Saturday expects to find at least 100,000 people marching through downtown as part May Day rallies and protests in support of immigrant rights. Another rally is planned for Westwood. “Although nothing is planned for MacArthur Park, a traditional rallying point, spontaneous gatherings may occur, as well as at Echo Park,” said Lt. Wes Buhrmester with the LAPD Rampart Division. The LAPD will be sending out public text messages (mobile phone users can sign up by texting the word MAYDAY to 888-777) that will track the marches and events. Also, the MTA warned bus riders that 47 lines that run through downtown will be detoured on Saturday. “Metro customers are encourage to use the Metro Purple and Metro Red lines to get to the march and rally exiting on Pershing Square and/or Civic Center Metro Rail stations closest to Broadway,” the agency said.
Many Echo Park residents who live near the neighborhood’s strip of Sunset Boulevard bars and night spots have been complaining about rowdy and drunken bar and club goers. Apparently the scene has also worn thin with some of the patrons themselves. Los Angeles Times restaurant and bar blogger Jessica Gelt, an Echo Park resident, praises a new Echo Park area bar called 1642 in part because it’s located on Temple Street and away from the Sunset Boulevard bar scene:
“That’s important because these days, the section of Sunsetbetween Taix and the Short Stop has come to resemble a mini Sunset Strip at night; only instead of fratty types in flip-flops staggering to the House of Blues for another Bud Light, Echo Park has guys with ironic mustaches and pastel wolf shirts staggering from the Little Joy to the Gold Room for another beer and tequila combo meal.”
Some readers left comments taking issue with Gelt’s view of Echo Park’s version of the Sunset Strip and the hipsters it draws. In response, Gelt added a comment of her own:
“Apologies, I love Echo Park and perhaps feel fine makng fun of hipsters because I have been accused of being one. I do, however, stand by my statement that the bar corridor has become really obnoxious of late. Loud and often rude.”
Top left photo by The Eastsider; top right photo by Martin Orozco
An additional 30 police officers are expected to be deployed across Northeast Los Angeles following two recent gang-related killings in Cypress Park and Highland Park that ended a months-long period without deadly violence. Capt. William Murphy of the Northeast Division said today in an email newsletter that he has “requested additional resources from other police stations to increase our presence and take additional enforcement actions against the local gangs.” Murphy made the request one day after a male was shot and killed in Highland Park Wednesday afternoon and another male was injured several hours later during a shooting in Cypress Park. The Wednesday shootings come three days after a man died following a Cypress Park shooting early Sunday.
The second killing took place in Highland Park on Wednesday at about 5 PM when a 17-year-old male described as a gang member was shot multiple times while standing in front of an apartment building in the 300 block of North Avenue 57. “We had a patrol unit right around the corner and responded to the scene within seconds – but unfortunately the suspect’s vehicle had fled and we could not pick it up with our helicopters,” Murphy said. “The victim was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.”
A few hours later, another 17-year-old male standing was shot while standing on a street corner near Avenue 37 and Figueroa Street in Cypress Park. The victim, described as a member of the Avenues gang, survived the shooting but was in serious condition, police said. The shots were fired from a white vehicle with two male Latinos. “This is another gang related shooting involving the local gangs, Murphy said. “We are investigating if this incident is related to the Sunday shooting.”
The Northeast Division, which stretches from Los Feliz to Eagle Rock, had been murder-free since late December this week’s killings.
* This story has been updated from earlier versions with new information.
Photo by bcmacsac1/Flickr
The plans to build a high speed rail line near the Los Angeles River and through Cypress Park and Glassell Park has drawn opposition from river advocates, including Councilman Ed Reyes. So, after several years of lobbying federal officials and state railway builders, engineers involved in with the California High-Speed Rail Authority Line are looking at possibly shifting the rail line away from the river. Instead, after leaving Union Station, the train, under one scenario, would travel through a tunnel underneath the state parking now taking shape near Chinatown, Dodger Stadium and Elysian Park before emerging on the other side of the river, Reyes said today. “They are going to very careful how they come up the river way,” Reyes said at a luncheon hosted by the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum. “At Union Station, they are going look at going underground … under the Cornfield, under Dodger Stadium, under Elysian Park and pop up on the other side of the 2 Freeway or at Taylor Yard” near Cypress Park.
The tunnel proposal remains just that, and no decision has been made on what the final route will be. The council office itself has not decided whether it would support the new route under Elysian Park, said Jill Sourial, the council office’s point person on Los Angeles River issues. Reyes just wanted other alternatives than the 100-foot-wide trenches and massive bridges the rail authority had been proposing, Sourial said. “Give us some reasonable alternative to just the straightest line between points A and B,” she said.
Tunneling would be an expensive proposition, Sourial concedes. But the underground option might reduce the money the agency would have to spend on building at-grade crossings and neighborhood projects required to reduce the impact of an above surface line in the area. Sourial said she believes the agency is serious about studying a tunnel but a final set of alternatives won’t be presented until a draft environmental report is presented.
Image from California High-Speed Rail Authority
The Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic founded in 1968 has been a long-time Silver Lake fixture. The clinic’s thrift store – dubbed Berda of Paradise -has also been around for many years, helping to support the center by selling used and vintage items from a nearby mini mall since 1996. Budget cuts forced the center to reduce the size of Berda Paradise. The thrift store has remained in business but the opening of a Subway sandwich shop next door lead many people to think Berda of Paradise had closed, said clinic director Tacy Padua. On Friday, Berda of Paradise will hold a ceremony to remind residents that it remains open and to show off a refurbished interior as part of a three-day long block party and fundraiser involving many Silver Lake businesses. Many of the nearby Sunset Boulevard businesses will be holding raffles and events to benefit the clinic; some will even offer discounts to customers who make a donation
“The thrift store has been and still is an important source of revenue for basic clinic overhead expenses such as utilities, phones, required clinic insurance,” Padua said. “It truly keeps us going on a day to day basis!
Photo by Joan S./Yelp
The frequent email newsletters sent out by Capt. William Murphy of the Northeast LAPD Division usually includes a run down of recent statistics and major crimes in his division, which stretches from Silver Lake and Echo Park to Eagle Rock and Highland Park. In February, Murphy wrote about two “male blacks suspects” believed responsible for armed robberies of Highland Park stores along Figueroa Street. The description of the suspects’ race bothered Carl Johnson, editor of the UGLA News, the newsletter of the Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance, whose membership is based in Northeast Los Angeles. Johnson, in the March issue of his newsletter, republished Murphy’s account of the Highland Park robberies but deleted the word “black.” He wrote Murphy an email explaining why, which lead to a pointed but polite exchange between Johnson, a longtime supporter of law enforcement, and the veteran police officer. In the current issue of UGLA News, Johnson published the email exchange, excerpted below:
“I was surprised to notice that in the report under Highland Park,
you referred to “two black male” suspects. Nowhere else in your report did you make a racial designation of this type. In our newsletter we will be deleting the word “black” as it seems out of place in this otherwise very professional and important update.” – Carl Johnson
“We only state the race of the suspects if it helps the residents
and/or business owners identify potential suspects. It’s unusual to have male blacks commit robberies in Highland Park (virtually all the crime is committed by Hispanics or Whites there) … If you have been reading the newsletter for a while you will notice that I do talk about the race of the suspects from time to time. Nothing sinister here (have talked about Hispanic, white, Asian suspects prior).” – William Murphy
“As you state, since “virtually all of the crime in NELA
is being commited by White and Hispanics,” why single out the few blacks in your newsletter? I attended an LAPD Forum with Chief Charlie Beck at the Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles a few weeks ago. He spoke clearly and authoritatively about LAPD’s continuing effort to put an end to the stereotyping of LGBT folk. Unfortunately, the few black folk in NELA are now suspect.” – Carl Johnson
“Hi Carl: You have the right to your view
- do not agree at all with your response – but so be it. At some point you just have to trust us that we try to do the right thing. Take care. Bill” – William Murphy
The Lummis Day Festival is still more than a month way. But on Saturday night, the organizers of the festival will be holding a benefit featuring food, wine, live music and a silent auction at the historic Lummis House (pictured above) in Highland Park. Also happening this weekend is a Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival in Cypress Park; an opening reception for the Silver Lake Art Collective’s Eye Candy show; community clean ups in Echo Park and Highland Park; and school fundraisers and work days. Check out the schedule at Save the Date.
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