June 2010

ts: l C r N Resu .com o F n ss e tio ypr c t Ele idci M

mid-city press

.com

Vol 1. No. 3

June 2010

Distributed monthly to 25,000 homes in Mid-City, Olympic Park, Country Club Park, Layfayette Square, Victoria Park, Arlington Heights, Harvard Heights, Oxford Square, West Adams, South Carthay, PicFair Village and the areas of Carthay Square, Wilshire Vista, Western Heights, Wellington Square, Jefferson Park and West Adams

What’s in a Name?

By Jessica Pauline Ogilvie Mid-City Contributing Writer MID-CITY—In as expansive a city as Los Angeles, many neighborhoods find their identity through their names, like Victoria Park and Arlington Heights. In the Mid-City area, 18 such designations exist, and there may be more to come.

Mason Bendewald, 43, of Cimarron Street, is working for such a designation in his neighborhood. After digging through old maps and making seemingly endless calls to the city, he finally found out that the small plot of land –a sixblock area bordered by Venice and Washington boulevards and Western and Arlington avenues—is called Angeles Vista.

Before his digging expedition, he says, “nobody really knew what the neighborhood was called.” But, he adds, “having a name makes a huge difference.” see NAME page 3

Community Seeks To Reduce Area Liquor Stores

By Sharon Yi, Mid-City Contributing Writer

are wondering when enough is enough.

“People are tearing out their hair,” said Diana Cretian, chairperson of the South Orange Drive Action Committee (SODAC). “We’re saying enough is enough. We want a level of decency restored here.”

Three men loiter on a recent evening in front of Three Jay’s Liquor on W. Washington Boulevard.

Since 1997, Photo: Mason Bendewald SODAC has been working on neighborthe entire state’s off-sale license MID-CITY—Considering that hood issues helping commuholders.

Los Angeles thrives on nightnities voice their opinions to Mid-City alone has 38 offlife, it shouldn’t come as a the appropriate city leaders. sale liquor licenses—and that surprise that liquor stores are The Mid-City Neighborhood number is threatening to grow. as common to the city as the Council (MINC) is also veheA 7-11 was proposed for palm trees that line its streets. mently opposed to any more northeast corner of La Brea According to the Alcohol liquor stores in the area as is Avenue and Washington BouBeverage Control 2009 census the area’s city councilmember, levard across from a mini marof liquor licenses, of the 13,321 Herb Wesson. ket and a few feet away from off-sale liquor licenses in Cali“I haven’t supported an Liquorama. One block east fornia, Los Angeles alone acoutside liquor license, because sits T&G Liquor. Residents counts for nearly a quarter of

[impressions] Wesson Fights To Avoid Layoffs Bloom Café Exhibit Captures the Working Soul of Pico

By Allison C. Ferraro LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council voted in May to eliminate 761 city payroll positions effective July 1st in an effort to help close the city’s $485 million budget shortfall.

While the layoffs are fewer than the 4,000 that had been estimated by city officials earlier this year, the cuts are still difficult for local Mid-City Los Angeles City Councilmember Herb Wesson, who has been opsee WESSON page 4

From LaBrea to Fairfax on Pico Displays through July

By Susan Brooks, Mid-City Press Contributing Writer

PICO BLVD—Currently showcased at Bloom Café is an exceptional collection of photographs entitled From LaBrea to Fairfax on Pico. A slice of central Los Angeles life, the photos are a series of portraits of Pico Boulevard business owners taken in front of their shops. Their vibrant colors and urban setting provide a perfect backdrop for the full-length depictions of hard-working people proudly invested in the demands of small business ownership.

The photographs were taken by Josh Gibson, a designer who works with Bloom

IN BLOOM—Documentarian Josh Gibson’s photographs of the business owners of Pico Blvd. are on display at Bloom Café until July. Photo Credit: Mason Bendewald

owner Arnaud Palatan on the visual and marketing concepts at the café and at Chic, the restaurateur’s wine bar located in the same block of Pico. With

a degree in filmmaking from Cal State Los Angeles, Gibson is a documentarian who often works in video. This is his first see BLOOM CAFÉ page 7

we have a proliferation of them in this area,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with going [to one] and getting wine, beer or spirits. But we don’t have to have them on every corner.”

And they do seem to be on every corner. Driving down a stretch of Washington Boulevard, there are five liquor stores in a span of 11 blocks.

Though the Los Angeles Police Dept. cannot provide statistics of a direct causality of crime from liquor stores, residents of Mid-City have experienced it quite acutely.

For MINC boardmember Barbara Thompson, a resident of Mid-City for over 20 years, the issue is personal.

Her 18-year-old nephew was shot and killed in of a liquor store parking lot five years ago.

“He’s not even from here.

He was just visiting family,” she said. “He got off the bus, crossed the street and was killed. I don’t know why.”

That liquor store in question was Washington Boulevard’s Community Quick Stop Market, which has closed down since, but is now applying for a transfer of liquor licenses to reopen.

“There has always been a lot of activity on that block,” said Thompson. “And then after the tragic death, it still continued… Does the liquor bring the mad element into the neighborhood?”

Today, with over 30 negative e-mails from residents in response to the proposed location of 7-11 and multiple community meetings, those associated with that convenience store are again scouting a new location.

“I’ve been here for about five years and I have never supported off-sale liquor licenses,” said Wesson. “We don’t need anymore. We got too many now. I don’t see why my position would change.”

at www.midcitypress.com

Art in Historic Places:

Restaurant Review

Su Casa Home Sales

Event Listings:

Religion:

Susan Arena’s work, Page 3

So Kong Dong, Page 3

Page 4

Blitzen Trapper at the El Rey

Rinzai-ji Zen Center

mid-city press [letter from the publisher] We reported in our sister publication, the Los Feliz Ledger, earlier this year, that Los Feliz’s neighborhood council—the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council (GGPNC)— had over 1,500 local stakeholders cast ballots in the area’s March 20th neighborhood council election.

That community is obviously very tuned in to the influence a local neighborhood council can have on such things as residential and commercial zoning issues and neighborhood beautification.

Our own area here in Mid-City has a way to go to

meet the high benchmark the GGPNC has set. For our own May 13th neighborhood council elections, voter turnout was dismal. Ballots cast by council were as follows: Mid-City West, 393; Olympic Park, 90; PICO, 102 and Greater Wilshire, 486. (For full election coverage and a list of winners, visit www.midcitypress.com.)

Fortunately, area voters have another shot at turning out the vote June 26th. Next up are neighborhood council elections for Mid-City (MINC), United Neighborhoods Neighborhood Council, West Adams and Empowerment Congress West Area. For poll information and candidates, visit midcitypress.com.

Advertise in the (323) 667-1329 Become a Founding Member of the Mid-City Press 50% Off Rates

Page 2

Pick up the Mid-City Press at these locations: Atomic Café 5001 W. Washington Blvd.

Washington Irving Library 4117 W. Washington Blvd.

Pasquale’s Café and Pizza 5616 San Vicente Blvd.

Splendid Cleaners 1226 S. Cochran Ave. Maria’s Café 4645 Venice Blvd.

Olson’s Deli and Gift Shop 5660 W. Pico

FOUNDED 2010 Delivered the last Thursday of the month to 25,000 homes and businesses in the Mid-City neighorhoods of: Mid-City, Olympic Park, Country Club Park, Layfayette Square, Victoria Park, Arlington Heights, Harvard Heights, Oxford Square, West Adams, Angelus Vista and the areas of Carthay Square and Wilshire Vista.

PUBLISHER /EDITOR Allison C. Ferraro, M.A.

ADVERTISING SALES Olga Measures and Dwaine Harris

GR APHIC DESIGN & L AYOUT

GENER AL OFFICE A SSISTANTS Griffin Oliver Cohen Charles H. Cohen

For editorial consideration, send story ideas to: allisonferraro@ midcitypress.com For advertising inquiries, call: (323) 667-1329 For more stories and updates: Midcitypress.com

Tiffany Sims

Visit our sister publication online at LosFelizLedger.com

The Mid-City Press will be professionally delivered the last Thursday of each month (the first Thursday in April, July and September) in recyclable plastic bags between Normandie Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard and Olympic and Adams boulevards.

If you’ve missed your paper, call (323) 667-1529.

Corrections & Amplifications Last month, in our story “Washington Boulevard: A Work In Progress,” we said that Los Angeles City Council District 10 had purchased several plots of land along Washington Boulevard.

The district has only purchased one lot, at Washington Boulevard and Gramercy Avenue. We regret the error.

Visit midcitypress.com for these stories and features: • Neighborhood Council Polling Locations and Candidates • Results of a May 28th City Council vote to grant a developer a loan to complete the Mid Town Crossing shopping center • Religion: A profile on Cimarron Street’s Rinzai-ji Zen Center • Complete area calendar and event listings • LA City Councilmember Herb Wesson’s column

www.midcitypress.com

June 2010

mid-city press

MINC Seeks to Beautify New DSL Towers

By Jessica Pauline Ogilvie Mid-City Contributing Writer MID-CITY—In an ongoing upgrade to DSL communications, the Mid-City area has seen the installation of several large metal cabinets called aboveground facilities (AGFs) on sidewalks throughout the neighborhood.

“With all good things there are bad things,” said Bruce Durbin, Mid-City Neighborhood Council (MINC) board member and chair of the board’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) committee at the board’s May 17th meeting. “That’s what these cabinets are.”

Durbin and other members of MINC have reached out to the city and to AT&T, which installed the most recent AGFs, to find out whether they can be camouflaged or turned into street art through colorful cellophane or paint.

“Culver City on [WashDurbin and other members of MINC have reached out to the city and to AT&T, which installed the most recent AGFs, to find out whether they can be camouflaged or turned into street art through colorful cellophane or paint. ington] Blvd. has shrinkwrapped their AGFs with pictures that match surrounding scenery,” said MINC president Allan DiCastro in an e-mail.

“The AGFs there blend a lot better into [the] community landscape.”

So far, neither the city nor AT&T will grant residents permission to beautify the boxes.

June 2010

Historic Home and Art Tour Set for June 5th WEST ADAMS—A self guided driving tour of historic homes and art from some of the area’s artists, will be held Sat., June 5th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., presented by the West Adams Heritage Assoc.

The event, called “Art in Historic Places: West Adams’ Creative Canvas,” will start at Gramercy Housing Group (former Majestic Pharmacy) at 1824 South 4th Ave. Victorian, Craftsman, and Spanish homes and artists’ studios, are on the tour, as are a 1920s French Norman Revival apartment, an Adams Boulevard mansion, and the Union Theater—a WWI-era movie theater now home to the Velaslavasay Panorama.

Additionally, art will be showcased from artists such as Aaron Morse, whose work has been exhibited at the Hammer Museum and noted local gallery Acme; Marina Moevs, whose paintings have been on view at the Autry; and internationally famed ceramicist Mas Ojima and many others.

A complete list of participating artists is available at www.WestAdamsHertigage. org.

The tour will include homes in Arlington Heights, Wellington Square, Layfayette Square, Western Heights and University Park.

Advance tickets, $25 (by May 31), available at www.westadamsheritage.com.

General admission, $30, at the door. For information, call (323) 732-4223 or visit w w w.West AdamsHeritage. org. The last ticket will be sold at 1 p.m., and tour properties will close promptly at 4 p.m.

www.midcitypress.com

[restaurant review]

Olympic Blvd’s So Kong Dong OLYMPIC BOULEVARD— Tucked into the corner of JPlaza, So Kong Dong has developed a cult following. I now know why people drive from the South Bay to eat here.

The décor is simple tables and chairs, the better for pushing them together when you drop in with several friends.

The wait staff is friendly, ef-

quail egg from your Banchan into your Soon Dubu, but I loved the interaction of doing it for myself – even if I made a bit of a mess.

If you like to play with your food, this place is for you and we left feeling perfectly satisfied and not too full. And that’s a good thing, because we had dumpling leftovers, later at home, for

The wait staff is friendly, efficient and quick to steer the confused, as many non-Koreans often are, in the right menu direction. ficient and quick to steer the confused, as many non-Koreans often are, in the right menu direction. I was warned I had ordered too much food—four entrees—but the bill was still only $39, so why not?

First you’ll start with the barley iced tea—which was refreshing beyond belief. Before your entrees arrive, you’ll enjoy the “Banchan:” selections of bean sprouts and carrot in a light soy sauce; spicy cucumbers, potatoes and red pepper; tofu; daikon radish in brine; tiny raw quail eggs, gently flavored kim chee, and unbelievable raw spicy crab—all to be mixed and matched together and with bowls of rice.

For entrees, So Kong Dong offers plates like Bulgogi (BBQ marinated beef sirloin), but we wanted to try the lesser-known offerings, like dumplings stuffed with a combination of meat. We also enjoyed three varieties of Soon Dubu (tofu soup): oyster, clam and mushroom. All three soups of perfectly seasoned broth arrived bubbling exuberantly. The wait staff is happy to crack the raw

NAME from page 1

Living in a neighborhood with a recognizable name can create a close-knit feel and promote community. But the process of figuring out the name—or, for an area that hasn’t yet been designated, obtaining a name—requires patience and diligence.

“Many areas in the city were neighborhoods many, many years ago,” said Bruce Gillman, a spokesman at the Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation (LADOT), which deals with signage for neighborhoods.

But as the city expanded and grew, he said, the names were often dropped or forgotten about.

“Over time, with building and encroachment, all these neighborhoods got swallowed up into bigger communities or got incorporated into cities or townships,” said Gillman.

Now, much of the work being done to create distinctions from one city block to another involves first finding out if a name already exists, and if so, going to the city to have the designations made official by signage.

And as with many things that require the participation of city offices, cutting through the red tape to get it done can be tedious.

“It is a million different steps you’ve got to go through to get the signs,” said Bendewald.

The process of creating names that don’t already exist is even more difficult, and was made that way deliberately in 2006, according to John Fisher, assistant general manager

midnight snacks.

Reviews are based on 4 forks as excellent from start to finish.

So Kong Dong, 2716 W. Olympic Blvd.

Suite 104 (Between Vermont and New Hampshire.)

11 a.m. – 11 p.m.

(213) 380-3737

with LADOT. “It’s more structured, and it goes though a number of committees,” he said of the naming process.

Anyone can decide to attempt to rename their neighborhood. To get the process started, at least 500 signatures must be collected in favor of doing so and submitted to the City Clerk’s Office. From there, the application goes to the Dept. of Neighborhood Empowerment, which recently merged with the city’s Community Development Department. After making it’s way through several other city offices and a public hearing, the application then goes back to the neighborhood council and then the city council for consideration.

“It’s designed to make sure that there’s really a thoughtful process going into the renaming,” said Fisher.

Acquiring a name is a boon for community spirit. But the benefits don’t stop there.

“Realtors love to use the neighborhood names,” said Gillman. “It makes people feel it’s a smaller area and some people are driven by the kind of area” that’s invoked by the name, like Beverly Hills Adjacent or West Hollywood.

Bendewald would like to see the positive effects of a name make their mark on Angeles Vista, and is now working with City District 10 to acquire signs for the area.

“It will better define us and give neighbors a sense of pride when they enter their neighborhood,” he said. It “helps build a better community.”

Page 3

mid-city press WESSON from page 1

posed to layoffs of any kind.

“Whenever you look at reducing your work force,” said Wesson in a telephone interview, “you can’t backfill those positions. It becomes more of a challenge to deliver the services people want and expect.”

As a result of the layoffs, another 2,400 employees taking early retirement, and nearly a month of mandatory furlough days for some other city employees, Mid-City residents, according to Wesson, will start to notice a reduction in city services—everything from cuts in library hours to

[real estate]

2010 Applications Still Available for Mills Act

By Nick Mercado, Mid-City Press Real Estate Columnist MID-CITY—Our area has played an integral part in Los Angeles’ rich history and helped pave the way for the progressive architectural renaissance that evolved over the last century.

It is because of this wonderful past that the city has recognized Adams, Normandie, Harvard Heights, Lafayette Square, University Park, Western Heights, Pico/ Union, West Adams Terrace, and more as historical communities and designated as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).

HPOZ was further enhanced when Los Angeles adopted local Mills Act Legislation in 1996 that provides substantial property tax savings to homeowners seeking to restore, maintain and rehabilitate their homes.

To qualify, a home must be listed as a locally-designated Historic-Cultural Monument or Contributing Property to an approved Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. Historic properties are not automaticalThe best

ly designated and granted this status, but must apply for and meet the established criteria.

Single-family homes must not have an assessment of property tax value of more than $1.5 million. Other buildings such as multi-family or commercial properties may also be eligible provided they not have an assessment of property tax value of more than $3 million.

Should property values be in excess of these limits, certain criteria must be met and an application for exemption may be requested.

Although the Mills Act provides for substantial savings to homeowners, it leaves a void in the coffers of the local treasury. To assist with this shortfall, the Los Angeles City Council established a $1 million cap on annual lost revenues brought about by this program. Currently, only properties requiring substantial restoration are being considered due to the program nearing this established cap.

Applications for 2010 are still currently available.

a lack of tree trimming and street repairs.

“You may not think a pot hole is a big deal,” said Wesson, “but it becomes one when you run over it with your tires.”

Wesson has recently drafted a number of proposals to bridge the deficit including reducing pensions for new city employees and imposing a tax on billboards, which is currently being considered for the November ballot.

“This is the most challenging time that I have ever seen since I have been in public office,” said Wesson, who was elected to the city council in 2005 and has served in government positions for 20 years. “Every day can be a depressing day when you think about the lives that are being altered right now,” with layoffs. “People have mortgage

payments and kids trying to go to college. It’s been very challenging.”

One initiative that Wesson said is no longer in jeopardy of being cut is the area’s $1.4 mil-

lion gang prevention program called “Project Save.”

“The people did not hire us to do the easy stuff,” he said.

“They hired us to take the city through difficult times.”

[ SELECT HOME SALES JUNE 2010 ] 90006 Condominimums 1043 S KENMORE AVE 501 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400,000 1043 S KENMORE AVE 205 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000

90018 Single Family Homes 3781 2249 2823 3844

DEGNAN BLVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

W 30TH ST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BRIGHTON AVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MONTCLAIR ST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

400,000 350,000 340,000 255,000

90019 Condominimum 1002 S BURNSIDE AVE 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $472,000

90019 Single Family Homes 1126 1615 1130 5810

S BURNSIDE AVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $860,000 BUCKINGHAM RD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831,000 S WINDSOR BLVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540,000 PICKFORD ST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405,000

See full month’s list at www.midcitypress.com Sales are from the previous month. Source: Great American Real Estate Solutions

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Information: Dept. of City Planning’s Office of Historic Resources at (213) 978-1183.

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Page 4

JohnDickey_June10_MCP.indd 1

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June 2010

mid-city press

Summer is Here!

[family matters]

[Loyola high school]

By Griffin Cohen, 9th grade

[pilgrim school]

By Michael Wong, grade 7

Things are winding down as we head toward finals and summer. Seniors are cherishing their last days here before college. During the week of May 24th, we celebrated “Senior Week, ” including a senior barbecue, a senior only In-N-Out lunch and a senior holiday.

Seniors take big leadership roles on campus, especially as “Big Brothers.” Each freshman has big brothers assigned to him who are there to always help. Together they attend a Freshman Retreat in the fall and a Thanksgiving lunch. It’s ia great program and a big help for me this year.

Spring sports are ending positively as well. Each team has its own banquet, which offers a nice way to wrap up the season.

These past few months have been my last at Pilgrim. There are so many things that I will say goodbye to, but next year holds many exciting adventures.

Pilgrim has been busy. An all-school cast performed in “The Wizard of Oz” and they were super. The Brown Family Fine Arts center opened last month, filled with interesting and beautiful art.

This month, the Fine Arts Showcase had an evening with an art opening for our students’ art followed by a concert that included the handchime choir, chorus, band and the Pilgrim jazz ensemble.

Graduation is coming up.

The man who is the graduation speaker founded Big Sunday.

Dentistry for Children and Young Adults

Pediatric Dentistry Randall E. Niederkohr, D.D.S.

Member American Dental Association Diplomat of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

Dr. Maria Singson - Orthodontist

1109

TV & Video Games

Celebrating Fathers

By Anita Saunders, Mid-City Press Columnist Father’s Day is about celebrating dads and all the things they do and; more often that not, it’s the simple things that mean the most for dad and for children alike.

When my son recently participated in his first soccer season, my husband was the team’s assistant coach. He then spent the ensuing Saturday mornings sprinting up and down the soc-

cer field, instructing the eager tykes on dribbling and when to take a shot on goal.

This spring we signed our little athlete up for T-Ball and I assumed that my husband could relax and watch from the sidelines. Not so. Officially, the team has one head coach and two assistants. Unofficially, there are almost as many coaches as players with nearly all the dads taking active roles in building

our team’s skills and spirit.

Our son recently expressed his delight saying: “Daddy helped me with soccer and now he helps me learn TBall.” With our busy lifestyles, it’s easy to overlook how much the small gestures actually mean to the little ones.

So as you drive past our local parks and ballfields this summer, notice the many dads spending quality time with their kids. By teaching them to swing a bat or run the bases, these Dads are showing their children that they are there for them, now and always.

NEW The New Erika J. Glazer Nursery School Now Accepting Applications

Parent & Me Classes

Now forming for ages birth - 2½ yrs

(213) 388-2401 www.wbtla.org

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Historic Campus 3663 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles

We have a unique living room atmosphere Children from newborns to 18-year-olds feel comfortable Saturday Appointments Available

s 321 N. Larchmont Blvd, Suite 809

For more information, contact Beth Weisman at bweisman@wbtla.org

If PILGRIM SCHOOL Is at the Top Of Your List, You’ve Done Your Homework.

TODDLER PROGRAM THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL

100% COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE RATE

NEW FINE ARTS CENTER FOR A TOUR PLEASE CALL THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE – (213) 355-5204

5 4 0 S . C O M M O N W E A LT H AV E N U E s L O S A N G E L E S , C A L I F O R N I A w w w. p i l g r i m - s c h o o l . o r g s ( 2 1 3 ) 3 5 5 - 5 2 0 4

90020

Pilgrim School is a division of First Congregational Church of Los Angeles

June 2010

www.midcitypress.com

Page 5

mid-city press [editorial]

Carthay Circle: Have You Heard of It?

By Cutter LaKind

Dorothy Parker, the American writer, is said to have said, “Los Angeles is 72 suburbs in search of a city.”

That specific number may not be very accurate today but the same idea remains. Unlike the other great cities of the world, Los Angeles is a patchwork of many neighborhoods without defined identities. I know this personally because I live in one of them.

I have lost track of the times someone has asked me what part of town I live in and then stared blankly when I say, “Carthay Circle.”

I must do my best to alleviate the confusion by adding “It’s a neighborhood just southeast of Beverly Hills.” For me this is nothing more than a minor inconvenience but on a larger scale this is a major setback for Carthay Circle and other Los Angeles neighborhoods like it.

When the name of a neighborhood has a particular and recognizable image there are resulting communally shared benefits. If one thinks of it in business terms, neighborhoods benefit from branding, like Nike or Apple. This concept is called a “Unique Value Proposition.” It is the specific reason your customers should spend money on your product and not on your competitors’. I can’t seem to figure out what Carthay Circle’s “Unique Value Proposition” is because it has not yet been able to develop one for itself. However, there are some neighborhoods that have.

Take Silver Lake. If you stroll into the hip eastside

community on any Saturday afternoon you can’t help but notice the unique image it has created for itself. The stores, the restaurants and the locals have communally branded the neighborhood as a bohemian enclave for the creative counter-culture. Silver Lake has turned itself into an experience, not just a neighborhood.

And there is a cultural and economic benefit to this. I hear friends say: “I’m going to go hang out in Silver Lake for the afternoon.” Silver Lake, you see, has become a destination—replete with edgy shopping, vintage clothes and hand made arts and crafts, as well as vegan lunch and organic ice cream. As much as I love my own Carthay, I have never heard anyone say: “I’m going to go hang out in Carthay Circle this afternoon.”

Angeleno’s don’t know what they’re missing because it has so much to offer – Amazing Ethiopian food in Little Ethiopia, historic Spanish duplexes and a short walk to the Petersen Automotive Museum and LACMA—just to name a few.

I’d like to see Carthay become the next Silver Lake.

Today, it’s a neighborhood in search of a city, in need of an identity. I believe it’s up to the residents to give it one. I believe we owe it to our beautiful community.

To post ideas and responses visit www.midcitypress.com

Cutter LaKind is a Carthay Circle resident, student and art book editor.

BLOOM CAFÉ from page 1

exhibit of still photography.

One of the subjects pictured in the series is Marlena Heinze, the daughter of “Pinky” Marcia Charles, owner of the Pinky Rose clothing boutique and a seven-year pioneer of the neighborhood. Currently located directly across Pico from Bloom Café, the boutique was one of the first aspirational businesses to put down stakes in the area.

“There were auto and tile businesses, but I thought the next Melrose would be on Pico, and someone needed to do it,” said Charles.

Several other shops and cafés came and went, but when Palatan started Bloom Café in 2006, it was a success, and Charles says it “helped open the street.

People weren’t walking until Bloom, now it’s a wonderful neighborhood.”

Free Skateboards Offered For Teens Who Can Clean

Gibson echoes those sentiments.

“People who used to be in Echo Park are here now. That’s where this place will go.”

The idea for the photo project came from brainstorming between Palatan, Charles and Gibson to create a directory for businesses along the Pico corridor. Gibson jumped at the chance to document the neighborhood and said the series of portraits grew organically from the original directory concept.

“It’s about who’s here, what’s happening,” he said.

His first photograph was of Eugene Freeman, a retiree who lives in the area and works part-time at Pinky Rose. The portfolio expanded to include nearby businesses such as Mike’s Bike Shop, boutique El Mercado, Lucy’s Drive Thru and Pico Modern Furnishing.

The weakened economy has impacted the area, but long-time stalwarts are holding on, and new businesses are coming to Pico all the time.

The pending directory and the exhibit are efforts to encourage support for those who have been willing to take a chance by investing in the long-term prospects of the area.

“This project is as much about small business owners as it is about the neighborhood,” said Gibson.

The exhibits at Bloom Café rotate on a regular basis and From LaBrea to Fairfax on Pico will be on display until July.

For more information: Bloom Café, 5544 Pico Blvd. (between Fairfax and LaBrea), (323) 934-6900. www.bloomcafe.com.

For information about Josh Gibson: http://www.treelinedrive. com/index.php?/stories/from-labrea-to-fairfax-on-pico/ Editor’s Note: Pinky Rose Boutique is relocating to 5370 Pico Blvd. June 1st, (323) 936-9213. Information: www.pinkyroseboutique.com

By Jessica Pauline Ogilvie, Mid-City Press Contributing Writer MID-CITY—In an effort to both beautify the neighborhood and encourage community involvement, the MidCity Neighborhood Council (MINC) is working with William LaMar, owner of Planet Maple Board Shop on Washington Boulevard, to organize two days of clean-up with local teens on Venice Boulevard between Crenshaw and La Brea avenues.

The area was selected randomly from a number of neighborhoods that applied.

The project is funded by MINC. The idea was brought to the neighborhood council by LaMar, who is offering a free skateboard to teens who participate. A date for the cleanup has not yet been set.

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