Happening Today: Tindersticks concert, El Sereno; York Boulevard tree planting, Highland Park; “Pinhole & Chemistry of Film” lecture, Echo Park; L.A. River clean up & concert; Save the Date
Get to the L.A. River on Saturday for La Gran Limpieza, this year’s big clean up sponsored by the Friends of The Los Angeles River. Volunteers should sign up in advance to help out at several riverside communities, including Atwater Village, Cypress Park, Elysian Valley and Glassell Park. In conjunction with La Gran Limpieza, the L.A. River Day of Service features a welcome by Mayor Villaraigosa and a concert by Ozomatli at Rio de Los Angeles State Park, where KCET will also interview residents and recording their stories and memories about the river.
In other events, a Cat Cult street art show opens in Echo Park tonight and an exhibit of historical photos and essays on Boyle Heights opens Saturday at Heritage Square in Montecito Heights. There are also kid and pet centric events this weekend, including a Festival of Childhood street fair in Echo Park and a low-cost dog neuter clinic in Atwater. Check out Eastside Mix for some live-music recommendations and then head over to Save the Date for even more things to do.
Last summer, The Eastsider reported on Sunset Junction mural – La Nuestra Reina de Las Iguanas – that was obscured after a supergraphic ad promoting the singer/rapper M.I.A. was installed on the side of the Sunset Boulevard building. The mural of a wide-eyed Zapotec woman wearing a crown of iguanas was quickly restored to public view (top photo) once the city began investigating whether that supergraphic was an illegal sign. Earlier this week, however, a crew of workers whitewashed over the entire Sunset Boulevard artwork and it replaced with a two-story sign promoting Newcastle beer (bottom photo).
There is no record of a permit being pulled for a sign to be placed on the building, according to online information on the city’s Building & Safety Department website.
“The mural as it was needed some TLC,”said a passerby named Kat, who contacted The Eastsider after noticing the most recent cover up. “But I hate billboards and ads just as much as the next person.”
Swinging time away at the new addition to Elysian Park. Photo by Mary-Austin Klein.
Councilman Eric Garcetti and residents were on hand Thursday afternoon for the grand opening of five acres of new parkland that stretches from Riverside Drive in Elysian Valley up to the hills of Elysian Heights. The $880,000 park, which serves as an extension of
Eric Garcetti
nearby Elysian Park, has been in the making for more than a decade after residents were able to halt the construction of a giant warehouse on the site in the early 1990s. Garcetti, in a press release, said:
Elysian Park is a gem in our community and now it’s getting bigger and better. The expansion provides a new place for kids of all ages to play everything from basketball to checkers in a beautiful outdoor environment.
The park includes a ball court, playground, outdoor classroom and walking paths.
Related posts:
Who needs a grand opening to enjoy a park. The Eastsider
Elysian Heights residents celebrate parkland 20 years in the making. The Eastsider
Happening Today: Cat Cult art opening, Echo Park; Comedy night benefit for Mt. Washington Elementary; Nature Together, Montecito Heights. Save the Date
Former Beastie Boy performs in Boyle Heights; grunge and punk pioneers play Echo Park.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Alberta Cross begins a month-long residency at The Satellite next Tuesday.
By Alfred Montez
Tonight, April 28, you can check out some big name talent as Fredo Ortiz, formerly with the Beastie Boys, will have his own band debut at the Eastside Luv. His drums have been sought after by many side bands throughout East L.A., and now he brings all his experience and chops to the stage at theEastside Luv for his first night out under the moniker of The Bongoloidz.
This will be our chance to see what Ortiz has learned from performing with such acts as Los Lobos, Los Villains, Ozomatli, Money Mark, The Offspring, and and Tito & Tarantula, just to name a few of the bigger more well known bands he’s joined on stage. With all the large venues and shows he has under his belt, Ortiz should not have any issues wowing the crowd at the more intimate Eastside Luv in Boyle Heights.
Storefront Report: Pazzo Gelato will expand with a second location and larger menu in Echo Park.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Five years after it opened its doors in Silver Lake, Pazzo Gelato will be adding a second, larger outlet about a mile east in Echo Park’s Citibank building. Pazzo Gelato & Cafe is scheduled to open in June on the ground floor of the Sunset Boulevard office tower, Echo Park’s tallest building, said Pazzo owner Mike Buch. In addition to its signature gelatos, the Echo Park Pazzo will also sell sandwiches, baked goods, coffee and fresh-squeezed juices to cater to the building’s more than 250 workers as well as nearby residents.
“We like the location. There is a lot of patio space in the front,” Buch said. “It’s a totally cool building …very ’60s.”
LAPD homicide detectives continue to search for information as to why Manuel Santizo was shot and killed while riding his bike earlier this month on the western edge of Silver Lake. Police have said the shooting on the evening of Sunday, April 17 near Hoover Street and Del Mar Avenue was gang related. But detectives have not ruled out other motives, including road rage, said P.J. Morris, homicide detective with the Northeast Division. In addition, while the suspects are believed to be gang members, officers have found no evidence that Santizo had gang connections. “There is no indication that Manuel was a gang member. Nothing, nothing at all,” Morris said.
Community to honor Maryanne Hayashi on her 30th anniversary as head of Central City Action Committee.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Photo by Susan Borden
Friends and supporters of Maryanne Hayashi are scheduled to gather this afternoon to celebrate her 30th anniversary as head of Central City Action Committee, the Angeleno Heights-based social service agency and graffiti clean-up contractor. Echo Park resident Susan Borden wrote the following story that appeared in the most recent newsletter published by the Echo Park Improvement Assn.
By Susan Borden
She’s been described as the Croatian woman with the Japanese name who lives in Chinatown and works with Latino youth. Even in multi-cultural Echo Park, few people can claim such an impressive catalog of diversity. When you hear that the lady’s also reached ‘senior citizen’ status, you’ll know that I can only be referring to Maryanne Hayashi of Central City Action Committee.
The well-respected great-grandmother with the old-fashioned first name has been at the helm of the non-profit Echo Park youth program for the past thirty years.
Central City Action Committee had its beginnings in the 1970s when there was little recognition of Echo Park’s youth gang problems. Concerned mothers, mostly Latino, incorporated the group under the direction of Mrs. Adele Valle. Mrs. Valle’s retirement prompted the arrival of Maryanne on April 16, 1981 as Central City’s new director. She has been there ever since, guiding the organization through ups and downs.
On a Thursday evening last December, a 13-year-old boy and two other friends were playing with pellet guns near the 3000 block of Verdugo Road in Glassell Park when an LAPD squad car stopped nearby. The 13-year-old, who was hiding behind a van on the dark street, was ordered to surrender. Instead, he flashed his [...]
Last week, The Eastsider wrote about what it takes to get a house painted in Angeleno Heights, where a board overseeing the historic district must approve all exterior colors before painting can begin. The story focused on the Bellevue Street home of the Maria Bembi, shown before (top photo) and after (bottom photo) with the [...]
Some Glendale Boulevard warehouses have served as temporary stages for TV and music video productions, including a popular OK Go video. In 2009, a former jewelry manufacturing plant near at Allesandro Street and Glendale Boulevard reopened as a large music recording studio and rehearsal space know as Bedrock. Now, another former industrial building at Glendale [...]
“Flying,” El Sereno | Photo by Kevin Blinn/Flickr Atwater Village gang members sentenced to prison in Glendale shooting. Glendale News Press The motorist who died last week after hitting a parked truck in Glassell Park may have been asleep at the wheel. Pasadena Star-News Eagle Rock Plaza makes another guest appearance on “Glee.” Patch & [...]
In Silver Lake real estate circles, a home with a view of the reservoirs is a big plus that can boost a home’s sales price. So is a Richard Neutra or mid-century architectural pedigree. But perhaps one of the biggest-price boosters – according to some agents – is whether a Silver Lake home is located [...]
Any home seller would probably want to play down the fact that a decomposing body was once found in the basement. But what if that body was discovered by actor Russell Crowe during a scene in the filming of L.A. Confidential? A new real estate listing for an Echo Park cottage on Morton Avenue makes [...]
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“Swinger & Church,” Echo Park | Photo by Meltwater/Flickr
Get to the L.A. River on Saturday for La Gran Limpieza, this year’s big clean up sponsored by the Friends of The Los Angeles River. Volunteers 
Last summer, The Eastsider reported on Sunset Junction mural – La Nuestra Reina de Las Iguanas – 
Five years after it opened its doors in Silver Lake,
L.A. Web Awards 
Best of L.A. 
The Eastsider publishes stories and news from the northeast corner of the City of Los Angeles and neighboring East Los Angeles. Who is the Eastsider? Where does the Eastsider roam? 