epian ways decemer 2004

8/9/2019 EPIAn Ways Decemer 2004

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The Los Angeles Department ofTransportation has provided up-dated information about construc-tion on Glendale Boulevard andAlvarado Street as part of theGlendale Boulevard Corridor Im-provement Project. No streets will

be closed but traffic may be de-layed because of lane closures, noleft turns, or temporary noparking rules during con-struction.

The number of con-struction days is 92days over a period ofabout seven (7) monthsso there will be disrup-tions along the Boule-vard for another sixmonths, ending some-

time around April, 2005.Some trees will be re-moved, but they will bereplaced as part of theLandscaping phase,which will begin after allother work is complete.

Here are some thingsto watch out for:

Aaron Street: The new trafficsignal is now in operation. Pedes-trians now have a safe place to

cross Glendale Boulevard.

Court Street: The new trafficsignal at this five way intersectionon Glendale Boulevard has beeninstalled. Because of the new leftturn lane on S/B Glendale clum-sily crossing Laveta onto Court,one-half block of parking on both

sides of Glendale have been lostas curbs are painted red.

Major construction will con-tinue but it will shift southward

from Montana Street for a periodof about 10-14 days. Parking re-

strictions from Montana Street toTemple Street MAY BE eased toNo Parking 6:00 a.m. to 6:00p.m. (Warning: Much of this sec-tion of S/B Glendale Boulevardand some of N/B Glendale Boule-vard are always No Parking ar-

eas.) No major lane closures areexpected, but LADOT says theremay be some temporary

lane closures 5-6 hourseach workday.

New Left Turn Only Signal:The intersection of E/BSunset Boulevard andN/B Alvarado Street willget a new Left Turn OnlyArrow signal. So far, onlyone signal light box hasbeen installed. It is on the

gas station corner (next tothe Edendale Library). Asecond one will be hungabove the intersection ofSunset and Alvarado. Wedo not know when it willgo into operation.

Echo Park Improvement AssociationMeets at 7 p.m. the 1st Thursday of each Month

in Williams Hall at Barlow Hospital 2000 Stadium Way in Elysian Park

GLENDALE BOULEVARD CORRIDOR PROJECT CONSTRUCTIONMOVES SOUTHOF MONTANA STREETby Judith Raskin


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2004

NEWSLETTER CREDITS

EDITORS:LYNN BARBSTEVEN M. ARTHUR

ADVERTISINGFLORA KERP

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PRINTING:LYMAN PRINTING

MEMORANDUMS

INVOICES

WARRANTIES

BUSINESS CARDS

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COIN ENVELOPES

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LOS ANGELES, CA 90026 (213) 413-5469 FAX

(323) 634-0830

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City of Los Angelesofficialsfor any non-emergency public service:

Dial 311

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girls teen yoga

Pilates

On Saturday, December 4th,

the Volunteers of the Echo ParkLibrary will be holding anotherbook sale. This sale will be thelast of the year and so we lookforward to seeing you. With yourpast patronage we havepurchased books in Tagalog forchildren, held dance classes forexpression, purchased writingmaterials and many morematerials and programs whichwould not have occurred if thebranch had no additional means

of support. These programs keepour youth entertained, learningand having fun.

We will be setting our tableswith books like before- Everythingin order for you to enjoy and

browse while you look for thatmissing book. Remember thedate Saturday, December 4th,from 10:00-5:00pm and as alwayslooking forward to seeing you.Rain or Shine, we have had them

both and you came. We

appreciate your patronage andyour help raising funds foradditional programs at thelibrary.

Weekly book sales are nowbeing conducted in theVolunteers Library Book Store.These sales feature childrensbooks in Spanish and English aswell as books for teens inEnglish. The books are all pricedat 10. The sales are usually

he ld on Thu r sdays bu toccasionally, due to schedulinganomalies, the Volunteers areunable to open, so call the librarybranch office at (213) 250-7808to check.

VOUNTEERSOF ECHO PARK LIBRARY SCHEDULE BOOKSALE DECEMBER 4TH


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2004

1911 SUNSET BOULEVARDLOS ANGELES, CA 90026

(213) 484-1265

Vamonos, let's go, my fatherwould say, and off my siblings andI would race to the car. We never

asked where we were going; all weknew was that it would be a treat.My father's favorite place to gowas Pioneer Market, the little mar-ket at the corner of Sunset Boule-vard and Echo Park Avenue.

It was a cozy little building,with uneven floors, 6 checkers, 2doors exiting out to Sunset andEcho Park and the other 4 to theparking lot, a leaky roof that pa-trons no longer bothered to notice,a sign that said open 24 hours

with lighted cars on the buildingdirecting traffic to its parking lot.The market was stocked with somany staples, at low prices, andthe staff, starting with Mr. LeonardLeum, knew their customers byname.

It was a friendly place to be.We would arrive, always trying tofind a vacant spot in the parking

lot, yet we would wait patiently fora space to open.Then inside we would go. I go

to get the cart, my father to checkthe specials and my brothers tosee what candy they would get.When the 25 lbs. sack of flourwere on special, I knew we wouldhead there first. My mother madeflour tortillas from scratch and itwas no surprise that we would pur-chase 2 sacks. Boy, was it hard tomaneuver the cart through the

small aisles and the crowds, butthen everyone was patient.

A favorite section was themeat aisle, and the butchers,would say, "Hello, Mr. Fernandez,how are you? as my father madehis selection. The sirloin will be on

special next week, they would lethim know. I observed the friendli-ness of the staff and liked how the

warmth emanated from the staffand customers. The respect ofCon Permiso, Excuse Me, wouldbe heard often, as customers heldconversations with friends whomthey had not seen. At the checkout stands, the cashiers, alwaysgreeted their customers and madeconversation while ringing up thepurchases.

When lines were long, I wouldpick up a magazine and lookthrough it. A nice lady Millie, with

the Rocks, (she wore beautiful dia-mond rings) did not approve ofthis and would let me know byasking will this be rung up? No, Iwould reply, and quickly put themagazine back. I would later just

(Continued on page 6)

SPEAKINGOFTHE PIONEER MARKET by Margarita Fernandez


5/12

Last Christmas, more than 50,000 men, women

and children banded together in 1,966 count groupsthroughout North America, Central America and theCaribbean to take part in a census of the early-winterbird populations.

Eleven of these counters brought their binocularsand bird guides to Echo Park Lake for the Lakesfourth count. They counted 35 individual species andover 1,200 individual birdsnot bad in a small urbansetting. Among the most common were rock doves,blackbirds, and Mallard ducks. Among the scarcestwere a white pelican, Caspian tern and great blueheron. This season, on Sunday, January 2, 2005, you

can be part of the team to identify and tally thenumber of species and individual birds that call EchoPark Lake home for at least part of the year.

In The BeginningFrom its original beginning on Christmas Day,

1900, when 27 people at 25 locations in the UnitedStates counted 90 species and 18,500 individualbirds, the Christmas Bird Count has evolved into oneof the most important tools for keeping track of thebird populations. Organized by the National AudubonSociety, with the participation of local Audubon

groups, count tallies are sent to the Cornell

Laboratory of Ornithology for compilation andanalysis. Their findings help determine whether birdspecies are increasing, decreasing or moving todifferent territories and are used for environmentaland conservation purposes.

Echo Park Lake CountThis season will mark Echo Park Lakes fifth as a

count area. With five years worth of data in hand, itmeans we can look for some meaningful analyses ofour local bird populations.

Birders experienced and beginners arewelcome to join the count. We meet

Sunday, January 2, 2005, 8:00 a.m.,Echo Park Lake Boathouse, rain or shine!

The count lasts about 3 4 hours. Bring yourbinoculars and a bird guide, if you have one, and acamera if you would like to document what you see.The participation fee is $5.00 per person. Pleasemake your check payable to the National AudubonSociety. Count Captain Judy Raskin would appreciatethat you notify her in advance if you plan to take part.Contact her at [email protected] or (323) 663-6767 to sign up

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT CITIZEN SCIENCE AT ITS BESTby Judy Raskin


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2004

Event Date Location Comments

EPIA Meetings 1st Thursday, 7:00 p.m.Jan. 6, Feb. 3

Williams Hall at BarlowHospital, 2000 StadiumWay in Elysian Park

Call EPIA message phonefor additional information

EPIA SteeringCommitteeMeetings

3rd Thursdays, 7:15 p.m.Jan. 20, Feb. 17

Call (323) 882-4835 forlocation

Take an active part in EPIA.Join the Steering Committee

Echo ParkSecurity

Association

2nd

Thursday,Jan. 14, Feb. 10

LAPD Stop-in Center(on the side of Bank ofAmerica)

Call (323) 666-3228 for addi-tional information

Citizens Commit-

tee to Save Ely-sian Park Mtg.

1st Wednesday,7:30p.m., Jan. 5, Feb. 2

Williams Hall at BarlowHospital, 2000 StadiumWay in Elysian Park

Call 213-666-9651 for meet-ing location

Greater EchoPark ElysianNeighborhoodCouncil Meeting

4th Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Jan. 25, Feb. 22Logan Street SchoolAuditorium, 1711 W.Logan Street

Call (213) 413-3196 for infoor visit www.GEPENC.org

Deadline forFebruaryEPIAn waysNewsletter

Friday, January 21 Send submissions to EPIA,Attn: EPIAn Ways Editor

SPECIAL EVENTSEcho Park LakeCount

Sunday, January 2,2005, 8:00 a.m.,

Echo Park Lake Boat-house, rain or shine!

GEPENCElections

Saturday, Dec 11,10a.m. to 3p.m.

Logan Street SchoolAuditorium, 1711 W.Logan Street

UPCOMING EPIA TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Echo Park Birds Community Groups

ECHO PARK CALENDAR

Pioneer Experiencestay back, far away from Millie'ssight or so I thought, while Ilooked through magazines. By thetime my father had finished pay-ing, I would put the magazineback in its place and hurry to joinmy father and siblings. I made it!

Or so I thought, but then one wink

from Millie, and I knew she knew.As I write, I am smiling and laugh-ing at the fond memory, of thewarmth and caring of the Staff atPioneer Market.

It was truly a wonderful placeto be. Those of us who had theopportunity to have had the ex-

perience of being there will all

agree that the experience has notbeen seen else where nor will it beduplicated.

Pioneer Market, with its warmstaff has been lost for ever, but itsmemories will for ever live on inour community of Echo Park.

(Continued from page 4)


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8/12

2004

DecemberLibrary Computer Classes

2 Thu. Computer ComfortLearn to use the Libraryselectronic catalog to search for materials, renew items,and place your own holds. Learn the basics of surfing theInternet. Introduction to various databases and searchengines. Bring your library card. Adults only. Familiaritywith the keyboard and mouse is recommended but notmandatory. Call 213/250-7808. Echo Park Branch, 4pm.7 Tue. Introduction to Basic Web Design Learn aboutHTML codes to create a simple web page. Computerexperience is mandatory. Call 213/250-7808. Echo ParkBranch, 4pm.

Events

11 & 18 Sat. Tarot Reading Program Come and receiveshort mini-tarot readings. Sign-ups are required. Adultsonly. Call 213/250-7808. Echo Park Branch, 1pm & 4pm.

Fun for KidsDaily Grandparents and Books For days and time call213/250-7808. Echo Park Branch.7 Tue. StorytimeAuthor of Five Green and SpeckledFrogs, Priscilla Burris, will discuss frogs, writing, anddrawing books for children. For all ages.Call 213/250-7808. Echo Park Branch, 3pm.

21 Tue. Christmas Storygami Make Origami gifts andornaments, and learn a Christmas tale or two. Call

213/250-7808. Echo Park Branch, 3pm.

ECHO PARK LIBRARY HAPPENINGSLibrary HoursMondays 10:00 am - 8:00 pmTuesdays 12:00 pm - 8:00 pmWednesdays 10:00 am - 8:00 pmThursdays 12:00 pm - 8:00 pmFridays 10:00 am - 6:00 pmSaturdays 10:00 am - 6:00 pmSundays CLOSED

Library AddressEcho Park Branch Library

1410 W. Temple Street

Los Angeles CA 90026Phone 213.250.7808FAX 213.250.3744World Wide Web Addresshttp://www.lapl.org24 Hour Renewal: 888-577-LAPL

No programs have yet been posted for the EdendaleBranch Library. When they are, read them here in theEPIAn ways.

Library HoursMondays 12:30 pm 8:00 pmTuesdays 12:30 pm 5:30 pmWednesdays 12:30 pm 8:00 pmThursdays 12:30 pm 5:30 pmFridays 10:00 am 5:30 pmSaturdays 10:00 am 5:30 pmSundays CLOSED

Library AddressEdendale Branch Library

2011 W. Sunset BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90026Phone(213) 207-3000FAX (213) 207-309724 Hour Renewal: 888-577-LAPL

EDENDALE LIBRARY HAPPENINGS


9/12

Are the holidays and the end of the year 2004 justaround the corner? Staff and kids at CCAC all agree

that it is only a few weeks away. Im having a hardtime realizing the year 2004 has almost ended.This indicates that CCAC busiest time of year isabout to begin.

November has already begun with a new off-trackgroup of kids. This group of kids also startedworking with a new staff member, Alexis Rivera,who incidentally lives just a few doors from me.Alexis received his teaching certificate from UCSanta Barbara and is faced with the challenge ofproviding tutoring, educational field trips,photography and designing a new garden layout/landscape project for the center. Recently he took

several of the off-track kids to Watts Towers. Butbefore they went on theirsojourn, he held a session on thehistory of the tower. Each youthreceived an outline explainingthe History of the Watts Towers.Needless to say, the youth werequite impressed with the wholetrip. Heres one of the picturesfrom their trip.

Aside from our new project,our annual (or is it semi-annual,

cant seem to remember)basketball league is windingdown. I can tell which teamshave lost when there appears tobe more kids hanging around mydesk in the late afternoons. Theleague should be over by the endof November and we will have abig banquet with trophies andlots of stick to the ribs lip-smacking food. Maryanne, Pauland I are the only ones whodont play basketball.

By the time this is published,we will have already had our annual Thanksgivingdinner. This year it will be held at TAIX FrenchRestaurant. This is a great experience for our youthto eat in a fancy restaurant. I know the food willbe scrumptious; the pumpkin pie ice cream is thegreatest on the earth. Surprisingly, several of our

older youth have worked at the restaurant ashostesses and currently we have Maria Casique

working the there. Thanks to Maryanne, Mike Taixand his devoted staff for the wonderful meal.

Since this is the time for thankfulnessour staffand kids want to thank all of our friends andneighbors who helped support us during the yearwith donations for our many rummage sales. Those

of you who have donated can be proud because the

money earned from these sales have helped financea trip to San Diego, various camping trips, movies,special luncheons, trips to amusements parks,cultural events and much needed school suppliesfor our deserving youth.

Happy Holidays to all from Staff and Youth ofCentral City Action Committee.

Central City Action by Gloria

New staff member, Alexis Rivera, poses with group visiting Watts Towers


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2004

Pilgrim" and India", were found Thanksgivingeve scrounging for food outside the gates of

Dodger Stadium in Elysian Park. EPIA memberSusan Borden spotted them and wanted to help.She called the Echo Park Animal Alliance (EPAA),and with the help of her husband John and me, welured them with Thanksgiving treats and loadedthem into the car to spend the holiday weekend inwarmth and safety. If these 2 fine young dogs arenot reclaimed by their owners the EPAA will belooking to rehome them. Help make this holidayseason for them and other animals in need awarm and happy one! To adopt, foster orfinancially assist any of our Echo Park straysplease call the EPAA, 323-860-DAWG, PO Box26010, LA,CA,90026, or visit us on the web!

Santa Claus IS Coming to Town!Pet Photos with Santaa fundraiser for

Echo Park Animal AllianceEcho Park Pottery1850 Echo Park Avenue

Sat. Dec. 11 & Sun. Dec 12

1 PM - 5 PM

Color photo with card-frame: $10duplicates available - buy 3, get one free!

for information: (323) 860-DAWG

Thanksgiving Wonderdogs


11/12

Saturday

SpecialTypicalHaitian

Food

Mon Sat

11 am 7 pmSundays Group of 10or more byReservation Wood Burning Rotisserie

309 N. Glendale BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90026

www.tigeorgeschicken.comEmail: [email protected]

Every park in L.A. needs neighbors to advocate forits health and beauty, and Echo Park Lake is no ex-ception. About three years ago, with the Lake in so

much need of care, a group from the E.P.I.A. organ-ized in the newest incarnation of Lake Lovers underthe name Echo Park Lake Support Group. We setsome goals: to clean the Lake up, we advocated forcleaner restrooms, clean storm drains, better lightingand more seating, we met with those interested in set-ting up a vendor economic zone, and we got to knowthe flora and fauna of the area. Even though its asmall park, it's a complicated area which includesmany governmental agencies, both City and County.

Last year we procured 10 concrete benchesthrough a Neighborhood Matching Fund Grant. Unfor-tunately, at the last minute the color was changed

from green to awful orange in order to match theneighboring furniture. In retrospect, we never shouldhave approved the color change but we were promised

constant repainting of graffiti with the common color.A bad trade-off as that has not happened.

You might notice a cleaner park. The ugly stormdrains at the north east end are cleaner, the refuse onthe water is less, and it appears that well intentionedpeople have generally stopped dumping food for theducks on the ramps. The water fountains are working,the water aerator fountains are working and the lightsare maintained. The real Angels of the park have beenthe Dream Center people who routinely pick up trash.There are a lot more trash cans around.

Our Lake Group is currently narrowing its scope toadvocate for better graffiti abatement and new land-

scaping around the lake. If you look at oldphotos of the Lake you will see an arealush with trees, flowers, grasses andbushes. One description from an E.P. resi-dent: "Original plantings included 8 typesof acacia, 12 types of eucalyptus, weepingwillows, roses, hydrangeas, spirea, palmsand dracenas." The boathouse was origi-nally built in the Victorian style, but re-placed with Spanish/Mission. Tasteschange, favored plants change but we willask for our best neighborhood plant lovers

to give their input into new plantings for agreener, prettier park.

Interested in being part of the process?ContactJudith at [email protected].

We especially thank Michael O'Brien forgiving us a map which lists all the trees inthe park.

Echo Park Lake Support Group by Judith Hansen
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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2004

WHO HAS AN ELECTION HANGOVER? Prettymuch everyone in Echo Park emotionally anyway.For months, Echo Park had been the site of intensepolitical chatter, John Kerry bake sales (one onAlvarado Street and a second in Elysian Park) andeven two rounds of door-to-door visits from the DNC,whose volunteers were more aggressive in seekingdonations than an Amway salesman.

Things look to be much quieter this spring,however, with Echo Park's primary city rep,Councilman Eric Garcetti, going without a challengerin the March municipal election. Without anopponent, Garcetti will serve Council District 13 untilJune 30, 2009.

THINGS ARE A BIT DIFFERENT over in AngelinoHeights, however, with Councilman Ed Reyes facing ahalf-dozen challengers. No word yet on whetherAngelino Heights residents will stage a campaigndebate. Reyes appeared recently in an LA Weeklycover story, a lengthy profile that offered his pointedviews on affordable housing, the city's planningdepartment and Councilman Tom LaBonge.

Echo Park merchants briefly breathed new life intothe long dormant Echo Park Chamber of Commercethis fall, holding the first chamber mixer in many

moons over at Taix Restaurant. Seen at the soireewere representatives of the Jensen Recreation Center,Brite Spot, Crown Shoes and other local businesses.Could a holiday parade be far behind?

SPEAKING OF THE CHAMBER, one choice piece ofinformation to emerge from the mixer was a plan byEl Centro del Pueblo, a neighborhood non-profit, tobuild affordable housing in the center of Echo Park'sbusiness district. Word on the street or should wesay parking lot is that El Centro and a housing

developer are eyeing the two city-owned parking lotsbehind Sunset Boulevard as potential sites.

For those who are new to Echo Park, El Centro hasalready converted one city-owned parking lot into anoutdoor recreation area for its clients and theirguests, obtaining the city's permission to lease the lotfor $1 a year over a 15-year period.

Plans for a 38-unit affordable housing project onEcho Park Avenue have created a separate stir, with

neighbors on adjacent streets Delta, Lucretia andGrafton demanding that the developers buildadditional parking spaces. Insite Development got anearful when its representatives went to the EPIA for acommunity meeting in October, and similar concernswere raised at the neighborhood council's land usecommittee.

Some neighbors were miffed by the lack ofadvocacy by the land use committee, which hadargued that Insite does not need the city's permissionto build extra spaces since it is an affordable project.The latest response from the neighbors is a petitioncalling for Insite to commit to the extra parking. Oneneighborhood wag pointed out that Echo Park isground zero for affordable housing projects, with 10different multi-story projects planned or built in theneighborhood over the last three years.

IS IT US, OR IS PARKING even more of a bugaboothroughout Echo Park than usual these days? Parkingproblems have erupted on Curran Street, on PattonStreet near the Boys and Girls Club building and evenat the Del Mor Building the one that houses the

Chango coffee house where the owners told theirtenants that they planned to eliminate dozens of off-street parking spaces on December 1.

Tenants were up in arms at the Del Mor, quicklymobilizing by calling the owners and questioning itsplan and its assertion that it no longer owned theadjacent parking lot. Within a week of its originalnotice, the Del Mor's owners agreed to lease parkingspaces for $10 a month to its tenants.

HOORAY FOR HISTORY! The Echo Park HistoricalSociety had a bonanza of a day in mid-November withits 2nd Annual Historic Echo Park Home Tour, sellingapproximately 490 tickets (give or take) and raising

an estimated $6,000 to pay for the acquisition ofhistoric photographs, equipment and ongoingprograms. Each of the 10 houses were fabulous,thanks to the generosity of the owners and the hardwork of more than 100 volunteers!

Opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the writers

and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Echo Park

Improvement Association

LOTUSPAD NOTESNEWSAND ITEMSOF INTERESTFROM ECHO PARK & ANGELINO HEIGHTS by E.P. Lagoso

epian ways decemer 2004

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