LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS Volume 40, Number 39
INSIDE
Goodbye Metropolis
September 26, 2011
5 W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
A Green Oasis in the Sky Community Garden Blooms on a Skid Row Rooftop
Urban Scrawl on the Dodgers.
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Buy a big lot with a big past.
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Divide over a Spring Street park.
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photo by Gary Leonard
South Park resident Jayne Torres provides gardening guidance on the roof of a Skid Row apartment complex. by Ryan Vaillancourt
Reviewing the Taper’s ‘Poor Behavior.’
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The Abe Lincoln moviemaker.
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The two worked together to place the spuds amid a surrounding bounty of watermelons, squash, n a recent Wednesday, Willie Mae Bell tomatoes and a potpourri of rosemary, sage and was dripping with sweat under a harsh lavender. mid-morning sun. She was on the roof The aromatic oasis was all the sweeter considerof her building, preparing to plant potatoes in a ing its location on a rooftop in the heart of Skid garden. Row, five stories over streets known for harsh The formerly homeless Bell did so under the odors. tutelage of Jayne Torres, a South Park resident and Bell resides at the Charles Cobb Apartments, a see xxxxxxxxxxxx, page 8 housing complex at 521 small business owner with a passion for gardening. permanent supportive staff writer
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S. San Pedro St. run by Skid Row Housing Trust. The nonprofit developer designed the building’s expansive roof to support gardens in containers, but when the 76-unit project opened in April 2010, there wasn’t much of a plan for planting. Enter Torres, Kris Hopfenbeck and Ryan Roger, Downtown residents who had been on a quest for a local space to turn into a community garden. “When I moved Downtown five years ago, it see Cobb, page 8
Battle Erupts Over Business Group Leadership Firing of BID’s Longtime Head Riles Huizar, Prompts Concerns of Collusion
20 CALENDAR LISTINGS 24 MAP 25 CLASSIFIEDS
by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer
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he leader of one of Downtown’s largest business improvement districts was abruptly fired last week. The move has riled some prominent business leaders and the area’s council representative, who believe it may have violated California open-meeting laws. On Sept. 15, the 13-person board of
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the Historic Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District voted to oust Russell Brown, who has led the organization for about four years. At the same meeting, the board installed Roberto Saldaña, the former in-house counsel to Broadway property owner Joseph Hellen, as the new head. Board members claim the change was made to move the BID forward and ensure its renewal when its five-
year term ends in December 2013. The worries stem from a recent failed attempt to add a few residential properties to the BID’s boundaries. Only 26% of district property owners submitted a ballot. A similar low participation rate would likely doom the renewal effort. Proponents of the BID fear that its expiration would be disastrous for street cleanliness and public see BID, page 11
photo by Gary Leonard
Russell Brown was removed as the head of the Historic Downtown Business Improvement District.
It’s happening downtown. www.lacwh.org
www.facebook.com/lacwh
(213) 742.5784 COMING THIS FALL