there.
5. HELP TERA IDENTIFY LOCAL COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES FOR LANDMARK
STATUS
The TERA Land Use and Planning Committee is about to prepare a survey to
identify Eagle Rock's commercial structures that deserve consideration for
historic preservation and/or may qualify for registration with various historic
preservation groups.
Our primary goal is give the community a primer that identifies leading
preservation candidates, describes the preservation listing process, informs
ownership (and prospective ownership) of the benefits, both monetary and
regulatory, of a listed building and the creation of an Appendix of
professional help to aid in the process. We would like to take a bit of
the alchemy out of the process for existing and prospective owners/developers
so that they might see real value in preservation.
The survey process will give its members extremely valuable information and background
(at the graduate level) regarding Historic Preservation and the process
surrounding the Listing process.
If you have an interest in Historic Preservation, or the maintenance of Eagle
Rock's "Hometown" atmosphere, this is a great opportunity to be
involved and pro-active with future development in Eagle Rock. If you
would like additional information, time schedule etc., please call or email
me.
Dan Paul
310-594-1155 (weekday afternoons or weekends)
danielfpaul@earthlink.net
6. CRIME WAVE IN EAGLE ROCK
We sent the following letter to Mayor Hahn, LAPD Chief Bratton, Northeast LAPD
Captain Jackson, and Council member Nick Pacheco:
As president of The Eagle Rock
Association (TERA), a residents organization with over 1,000 members, I am writing
to ask for your help. The members of Eagle Rock's business district are
being victimized by a steady wave of criminal activity. Graffiti,
break-ins, window smashing, window acid-etching graffiti and strong-arm
robberies are just some of the ongoing problems our businesses are facing.
Because the residents of our community patronize our businesses, this
problem affects us as well.
At the request of Senior Lead Officer Joe Galindo, a business watch meeting was
organized by the Eagle Rock/Colorado Boulevard Business Neighborhood Watch.
This meeting took place October 24, 2002, and 50 business people
attended, which is a record number of attendees. We think this clearly
indicates we have a major problem, and it demonstrates that business owners are
extremely concerned. It was reported that by show of hands, one quarter
of the meeting attendees had had their businesses victimized in the previous
week; one third within the previous month; one half within the previous six
months; and three quarters of those who attended the meeting had been a victim
of crime in the previous year. Crime in our community has become out of
control.
The Los Angeles Police Department officers at the Northeast Station are
helpful, but what our businesses need, The Northeast LAPD can't currently
provide. What we need are more nighttime patrols. Most of this
criminal activity has been occurring between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and4:00
a.m.
If you were to remove one patrol car from the Eagle Rock/Glassell Northeast
area, we would have none at all. The single one we have covers an area
half the size of Burbank. (By the way, Burbank has a minimum of six cars
patrolling at night, and14 on weekends.) Simply put, we desperately need
more patrol cars. After all, this has been a relatively low-crime area.
The problem is the criminals also know it. They are now coming from
other areas to target us, because they know there are next to no police patrols
here.
If you want to help us take back the city from the criminals, please show the
business people and residents of our community that the police are on our side,
and they will be on yours.
Thank you very much for your serious consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Joanne Turner, President
The Eagle Rock Association
If you, too, would like to write letters, the respective addresses are listed
below:
Captain Kyle Jackson
LAPD Northeast Division
3353 San Fernando Road
Los Angeles CA 90065
Honorable Mayor James Hahn
City Hall
200 N. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Police Chief William Bratton
Parker Center
150 N. Los Angeles Street
Los Angeles CA 90012
Honorable Nick Pacheco
Council Member, 14th District
Los Angeles City Hall
200 N. Main Street, Room 245
Los Angeles, CA 90012
and e-mail:
npacheco@council.lacity.org
mayorhahn@mayor.lacity.org
jacksonk@lapd.lacity.org
We'd like to thank Tom Topping for spearheading this letter-writing effort.
7. ATWATER VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL MEETING -- NOVEMBER 14 AND
DECEMBER 12
The next two monthly meetings for the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council
will be held Thursday, November 14 and Thursday, December 12th at the Glen
Feliz Elementary School Auditorium, 3955 Glenfeliz Blvd., L.A., CA 90039,
(entrance to auditorium is on Hollypark) from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
As we await word on our submitted application, we are going forward with work
on our neighborhood. Come join us! We have many different ways for
you to get involved in making Atwater Village a better place to live.
Questions or comments please call Lenore: 323/669-0892, Roberta: 323/669-0997,
Mark: 323/661-7612, LinMin: 323/662-6880, or email Elisa: eabelleira@harmonygold.com
8. BLOOD DRIVE AT THE EAGLE ROCK TRADER JOE'S -- NOVEMBER 16
Be a lifesaver! Give blood! Please donate at the Eagle Rock Trader
Joe's Community Event Blood Drive, and be someone's hero!
Saturday, November 16, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Bloodmobile in the
Trader Joe's parking lot, located at 1566 Colorado Boulevard. Please
contact the American Red Cross at (213) 739-5491 to schedule your appointment,
or sign up at Trader Joe's or call the store at (323) 257-6422.
T-shirts for all participants. Thanks!
9. TENTH ANNUAL ARROYO ARTS COLLECTIVE DISCOVER TOUR -- NOVEMBER 24
The Arroyo Arts Collective, a grassroots community arts organization in
Northeast Los Angeles, will presents it 10th Anniversary Discovery Tour -- a
self-guided auto tour of art in Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Mount Washington
- on November 24 from 10 until 4. This year the Tour will feature the
work of over 60 artists in media ranging from traditional plein-air painting to
cutting edge video. Tour goers can get to know artists in unique studio
settings ranging from storefronts and funky garages to landmark Craftsman
homes. Local artisans also will display crafts in the courtyard of the
historic Charles Lummis Home where the Tour begins.
The Eagle Rock Community Cultural Center will also host a companion exhibition
during November of work by artists participating in the Tour with a reception
on Friday, November 15 from 7 to 10. Tour tickets can be purchased in
advance ($10) online at http://www.ArroyoArtsCollective.org,
at Galco's Old World Grocery (5702 York Boulevard), at Avenue 50 Studio (135 N.
Avenue 50) and at Gallery Figueroa (135 N. Avenue 50). Tickets ($15) and
maps will be available at the Lummis Home (200 E. Avenue 43) the day of the
Tour. For further information log on to http://www.ArroyoArtsCollective.org
or call 323 850-8566.
10. LOS ANGELES 3-1-1
Have you heard the 3-1-1 on L.A.?
Instead of sorting through hundreds of listings in the phone book or having to
know which City department handles potholes, lighting or any other service, LA
residents and businesses can now dial 3-1-1 to access city services. An
online directory is also available at http://www.lacity.org.
11. SEND YOUR NAME AND THOSE OF YOUR FAMILY TO MARS -- REALLY
NASA is collecting names to send to Mars aboard one of the Mars Exploration
Rovers scheduled for launch next year. To send your name to Mars, go to:
http://spacekids.hq.nasa.gov/2003/nameform.cfm
The deadline is soon: You must submit your name by midnight (Eastern
Standard Time) on Friday, November 15th, 2002.
Please pass this along to anyone who might be interested. NASA hopes to
send several million names to Mars.
12. FREE HYBRID TEA ROSES
An Eagle Rock neighbor is relandscaping her front yard and would like to remove
some existing hybrid tea roses. If you or anyone you know is interested
in adopting these beautiful rose plants, please contact Christopher at calee168@hotmail.com. Thanks.
13. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
"Christine Zardeneta helped me to put my son in Eagle Rock High School.
I will always be grateful to her for that. She was wonderful to me
and will be missed. Christine is also an art lover. I
originally met her in a printmaking workshop maybe ten years ago, so we should
be seeing her at some of our local art openings. I'm sure she'll be
welcomed wherever she goes."
-- Kathy Gallegos, Avenue 50 Studio in Highland Park
"Thanks. You are wonderful . . . we so appreciate your publishing
the newsletter and keeping us at the lead edge of what is going on in our
neighborhood."
-- Harlan and Ginny Moyer, Eagle Rock residents
14. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"You must be the change you wish
to see in the world."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
We welcome your comments. Please include your
name, where you live, and whether you are a TERA member.
Joanne Turner <artburn@earthlink.net>
President, The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)