Information about current Cornerstone Theater Co's community engagement process so far on specific projects. Search with project tag# for a particular project.
CornerstoneTheater.org
Los Angeles began Safer At Home restrictions on Thursday,
March 19, 2020.
March 30. We talked with Stefani, a Highland
Park resident, sociologist and faculty at UNLV (1x/week. She has history with Naked Angels (founded
by friends out of Brown Univ. so similar to Cornerstone?), and a former movie
exec. Her work merges sociology research and documentary film. She reached out to us, wanted to connect, see
if she could get involved. She lives on Eldred St.,
off Ave 50, right near the bottom of the
stairs. Technically lives in Mt Washington, which is of course
HP adjacent.
She told us about a few experiences close to the heart of
her work in terms of art+community. One is about extreme cultural experiences
on either side of a road in/near Las Vegas. A wealthy tech/startup founder designed
and built a minimalist artists residence across the street from a long-established
liquor store, & she is studying the social behaviors outside the liquor
store. Another is that she was able to host a BBQLA event in her garage after
it lost its location (alt perspective?). She works with college-bound youth and dreamers at Miguel Contreras High School (on 3rd Street, kinda south of Shakespeare Center LA).
Her work "explores the difficulty of breaking intergenerational poverty."
"How do we communicate across socio-economic boundaries?
"Whose social etiquette do you follow to live there/here?"
Stefani
is interested in documenting our process and wants to know what we need from a free
ethnographer, ie: defining social norms. “How can I help?” she offered. She thought
she might measure social distancing at the two parks- York/Ave 50 & and Sycamore.
We didn’t have immediate ideas about what would be useful but we figured we
could check back with her later.
April 6. Keegan works with an affordable housing developer
and Mark met him at an event about housing. He lives in a house at/near Ave 50
& San Rafael with his partner and 5 other people. Over the course of 90
minutes or so we met all but 2 of the residents. One is “Safer At Home” in a
different part of the city with his mother. Some of the housemates are
Occidental graduates. They have built a large and intentional garden with edible
plants & medicinals, planted more than a dozen trees. The have a “home care
routine” (moved away from the word “chores”): ll tasks are available, rather
than assigned. It’s a cleanliness culture. Three residents are experts in
gardening. One is a city planner. The newest housemate only know Keegan when he
moved in about a year ago; they used to work together. He still feels like a
visitor but he likes living there. One housemate grew up in and around Highland
Park. Asked about friction among roommates they said there was one who didn’t work
out. Their example of how she was a bad match for the house was that she kept a
jar of msg in the kitchen.
They host events and workshops and a variety of different
people come over.
They’ve been sure to get food from Delia’s on York during
the quarantine.One had a bicycle stolen
while he was in the grocery store.
“Gentrifiers have a choice about where they can live.”
What should a highland park play include? Spanish. Helicopters. Gang violence. Police
Sweeps. Yard Sales. Arroyo Seco. Debbs Park.
On Thursday, February 27, we (MJG, Mark, Lynn, Amanda & PD) met our
kind host D.W. Jacobs at the Antigua Bakery, where Ave 57 runs into
Figueroa. Doug’s proposed walk: ”We can circle down to Avenue 50, then over to
Monte Vista, where most of the churches are located, then all the way up to the
LAPL Arroyo Seco branch, then back down Fig to Las Cazuelas for pupusas!”
Doug, who has spent plenty of time in that building
for events and performances, inquired with whoever was present and we were
granted permission to go in and look at the main space. There is a spacious, main
room with an elevated stage and proscenium on one side. There’s a smaller
meeting room, a low step up from the main floor, separate but open on to the
main room, opposite the stage. Doug says that for events like the Lummis Days
Fundraiser Gala, they set up bar and buffet-style food in the smaller space and
there are tables & chairs on the main floor.
We continued away from Figueroa toward the Arroyo
Seco Parkway aka Pasadena Freeway aka the 110. Figueroa Street is all
businesses, maybe some upstairs apartments are there, but just steps from Fig the
streets are densely residential. We passed many sweet houses with blooming
yards. At Ave 57 & Benner St. there’s a residence with a big yard and a driveway
fence that I’ve seen open often on weekends, with signs up for produce and
succulents for sale(?)—and since then I’ve learned that the place is owned by
an artist named Stormie, who is
connected to Teatro Arroyo and many other HP circles.
A bit farther down and across the street we
visited La Tierra de la Calebra, an
art park. [I can’t find my notes so some names* are guesses.] As we checked out
the variety of spaces in the park, we met Elliot sitting at a picnic table. He is
an information point for the park, its activities, etc. If we want to talk to
someone about hosting a story circle there, we should maybe ask the people in
the house next door, or maybe connect via Instagram. Elliot was waiting for J.
Woods and she arrived as we were leaving so we talked with her a little. She is
a designer who helped create this park space. She seemed a little fabulous and
when I find the business card she gave me I hope to learn more about her
dynamic creative influence on Los Angeles. We also met Mike* who volunteers his
landscaping clean-up skills and time, and lives across the street.
Walking back up toward Figeuroa Doug introduced
us to Charlie Fisher,
who literally wrote a book about Highland
Park. He’s an historian. And a collector of vintage cars. There were
several in his driveway and in front of his house. He was on his porch talking
with a guy about how he might repair some body damage on one of his cars.
We went left through the parking lot just
before Fig, and ended up in the alley outside the community garden fence,
behind the Highland Theater. No sign of Oscar Duardo, someone we want to talk
with, but he wasn’t around this day.
Then up Ave 56 to Fig and continued on
southwest, crossed to other side of the road at Ave 52. Paused at a somewhat
mysterious little building belonging to the Builders
of the Abytum. They have a weekly service. We should go sometime.
We pass the new (oddly high-end) retail
spaces turn right onto Ave 50. We talk about the Savoy apartment building there,
across the street from Chico’s restaurant. It’s a series of bungalow apartments
around a big older square building that was originally part of Occidental
College before Oxy moved to its current location. Very interesting spot. And
next door to that is Avenue 50 Studio.
It’s after closing time but the door is open and founder/director Kathy
Gallegos is still there. She comes out to talk with us. She introduces us to
Christine* who is cleaning the gallery. It is her mother’s job but her mom is
home sick today. Christine is a young artist (17? 19?). She talks a little
about growing up in the neighborhood, a little about the gang situation.
Highland Park and Cypress Park have gang associations that might be avoided by
expressing NELA pride, rather than Highland Park pride. She designed a mural on
Monte Verde that says Welcome to Northeast Los Angeles.
We walk up to turn right onto Monte Verde and
walk a few blocks. We are thinking about visiting some of the churches there,
but it is getting late for some of us. So we head over to Las Cazuelas and sit
in a booth to enjoy pupusas before thanking Doug for his time, perspectives and
introductions and heading home.
Peter and I held a story circle with Yvonne Sarceda’s Youth
Mentorship Group at Hathaway Sycamores Family Resource Center.
There were about
15 young people in attendance in addition to Yvonne. They had chicken nuggets
for dinner. (Dinner together is part of their meeting routine.)
We had a good time with this group of young people. Peter
led the activities and conversation: a warmup/stretch and a game before sitting
back at the table for 5 senses, a little conversation and making maps.
Some responses to “What kind of changes do you see in Highland
Park?” –
New people, a new kind of people.
Culture is changing as more people
move in. Messing with traditional Mexican culture.
Insane rent prices
Some responses to “What do we need to hold on to and not
lose?” –
Culture:
Mexican traditions, Fruit Stands, Festivals like the annual holiday parade
Suggestions for what a HP play should include:
From
Gabriel: A growing-up story, living through changes, like shootings change to
less shootings, family members/neighbors change to those people evicted and/or
gone. (Does the young person stay?) It’s expensive—maybe he makes it, maybe he
leaves and returns to see changes.
From Brianna:
Artist life of the mural near La Estrella. How the mural came about.
From David:
Financial challenges in a family.
“People who
stand up for other people. Younger people standing up.”
We re-introduced Cornerstone Theater and the Highland Park
Project invited them to get involved in whatever way they might be interested. I don’t want to lose track of this group. Hope
to include them in the play in some way if they are able to join in.
This is a more detailed report than you need maybe, but
it was a great meeting to witness and I am pretty sure I’m going to go back. I
might even start paying $5/month dues to this union group for the hard work
they do with tremendous compassion and righteousness.
Standing meetings at 7p on 2nd & 4th Wednesdays
every month.
Mark and I attended the Tenants Union meeting last night. There were
about 30 people there, chairs in a circle. In the front room of the gallery. The
art in that room all featured images of women.
They ask for sign-ins and encourage anyone who does not
understand both English and Spanish to use a translation headset. They started the
meeting with one of the translators explaining about language justice and the
need for everyone to be able participate. She gave the instructions of 3 hand
signals to use regarding the meeting: 1- speak up gesture, 2- slow down gesture,
3- 1 person at a time speak. They have 2 volunteer facilitators. One was Rose
and one was, I think, named Yaya. “We are not the leaders- there are no leaders
here. Only facilitators.”
They read the LATU mission from the agenda and reviewed some
meeting guidelines that were printed on the same paper as the agenda. I tried to follow along with the Spanish version of the agenda.
Rather than introductions around the circle, we were invited
to take a few minutes for everyone to do one-on-one introductions, meet someone
they don’t know, maybe talk about where they live, etc.I talked with Rosewho has been utilizing LATU for 2 years. She
lives in HP. Her small daughter ran up to us wanting her mom to do something
with the folded-paper “cootie catcher” in her hands. Her mom would not be interrupted,
but as we talked, I took the thing from her hand and reformed the folds so she
could operate it, which is what she wanted. Felt very like a Cornerstone story
circle moment, especially since in the next room there was food and childcare.
Mark talked to the man on his right. (What is his name?)
I had already met Nickseated to my left., more about him later.
There were 4 situations to be updated on, listed by address
and the name of the updating individuals associated with each place. Each
presentation is followed by advice, encouragement, support and question about
what they need from the group. Each one of the specific issues in progress ends
with instructions for follow-up with another specific knowledgeable person.
5635 Monte Vista—J. & L. spoke. They
had just come from a meeting with two other residents and were very close to
signing a Tenants Association Letter, which seems to be a step in the process
of formal resistance to being displaced by landlords. They do not know who the
owner of the building is; they pay rent but there is no receipt given. They
want to double Lupe’s rent to $1700/month. “They offer money, but I do not want money. I
want to stay living where I am.”
4549 York Blvd- J. & K. A building in process of trying to get
tenants out. They think the owner might be same that owns Bob Baker Marionette building.
Seems like they are headed for an Ellis Act situation. Different
tenants have received different communications and offers, as if the owners are
trying to figure out best way to go. One tenant got an estoppel. Someone was
offered $25,000, to pay half upon agreement and half once they have vacated.
The room groaned. “Don’t do that! They won’t pay.“The owners are doing a lot of property /
apartment inspections. I’m not sure who it was that reported back that the
tenants there are all smart and had done a lot of good research.
This Sunday there is an Ellis Act Working Group Meeting.
Rose Hills (aka Rose Hills
Courts) – A public
housing complex in Montecito Heights where HACLA is going to re-house the
current residents to demolish their buildings and rebuild new ones, and like at
JDs, double the capacity with affordable and market-rate unions. Current
tenants (many of whom were re-housed here from Aliso Village Public Housing which
was torn down in 1999) would be rehoused for 2 years or can take a section 8
voucher option. A. updated on this situation.
A woman whose name I didn’t get updated that she has her
court hearing on Friday at 9am, last chance for her and the place she lives.
Someone else at her building went to court and lost. She asked for support and
presence.
Then there is a call for tenant issues that need immediate help:
2 households, who live in El Sereno (city of LA) bordering South
Pasadena, spoke about a development on a hillside, in So. Pas, that would be 7
luxury/1.5 million starting price units. The site seems like it is not a place that
could safely contain the new (proposed?) building. The developers are intimidated
the residents, asking for compliance that affects their property and saying
they don’t need their approval. (“Lie!”) The developers need to add an access
road that cuts off one of the household’s driveway and limits access to their
property from the LA City side. They need to install a sewer line through
another long -ime property owners property. The developers are particularly
disrespectful of the LA City residents compared to their attitude and approach
to those in city of So Pas. The group had a lot of specific advice for them. Including
petition to the land use committee, pay for a survey, check property titles for
liens and easements which can be taken advantage of by developers, go directly
to city councilperson, the neighborhood council can’t help.
Update from the Homeless/Unhoused Representative included news of constant sweeps to move homeless residents out, often confiscating
property, sometimes making arrests. These sweeps are also happening in Echo
Park like crazy. There is a city-wide sweep happening on March 6. People were encouraged
to join the Homeless Working Group. Request for rapid response support for sweeps,
including on March 6, to have witness on hand to the police actions and document.
Also some discussion of LATU committing a $100/month to homeless support and
supplies (tarps, hygiene kits, sanitary products, etc.)
Z., an older gentlemen, (Fig and Ave 60?) reported
about his bad-acting landlord who acts through the building manager who is her
sister. They are doing bathroom renovation work on the apartment he shares with
his brother. They ignore his requests, particularly to not work on Sundays so
he can attend church without leaving his brother alone with strangers in the apt.
N., who seems to know and do a lot on behalf of
the union, said she’d contact Z’s pastor, and help write a letter about
the violations of his tenant rights (they must always have a working bathroom,
they must respect his request for no work on Sundays).
N, maybe late
20s?, rents a ground floor unit at 6157 Piedmont, off York. It floods and doesn’t drain. It’s not supposed to be a
residential unit, though it had been in the past and was rented to him for him
to live in. It’s registered as a commercial space. It’s a complicated mess and
everyone had a lot of sympathy and were kind of charged about all the legal twists
and turns of his situation.
There was an introduction from two people with Mujeres de la Tierra, which is
based at the River Center. I wasn’t really sure what their ask to the group
was. Maybe it was explained in the written agenda. Toward the end she mentioned
something about an event to educate the community about two new ballot measures
(not for 3/3 election). Immediately afterward a guy spoke directly about using caution
regarding those two measures. A lot of respect all around though.
There’s now an Elysian Valley Neighborhood Council—something
that took some time to make happen it seems. V spoke about strengthening
the relationship between that group and the union, an event, financial support
to the union, support for the union to get a new branch in a specific neighborhood
I can’t remember, etc.
After the meeting we caught a few people, all of whom were
interested in the project we are doing and in talking with Mark at some point.
We connected with and gave fliers to K, the guy sitting
next to Mark, and with Swift, who in addition to doing landscaping
work that includes natural water collectors, also does political actions some
of which include built in performances. Amazing.
Remember the story of Michael, Larissa and Matthew visiting the drama teacher in Mission, SD, on Rosebud Reservation?
"Though we had made several unsuccessful attempts to contact her by phone, we drove over to the Todd County Middle School to
try to meet with Rhoda Stoecklin, the drama school teacher there. We'd been told by Chaya and Marla that we should connect
with her, she was described by both as "very enthusiastic". At the school we were directed to the school stage, which also serves
as her office. She was, indeed, very enthusiastic. She seems very eager to have us meet with her students when we come back
in the spring, and was really excited to meet Larissa, who she often tells her students about. She's been a teacher at the school
for twenty-one years, and is planning a trip to NYC for some of her students for the first time. The seem to do two plays a year,
from what I understood, and one is a musical. Or usually; she seems to have a challenging and most certainly adversarial
relationship with the assistant principal, who this year, for some reason, has decided that they should not do a musical. Sad."
We began at Rock Rose Gallery this morning at 10:30. Paula supplied the hot coffee, and once we
had a little group assembled, we headed around the corner on foot to the Lummis House.
Charles F. Lummis (1859-1928) is bound to end up in our show somewhere. Author, Editor, Historian,
Poet, Librarian...among his many interesting accomplishments, he:
wrote ten books on the Southwest and California
founded the Southwest Museum
was City Editor for the Los Angeles Times
was director of the Los Angeles Public Library (1905-10)
"awakened Anglo-Americans to the value of Spanish American culture"
initiated preservation of the California Missions
created the slogan "See America First" (truly one of my favorite slogans)
His former home is a beautiful stone structure (that he apparently built most of by hand) on a few
acres that is now a public park, open on weekends with a knowledgeable docent named Christian on
hand to answer your questions.
I had never been to this place, and I will return. The gardens are
lovingly maintained, and the compound is currently undergoing some city-funded renovations.
Perhaps some potential as a performance venue?
There's a Lummis Day Parade and arts festival in Highland Park every June. Something tells me there
will be a Cornerstone float in the next Lummis Day Parade.
After an hour or so, we headed back to the gallery for some more conversation and a few more
structured activities: a five senses activity, some list-making about Who's Who in Highland Park,
some writing about places on our personal maps of the neighborhood (i.e. Where in Highland Park do
you feel most comfortable? Unsafe? Where do important conversations happen?) All of this writing
was gathered up, and will be given to playwright Mark Valdez for perusal at his leisure.
On occasion throughout the day, folks would pop into the gallery to say hi to Rosamaria, or wander in
off the sidewalk because they were curious about the place. She treats everyone as a guest and a
friend, and takes everyone's photo. Rosamaria is a self-declared "incubator," educator and a real
community treasure. We are lucky to have her on our team.
We ate pupusas for lunch, brought in from a restaurant just up Fig. Then most of us ventured on
foot up toward the Southwest Museum, to see a beautiful mural on Marmion Way that is currently
undergoing restoration. It was great to take some
walks through the neighborhood today, and put a visual on some of the places and ideas we've been
discussing over the past few days.
Our numbers have been small but mighty over the past three days of conversation at Rock
Rose. I want to especially acknowledge Rosamaria Marquez for her extraordinary positivity and
hospitality.
Other friends, old and new, who joined us for some or all of our time:
Doug Jacobs, theatre artist, co-founder of San Diego Rep, and font of historical info on All Things
Highland Park
Jeannette Godoy
Natalie Venegas, of Cafe Vida and Homeboy Industries
Carmela Gomes...another font of history and community connections Jane (last name?), a local artist
Eben Garces
I'm sure I'm missing some folks. We have names and contact info for everyone who passed through,
and we have many, many ideas for folks we need to contact and follow up with as this project moves
forward. I won't try to summarize what I learned about HP over the past few days, but I feel it's been
a lot. It's a neighborhood with a very vivid history and a churning, changing present that includes
some very real tensions. It's a confluence of arroyo, freeway and Gold Line...all rivers rushing through
day and night. It's full of artists and folks who are actively working to preserve what they love about
their place. One of our recurring themes among our longer-term residents: the newcomers don't say
hello, or even look you in the eye when they pass you on the street. Rosamaria and her gallery seem
intent, in part, on countering this phenomenon by saying hello to passersby, inviting them inside,
having them sign the guest book and taking their photo.
Michael, Eben, Peter, Bruce, Bahni and I all headed to Rock Rose Gallery for our 5:00 Story Circle. Shishir and Page
met us there, too.
Rosamaria was already setting the space up for us. Doug Jacobs who was with us last night joined us a little early
again. We decided to just begin a conversation with these 2 folks and settled in around the heater with warm
beverages in hand. Jeanette Godoy joined us soon after.
Some prompts: What was your first experience of Highland
Park? When did you fall in love with HP?
We recorded the conversation. We were joined by Jane McCary (?), an
artist living here for 8 years, and Natalie V. Natalie doesn't live in HP but she wants to participate in all the activities she can during the Dutch residency. She brings great energy and perspectives to the conversations. I’d forgotten that MJG lived at Nona’s place in HP when he first moved to Los Angeles! That place is pretty close to where he lives
now.
Bahni facilitated a spectrum: Connected <—> Isolated re: HP
Page facilitated some on our feet mapping and navigating about where we come from and finished with directing
everyone to find an object that represented a less apparent part of ourselves— this place is jam packed with artistic
items of all kinds. We closed the circle with each person sharing a sound or word— but more often more— about the
object they’d chosen.
I might have forgotten some things. It was a good event. The ratio of company to community was gentler tonight
than it was last night.
Afterward I went for a bite to eat with Jeanette but really just to spend some time with her and hear about the many
many projects she worked on/created the past year. She has been a host/MC for Highland Park Independent Film Festival events for multiple years. The film festival takes place at the Highland Theater on Figueroa, so when Jeanette and I walked by there she introduced me to guy who for a long time had a tattoo shop on same block, but got displaced. He countered by opening a mobile tattoo shop and parking it in front of his old shop space. Figueroa from Ave 52 to Ave 60 feels pretty different late on a Friday night.
At Rock Rose Gallery: Doug J, Jeanette G, Natalie V, and Rosamaria's dog Tuxton:
This evening we had the first of three meetups at Rock Rose Gallery in Highland Park as part of our engagement with that
community. The director of the gallery made a short Facebook live video to hopefully entice some neighbors to come
in. The video features mostly folks you already know, but some of those are actually community members, like Micheal
Garces and Jeanette Godoy. Delores Chavez turned up too!
We went around the circle and as an ice breaker talked about our name, some story about our name. Then we did
an exercise prompted by Michael where we counted off into 1s and 2s and separated into groups containing a 1 and
a 2 and we told each other stories about a transformation we had witnessed caused by art. Or was it a way that art
had caused a transformation within ourselves?...... something like that.
Then Lillian (from the Netherlands crew) lead an exercise. She brought out a deck of cards that had incredible
pictures/artwork of various scenes all very thought provoking. We were to choose a card that told a story about
ourselves, and then we again broke into groups of two and told the story that we saw in the card.
After a short break Rosamaria, the director of Rock Rose Gallery brought out one of those heaters that looks like a fireplace or a wood burning stove and we turned out the lights and told campfire stories about our cards.
Then we got to talking about the neighborhood and changes, and conspiracies, and my feeling that Nextdoor is a gentrification app, and how things used to be, and what’s changing, displacement, respect, culture,and where are
folks gonna go etc etc.
We checked out with one way that we are each “being the change."
The community members who attended were Rosamaria, Michael, Jeanette, Delores Chavez, Carmela, Olga, Natalie
from Homeboys, and Doug.
Marcel from the Netherlands, tootled around on the guitar to accompany the stories while they were being shared.
Nite nite, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite.
See you in the morning bright.
Xo
Bahni
Highland Park -- The LAPD's Northeast Division will
begin deploying officers today to conduct foot patrols in the North
Figueroa Corridor in response to what the councilman said are recent
criminal activities.
Officers will be "highly visible," said a
statement issued by Councilmember Gil Cedillo, when conducting community
engagement with Angelenos who travel and work along the corridor, where
new restaurants, shops and bars have attracted more visitors.
"I
am happy to ensure the safety of my constituents in Highland Park with
the new foot beat patrol on North Figueroa corridor that I am
underwriting," said Cedillo. "The shifts will be during the late
afternoon and evening hours to coincide with recent crime trends and
pedestrian traffic."
Cedillo's office said the officers will meet
with community members, business owners and business patrons to educate
the public and enforce laws in an effort to reduce crime.
There
has not been any noticeable change in crime in the past year. However,
"we have seen an increase in hate graffiti vandalism in the last month,"
said a council district spokesman. Last month, numerous storefronts were tagged in the area amid anti-gentrification protests.
Two
officers working eight-hour shifts will be deployed during foot
patrols, and Cedillo secured $500,000 from the city's general fund for
the patrols in the area for the next two and a half years.
Funding
was also committed to the LAPD's Northeast Division to further
facilitate safety of local nightlife, businesses and restaurants to
encourage people to walk the Figueroa corridor.
Capt.
Arturo Sandoval, the area commanding officer for the LAPD's Northeast
Division, said enhanced patrols will take place alternating three days
weekly on either Friday, Saturday and Sunday; or Saturday, Sunday and
Monday.
"It is the mission of the Los Angeles Police Department to
facilitate the enjoyment of local nightlife and restaurants, as well as
establish an environment that encourages patrons to walk the Figueroa
corridor," said a statement issued by the Northeast Division.
Bruce scheduled a meeting with Rosamaria so we could see the
space at Rock Rose to confirm that it can work for workshop activities during
the Dutch residency. Bruce & MJG met with her a few months ago – Dolores Chavez
connected us to her. She’d already agreed to host our January activities when
Bruce inquired over the phone. I hadn’t been before. Bruce’s meeting downtown
went longer than expected which gave me and Rosamaria a chance to get to know
each other and for me to tell her more about the Highland Park Project.
Here’s the mission of Rock Rose-
Rock Rose Gallery and Production Studio was established in
August of 2000 in the Northeast Los Angeles community of Highland Park
known as the first arts community in the greater Los Angeles area. As
an arts incubator for artists of all disciplines, artists
are encouraged to flourish at Rock Rose, a safe and nurturing
environment which also allows the community to be inspired and to get
in touch with their own creative spirit.
Rosamaria is and does so much I can’t really begin to get
into it all. She recently left a p/t gig with Grand Park Foundation where she’d
pick people up and take them to Grand Park for a few hours then give them a
ride back. I think introducing the park to people who don’t know it’s there.
But that’s over so now she can do Rock Rose full time.
Rock Rose also a meeting/learning/performance space. She hosts
meetings for the Lumis Day Board – a group that plans Lumis Days activitiesand events. She is on that board. She has 2 or 5 high school student interns on
weekdays. The space is meant to serve as an artistic incubator for the neighborhood.
She and others teach classes in all kinds of things. There’s a guy who teaches
Gregorian Chant on Wednesday nights. She offers art classes for schoolchildren,
too.
So, yes, she has described how the meeting room is usually/will
be more cleared out and spacious for a group to gather and discuss and maybe
make something. Not really room to make something on its feet with more than 8
or 10 people. We’ll find out.
We told Rosamaria that we are cash poor but maybe there is
something she needs that we can help with. She is interested in some help with
organizational design. And in help re-organizing the stuff and the space. Between
a roof leak and the repair process a lot of stuff is piled bunched and piled
up.
I tentatively made a date with her to help get the space organized
or tidied on January 3. I’m not sure who would be best to give her some advice
about how to best organize, but speak up if it’s you or you know who it is.
We can use Rock Rose for our working space evenings Tuesday,
Thursday, & Friday (jan 7, 9, 10) and morning/afternoon on Saturday Jan 11.
We will also plan a story circle there. Rosamaria knows MANY
people. So I’ll draft a flyer, we’ll choose a date and she’s get her neighbors and
other folks there.
I won’t write about all the things we discussed but I will
tell you that she had an LP she rescued from donated collection. It’s the cast
recording of the Los Angeles production of FLY BLACKBIRD.
C. Bernard Jackson is
a co-author of this musical—and was a significant mentor to Rosamaria.
But one of the most brilliant things about the LP was seeing
LEE KORF in the cast list.
A short bio lifted from this Native Hope webpage-- Yvonne
“Tiny” DeCory, Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, is among those working to
stop suicides on Pine Ridge. If the reservation's suicide epidemic were
a hurricane, she's standing in the eye. DeCory is founder of the BEAR
program, which stands for “Be Excited About Reading.” DeCory and her
student volunteers—many of them suicide survivors—put on musical and
dance skits to help kids struggling with reading as well as the serious
issues of life on the reservation, including suicide. Her work has been
highlighted by PBS, the BBC, the Huffington Post, and more. Tiny’s
Native Hope Fellowship will afford the BEAR program and its mission to
expand to other reservations in South Dakota where the suicide levels
are equally devastating.
But visit the page anyway to see some videos of her talking about her work and community.
She wants everyone to see/hear this--
And you can follow her on facebook which is so far my only means of communicating with her. FB is one of the more effective communication mediums in Pine Ridge.
KCRW has an 8-part radio series about the identity of the city in the face of development and other changes across the city. It's from 2017 and each segment is less than 30 minutes long.
I dig this video from new york times- it's a conversation with Billie and her brother/collaborator, plus moments with their mom, that i think is filmed in their house.
about how the state attracts wealthy people but without for the betterment of the residents, 11/14/19.
".... Super-rich people choose between jurisdictions in the same way that
middle-class people choose between ISAs: they want the best security, the
best income and the lowest costs. That is why so many super-rich people
are choosing South Dakota, which has created the most potent force-field
money can buy – a South Dakotan trust. If an ordinary person puts money in
the bank, the government taxes what little interest it earns. Even if that money is protected from taxes by an ISA, you can still lose it through
divorce or legal proceedings. A South Dakotan trust changes all that: it
protects assets from claims from ex-spouses, disgruntled business
partners, creditors, litigious clients and pretty much anyone else. It wonʼt
protect you from criminal prosecution, but it does prevent information on
your assets from leaking out in a way that might spark interest from the
police. And it shields your wealth from the government, since South Dakota
has no income tax, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax. ...."
Oxy Arts Project / Exhibit from earlier this year has a terrific resource---
"NELA Stories engages with community
members who have lived and shaped the local cultural landscape of
Northeast Los Angeles (NELA) between the 1950s or earlier through the
2000s.
70 minutes well spent and will enhance your visits to Highland Park to think of the people and experiences of the past in the neighborhood locations and images you see today.
Autumn White Eyes is the executive
director of Lakota Children’s Enrichment, Inc. She hails from the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation and holds a B.A. in Native American studies and
English from Dartmouth and an M.Ed. in arts education from the Harvard
Graduate School of Education.
A Letter to Urban Outfitters
I don't know the title of this piece is. It could be For Native Women--
*read it below but there’s a 17 image slideshow if you use the link above*
Highland Park, Los Angeles: A Watchful Eye on Gentrification
ByDebra Kamin.
As real estate prices rise and crime drops, residents hope that the longtime diversity of the neighborhood will persevere.
When Megan Auster-Rosen, 39, began her house hunt 18 months ago, she knew she would have to make some compromises.A New York City native, she had spent four years renting in the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Silver Lake and Echo Park, which together form the City of Angels’s hipster epicenter and reminded her of Brooklyn.
But Ms. Auster-Rosen, a clinical psychologist, and her wife, Ava, a cinematographer, have hopes of starting a family, and were looking for room to grow. They found it by heading northeast, to the historic, racially diverse enclave of Highland Park, where they found a three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow that offered easy access to the sort of funky, foodie, fair-trade shops and restaurants they both love.
“We wanted something walkable, because we’re New Yorkers. And that’s what really sold us on this place,” she said.
Highland Park has twin main drags — York Boulevard and Figueroa Street — both stocked with third-wave coffee shops, artisan bakeries and pretty stores peddling vinyl and vintage handicrafts. In July 2018, the couple paid $749,000 for their bungalow, which is on a side street just minutes by foot from York. Figueroa Street can be reached by car in the same amount of time.
Ms. Auster-Rosen sacrificed one of the house’s three bedrooms for more open-plan living, knocking down a wall at the front of the home and creating a central living/dining space. She had the kitchen rearranged as well, and HVAC installed. There’s a converted garage she plans to turn into a granny flat for guests. Her dog, Tiny, an aptly-named Chihuahua who clocks in at about four pounds, appreciates her new outdoor domain. If and when a baby joins the family, there’s a spare bedroom waiting.
The home is flanked by churches, a fact that initially made Ms. Auster-Rosen wary. “We were like, are they going to be homophobic?” she said. “But in fact it’s been nice. We hear singing on Sunday mornings. We love our neighbors. And we just love having this much space.”
The neighborhood is in the midst of a renaissance, which has made it an affordable alternative for young professionals like Ms. Auster-Rosen who find themselves priced out of central Los Angeles. But its transition is complicated. Highland Park is historically Latino, and as housing prices have crept up, a slew of Spanish-speaking panaderias, bodegas and businesses have shuttered. But crime has also plummeted, bringing new parks, night life and vibrancy to streets that a decade ago were caught in the grip of Los Angeles’s notorious gang violence. Many longtime residents welcome the new sense of security while also bemoaning an erasure of the neighborhood’s long-held identity.
“Highland Park is the new Silver Lake,” said Alison Huddy, a Los Angeles native who runs the real estate team Home Sweet Huddy along with her husband, Jason. “In the ’80s and ’90s the sun would go down and, that was it — you locked your doors because there was so much gang activity … but now, you walk down Figueroa Street at night, and it’s so happening.”
As the makeup of the community has shifted, many of its newer residents — who skew young, white and college-educated — speak openly about their complex love for the neighborhood.
“The gentrification piece is stressful. If we had gone into a house where renters were going to be kicked out, I would have said, ‘I can’t buy this house,’” Ms. Auster-Rosen said. But she and her wife found a home that was being sold — at a tidy profit — by its owner of 15 years. The diversity around them sweetened the deal.
She especially appreciated that Highland Park hadn’t gentrified as much as Eagle Rock, the enclave’s northern neighbor.“In our neighborhood there are Costa Ricans and there are Mexicans. The family across the street is Korean. There’s always different music. I love talking to the neighbors who have been here for a long time.”
What You’ll Find
Highland Park is bordered on the south and east by the 110 freeway, and stretches west almost all the way to Eagle Rock Boulevard. Its northern border sits below Occidental College and the city limits of Pasadena.
Highland Park Bowl, located on Figueroa Street, is Los Angeles’s oldest bowling alley. It was established during Prohibition in 1927 and was beautifully refurbished in 2016, with its original wooden lanes still intact, sawed-off pin holders upcycled into delightful chandeliers, and handsome leather couches that serve as gathering points for house cocktails from its two horseshoe-shaped bars, as well as wood-fired pizzas and live music.
Most commerce is clustered around Figueroa Street and York Boulevard, or Fig and York, as the locals call them.
Many of its streets are filled with Craftsman-style homes and California bungalows. Some historic Highland Park homes date back as far as the 1880s; most were constructed in the 1910s and 1920s.
A construction flurry in the 1950s led to the razing of some of the district’s oldest homes, and today, nearly every block features a site that is under renovation and in the process of being flipped.
What You’ll Pay
In 2016, Gerard Way, frontman for the band My Chemical Romance, sold his Highland Park home — a restored, six-bedroom, midcentury structure — for $1.158 million, marking the first-ever home sale in the neighborhood north of the $1 million mark. Today, there are dozens. The highest sale to date in 2019 was at $1.625 million.
This year through September, 255 single-family homes sold at a median price of $829,000, compared with 268 at a median of $800,000 during the same period in 2018, and 220 at a median of $630,000 during the same period in 2016, according to real estate appraisers Miller Samuel Inc.
The Vibe
“Highland Park fills a void,” said Jason Huddy, the real estate agent. He points to a specific profile of buyer — couples who are first-time homeowners, who either don’t have children yet or have one small child, and are currently renting in trendy neighborhoods like Silver Lake or Echo Park. When they start thinking about growing their families, Mr. Huddy said, they are likely priced out of places like Pasadena and Burbank, which each offer their own walkable downtowns and culture spots. Highland Park, he said, “is a shining beacon of awesomeness — where you can afford a house and you can still keep your identity.”
For JD Rocchio, however, a growing family isn’t a priority, but a strong sense of community is. The 32-year-old Los Angeles native bought his first home in Highland Park in December, a little more than two years after moving his business, Belle’s Bagels, from a pop-up spot inside a bakery on Figueroa Street to a permanent location on York Boulevard. He paid $720,000 for a two-bedroom, one-bath Craftsman-style house that he shares with his dog, Dusty, a hound/pit bull mix.
“There is an any town feel,” he said. “The number one thing I love about living here is you can just pop from store to store and you meet the people who run the businesses — their kids and wives are there, their family is eating in the corner. There’s a sense of connectedness.”
The Schools
Highland Park is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the United States. Nine public elementary schools serve the neighborhood, as well as one magnet elementary.
Benjamin Franklin Senior High serves the area, with an enrollment of more than 1,600. In the 2017-2018 school year, 61 percent of 11th-grade students met or exceeded the state benchmark for college-readiness by scoring a 480 on the EBRW (Evidence Based Reading and Writing) sections of the SAT. In math, 35 percent met the benchmark score for readiness, which is 530.
Across the Los Angeles Unified School District, an average of 58 percent of 11th graders met their benchmarks in EBRW, and 35 percent in math.
The Commute
Highland Park is home to a precious commodity in Los Angeles: a metro stop. The L.A. Metro Gold Line has a station just north of Figueroa Street, and can get commuters downtown in about 35 minutes.
On the city’s clogged freeways, the ride from Highland Park to the heart of downtown Los Angeles can take about an hour. A drive to the west side can be a much longer slog — as much as an hour and 50 minutes — but in off-peak hours, can take only 30 minutes.
The History
Highland Park was settled along the Arroyo Seco river, a misnomer for a body of water and its canyon. Both the river and its canyon have been a transportation corridor for centuries; a railroad bridge built in the 1880s brought a faster link and in the 1940s, the construction of California Route 110 — a.k.a. the Arroyo Seco Parkway — brought the very first freeway to the United States.
Thanks to its location as a transit hub, Highland Park was one of Los Angeles’s first suburban neighborhoods. It was incorporated into the city in 1895 and soon became the epicenter of the Arts and Crafts movement — a fact still evident today in its homes with wide eaves and a handful of Victorian relics. Sandwiched between downtown Los Angeles and what was then the resort town of Pasadena, Highland Park became both a bedroom community and an artistic haven.
The neighborhood has a long and proud history of welcoming outsiders; in the 1970s it became a center of Chicano art collectives, and in the 1990s, it was the beating heart of the punk rock revolution.
The area has seen steady gentrification, with new shops and businesses opening and home prices on the rise, since the early 2000s.
Walking back up toward Figeuroa Doug introduced
us to Charlie Fisher,
who literally wrote a book about Highland
Park. He’s an historian. And a collector of vintage cars. There were
several in his driveway and in front of his house. He was on his porch talking
with a guy about how he might repair some body damage on one of his cars.
I won’t write about all the things we discussed but I will
tell you that she had an LP she rescued from donated collection. It’s the cast
recording of the Los Angeles production of FLY BLACKBIRD. 
