MARCHING FOR JUSTICE Demonstrations turn violent Downtown
June 8, 2020 I VOL. 49 I #22
Calling for Resignation
Lightening the Mood
Angelenos express anger over
Costa Brava Cocktails brightens
Chief Michel Moore’s comments Page 6
Finding ‘Hope’ in Music LA violinist Niv Ashkenazi
the pandemic with deliveries Page 8
releases new album Page 10 Photo courtesy Sarah Donahue/LA Downtown News
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Covered California will help HISTORIC PROTESTS
A Black Lives Matter banner adorns the Vertigo building at 1828 Oak Street and is visible from the I-10 and I-110. Photo courtesy Amber Suchomel
Madilyn Droddy (@ madig_tv) slaps hands with fellow protester “Mark” after he thanked her for showing support. Photo courtesy A.J. Droddy
A young girl joins the protest. Photos by Sarah Donahue/LA Downtown News
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Covered help LETTERSCalifornia TO THE will EDITOR
MIKE PETERS OPINION
Trump is a psycho Editor: It’s not merely my personal opinion that Vladimir Putin’s puppet, Donald Trump, is deranged, delusional, demented and profoundly psychotic. That’s the educated opinion of the American medical community. In April 2017, more than 41,000 American mental health professionals signed and submitted the petition “Mental Health Professionals Declare Trump is Mentally Ill and Must Be Removed,” which, in part, says the following: “…Donald Trump manifests a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of president of the United States. And we respectfully request he be removed from office, according to article four of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that the president will be replaced if he is ‘unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.’” I couldn’t have said it any better my-
self. It could not possibly be any more obvious than it already is at this point that the Mad King Trump is completely mentally incapacitated, not to mention stone cold crazy. Traitor Trump is sinking fast, and the American people are paying for President Trumptanic’s incompetence with their lives by the tens of thousands. Do any of you Trump acolytes actually believe injecting household cleaners like Lysol or Clorox into your lungs is a legitimate and effective, nonlethal medical treatment for a coronavirus infection, as recently recommended by Trump? If anyone out there actually agrees, please seek psychiatric help immediately and stop drinking the Kool-Aid already. Unlike the Republican Party, most Americans don’t want to be Jonestowned. Joe Biden for president, folks.
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Jake Pickering
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JUNE 8, 2020
Did white lives matter? Not in 1950 LA By Ralph E. Shaffer Professor Emeritus, History, Cal Poly Pomona s the nationwide reaction, led by “Black Lives Matter,” to the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer runs its inevitable course of violence and anarchy, including fires and looting here in Downtown Los Angeles, it’s time to reflect on the lack of white reaction to a comparable, inexplicable use of lethal force here 70 years ago, which ended in the tragic death of a young college student. If that innocent, unarmed Los Angeles teen was black and had been fatally shot today by a police officer following a routine traffic stop, demonstrators would be in the streets demanding justice. But the white kid died in 1950, and the reaction of the public, press, police and justice system of that era contrasts sharply with what would occur now. Shortly after midnight on October 7, 1950, two white college students, James Henry and Francis Carey, were cruising through a section of northeast Los Angeles after a football game and party. The cruise ended tragically following a routine traffic stop when the 18-year-old Henry, the driver, was fatally shot by a Los Angeles reserve police officer. Henry’s sedan had been spotted by officer J. E. Christman and his partner as it left a parking lot, accompanied by another vehicle. The patrolmen chased the other car, lost it, and stopped Henry when they saw his car after the failed chase. With his gun drawn, Christman ordered Henry to exit with his hands up. As Henry left the car, Christman fired one shot, hitting Henry in the neck. He fell dead on the street. The morning dailies carried the story on the front page, with a jump to more details and photos inside. But press standards in 1950 differed greatly from the way journalists would cover an officer-involved shooting today. Christman’s name was mentioned repeatedly, printed with his photo. A disturbing picture showed the dead victim lying next to his car. Other than a large number of angry letters from readers, the only outward demonstration of public discontent was seen at the coroner’s inquest. Usually a routine matter with little public interest, the hearing was packed with so many disgruntled onlookers that the police providing security anticipated a demonstration following the jury’s finding. There was none. At the inquest, Christman insisted the shooting was a terrible accident. He explained he was tense after the failed car chase. He also said Henry did not have his hands over his head, as ordered, and in the instant before he fired his gun, Henry made a suspicious move toward his pocket. That “move toward his pocket” might have been 1950’s counterpart to the oft-heard justification of a deadly shooting today, that the victim “reached for his waistband.” In either case, the result is a dead youth—white or black. Carey, Henry’s passenger, told the inquest that Henry had his hands up when he was shot. That conflicting testimony is mirrored in several recent cases in which witnesses have contradicted similar justifications offered by police. At the end of testimony, the coroner’s jury quickly found Henry’s death to be a homicide. Christman left the hearing with a police escort and was taken directly to the Highland Park station, where he was booked for manslaughter and jailed. Not a likely scenario today. Christman’s incarceration ended a day later when the grand jury, which in those days usually consisted of a conservative, pro-law-and-order and upper-class element, cleared him of all charges, ruling the death an accident. Like the father of Kelly Thomas, the young white man who died a few years ago as a result of injuries incurred during his arrest in Fullerton, Henry’s father was not reticent about condemning police conduct in the death of his son. “Shot like a dog,” read one headline, quoting Henry’s father. But one feature so common today was missing in the Henry case. There were no press reports indicating the Henry family filed a claim against the police department or the city. There is no indication that any claim was made or paid. Today the claim would not only be filed but there would be a multimillion-dollar settlement. The Thomas family received a $4.9 million settlement from Fullerton. Why were there no demonstrations? The young folks of Henry’s era were labeled the “Silent Generation.” They were a quiet group, unaccustomed to protest, interested mainly in having a family and a secure future. In 1950, white lives didn’t matter enough to make waves. Although today young whites protest over many other grievances, the Thomas case demonstrates that white lives still don’t matter.
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Ralph E. Shaffer is professor emeritus of history at Cal Poly Pomona.
JUNE 8, 2020
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Restaurants differ on the right time to reopen By Danny Karel fter a 10-week hiatus on restaurant dine-in service due to COVID-19—a pause that has been financially devastating for many businesses but widely recognized as a vital step in preventing the spread of the virus—the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced May 29 that restaurants can reopen on a modified basis. The ordinance change, which some restaurateurs found abrupt, is intended to help businesses get back on their feet while moving the county into the next phase of recovery. At Philippe’s, Downtown’s legendary French dip spot, fourth-generation owner and managing partner Andrew Binder received the development with some warmth. “We reacted in a better fashion than when the initial ordinance to stop dine-in happened,” he said. “We had a six-hour notice.” This development is a sign that progress has been made in the fight to suppress the virus, but LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn also noted that it is fragile and dependent on the continuation of mask wearing and physical distancing. “This is a fine line that we’re walking in the county of Los Angeles,” she said. “We are threading the needle between keeping the public safe and allowing our economy to reopen.” Los Angeles County remains the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in California, with hundreds of new cases still being reported daily. The total number of cases in the county exceeds 56,000, with more than 2,300 deaths. Shortly after the announcement was made, the city released a number of protocols to guide restaurants and diners while they adjust to this new development. They include measures such as prioritizing outdoor seating and curbside pickup, maintaining physical distancing within establishments, screening employees and customers for COVID-19 symptoms, the continued closure of bar areas, mandatory face coverings for customers who are not eating, and a limited dine-in capacity—no more than 60% for the next three weeks. Binder has prepared Philippe’s for reopening by reconfiguring the dining area, adding wooden stations to create separation between customers, and spacing out the dining room by using smaller tables. “Because we do have such a large restaurant, we’re expecting to be able to work at the restricted capacity,” he said. “If that doesn’t work, we’re looking at maybe utilizing our parking lot.” Despite the ability to immediately restart dine-in service, Binder said Philippe’s is planning to wait until June 8 to see how other restaurants treat this new development. “We want to see how the trend goes,” he said. “We didn’t want to rush and wanted to be 100% certain in our roll-out of this.” Sonoratown, the lauded Downtown taqueria, responded to the announcement with an Instagram post saying it “will not be reopening the dining room at this time” and will continue offering takeout. Victor Delgado, who founded the Tijuana-style taqueria Tacos 1986, called the restrictions “limiting.” “I felt there were still guidelines that needed to be shared with us, because you’ve seen some restaurants not even going to dine-in because the restrictions are so limiting,” Delgado said. “Opening a dining room for 30 people instead of 60 people who you can sit, sometimes it just doesn’t make any sense. Every time someone dines, they
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Andrew Binder, above, is the fourth-generation owner of Philippe’s, Downtown’s legendary French dip spot. Photo courtesy Philippe’s
want you to clean, disinfect and leave it untouched for like 10 minutes, then someone can sit down. For us, we’re going to wait and see if there’s any more clarification on the guidelines we need to follow. For now, we’re going to hold out and wait.” There are several risks that go along with opening the restaurant as well, he said. “I think the risk is that you don’t want the city to come in and fine you or close you down for not following the health department rules,” Delgado said. “So, until it’s very clear about how it’s going to be done, I don’t want to risk that. I don’t want anyone to come in and fine us, so I would rather wait till we have that so we can train staff accordingly to follow those rules and regulations. If there’s more specific guidelines on standing-room restaurants and patios, then I’ll reconsider it.” Other Los Angeles restaurateurs have pointed to the health and financial risks involved with reopening—an expensive process that, if a second wave of the novel coronavirus should hit, would compound the financial losses they have already endured. Some restaurants may wish to proceed with reopening but lack the space to accommodate physical distancing requirements. In response, Councilman Mike Bonin of the 11th District advanced a proposal called “LA Al Fresco”—a phrase that refers to dining outside in the open air—that Mayor Eric Garcetti has supported and launched. LA Al Fresco allows restaurants to apply for a permit that allows them to serve dine-in customers outdoors, on sidewalks and in parking lots. Soon, LA Al Fresco may be expanded to include partial or fully closed streets. “We are cutting red tape and making it easier for restaurants to use and share outside spaces,” Bonin said. “This will protect the health and safety of restaurant employees and customers by making it easier to accommodate physical distancing.” The temporary Al Fresco permits will be valid for 90 days, after which restaurants can reapply. The whirlwind past few months have been challenging for many business sectors, but there’s no question that restaurants have taken a particularly hard thumping. When asked how he plans to manage this new challenge of reopening, Binder had this to say: “It’s the same as these last months. Just roll with the punches and think on your feet.”
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Angelenos express anger over Moore’s comments By Sarah Donahue os Angeles, normally bustling with music and life, has been filled with the sound of sirens, helicopters and screaming protestors running away from tear gas and rubber bullets after people took to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd. Protests have erupted across all 50 states and around the world, demanding justice for Floyd, who died after former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pushed his knee on his neck for more than 8 minutes while Floyd pleaded “I can’t breathe.” LAPD Chief Michel Moore has become an object of major criticism for his handling of the protests and his controversial comments about looters “capitalizing” on Floyd’s death. In a June 1 press conference, Moore claimed looters are equally responsible for Floyd’s death as the officers in Minneapolis. Despite Moore’s and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s efforts to walk back those words and apologize, the video went viral on social media. Overnight, a petition was made to fire Moore, and it has now gathered over 160,000 signatures. In a public Zoom meeting with the Los Angeles Police Commission the next morning, Angelenos demanded Moore’s resignation. Many of the speakers attended protests, calling for LAPD to put an end to its use of excessive force against peaceful protestors and to acknowledge its long history of police brutality against black people. “I am absolutely sickened with what this police department has done,” Zack Sherwin said during the public comment portion of the Zoom meeting. “That thing you said on TV about George Floyd? Too late. You don’t get to take it back.” Many participants voiced their frustrations with the technical issues on Zoom, where only 500 people were originally able to join, forcing thousands of others to depend on Instagram and YouTube livestreams. Before the public comment started, Moore offered more apologies for his controversial comments as well as an update from the LAPD on the current situation. In regard to complaints of officers’ use of excessive force, he assured the public. “We will investigate each complaint, and I promise to hold accountable anyone who violates our policy or commits misconduct.” But Angelenos weren’t buying it. “Your words ring so hollow,” Sherwin said. “Hearing you say the name George Floyd and express all this sentiment when you have not prosecuted Ryan Lee and Martin Robles for the killing of Grechario Mack in your own city. Those are names that deserve to be just as infamous as Derek Chauvin’s.” LAPD officers Lee and Robles shot Mack, who was reportedly suffering from a mental health condition and running through Baldwin Hills Crenshaw shopping mall with a knife and refusing to drop it. Both officers fired one more shot as Mack reportedly laid on the ground still clutching the knife. In March 2019, the Los Angeles Police Commission found both officers violated department policy with those last two shots, as deadly force is only permitted in cases of imminent danger of injury or death, contradicting Moore’s claims that all the shots were legal.
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“This commission found him out of policy, and you haven’t done anything about it,” Sherwin said. “Nor have you acted in the killings of so many black and brown men. Eric Rivera, Albert Ramon Dorsey, Keith Bursey, Kenney Watkins, Ezell Ford, Brendon Glenn, Jesse Romero, Wakiesha Wilson and on and on and on. How dare you, Chief Moore?” he said, listing black Angelenos killed by LAPD. Singer-actress Lexi Underwood expressed her anger with the police force, stating that nothing is ever done to bring forth justice to the families who have lost lives to the police force. “I’m a 16-year-old black woman,” Underwood said. “Do you know the trauma of watching countless black and brown people be killed by police officers?” Underwood and many other speakers noted LAPD’s use of excessive force against peaceful protestors, shooting rubber bullets and using tear gas. The use of tear gas during a pandemic could lead to a surge in cases, as studies show that it may increase the chance of respiratory illness. Many also pointed out that the use of excessive force was not ordered when people protested against businesses being closed due to COVID-19 a month ago. “They shot at just countless peaceful protestors. Your officers were the ones being violent with us. There were children, elderly men and women in the crowd. I saw people ducking behind cars. People were running. And you’re seriously going to sit here and say that it is our fault that an innocent black man was suffocated to death?” According to the independent autopsy, Floyd’s death was ruled as a homicide, after the original Hennepin County medical examiner found “no physical findings of asphyxiation or strangulation.” Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, and the other cops who were on the scene are being charged as well. Downtown LA is one of the many cities across Southern California where peaceful protests turned into looting, leaving businesses, many minority owned, with broken glass and tagged walls. Videos and photos from protestors showing LAPD shooting rubber bullets and tear gas at peaceful protestors have gone viral on social media, with many calling for LAPD to be defunded. Garcetti said on June 3 that the LAPD would not increase its budget to $3 billion as planned and that $100 million to $150 million will be cut from the funds and reallocated to help communities of color, a motion introduced by LA City Council President Nury Martinez. Twitter users quickly criticized the City Council’s efforts, saying more money should be divested from the LAPD and more immediate and tangible solutions must be brought forth to protect the safety of the people of Los Angeles. “I’m very concerned about the militarization of my town,” said Laura Espinosa, born and raised in East LA. Through her screen on the City Council Zoom call, Espinosa said, “Currently a cop can murder someone and be fired and go to a different town and still be cops. “Please help us lower the federal standards so we can bring criminal charges against cops who murder our people. Help us limit immunity so we can hold accountable those who allow bad cops to continue abusing our communities.”
JUNE 8, 2020
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM
Aliek Greene, a small-business owner, stands in front of his boarded-up Brooklyn Grill after it was looted on May 29.
John Prescott, owner of Throw Clay LA, boards his windows to prevent looters. He’s not too concerned about theft, saying, “It’s not as if someone’s gonna run with an $80 potter’s wheel down the street.”
Photo by Sarah Donahue/ LA Downtown News
Photo by Sarah Donahue/ LA Downtown News
Resident: ‘We’re in the middle of a war here’ By Sarah Donahue any business owners had three words after being looted amidst protests: “It’s just property.” After Joel Stallworth’s clothing store, The Small Shop LA, was looted, he posted a picture of a sea of broken glass with the caption “Lives over shops!!! #stopkillingblackpeople.” Stallworth is among the many minority business owners Downtown whose store windows were left shattered and tagged during the peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd. Despite the damage, Stallworth said he understands. “A life you can’t get back,” Stallworth said. “I want to be frank: I’m not running around here saying I want people vandalizing things, because we should respect what we have, but at the same time, you’re never going to get me to care about a shop over lives.” Stallworth, originally from Stockton, has owned The Small Shop for four years, where he sells clothes, hats and other streetwear items. Since his shop was looted, he said he has received an outpouring of support from his community. He said his phone has been flooded with messages asking how to help and for links to a GoFundMe (gofundme.
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com/f/the-small-shop-la) that other people created to get him back on his feet. “The people is my recovery,” Stallworth said. “Without them I’m nothing.” GoFundMes have been created for many minority-owned businesses all over Downtown so people can donate money for them to rebuild. Just a few doors down from The Small Shop is Brooklyn Grill, a restaurant owned by Aliek Greene, who said he saw the looters. “I came outside and it’s a bunch of kids and none of them were black,” Greene said. “That’s all I’m saying. That was Friday night.” Despite the damages, he said he isn’t upset. “What’s to be mad about? It’s just property. I didn’t get touched,” he said A Bronx native, Greene said his father was a freedom rider. “You can’t possibly be protesting the death of a 40-something-year-old black man by destroying a 50-year-old black man’s (expletive),” Greene said. He condemned the looters, however, saying, “It ain’t right if it’s Joe Blow, Starbucks, Rolex—nothing’s been solved.” A few streets down, a pottery studio called Throw Clay LA was vandalized, forc-
Businesses were tagged “minority owned” to deter people from looting.
Photo by Sarah Donahue/ LA Downtown News
ing the owner, John Prescott, to paint over his building and order a new stencil to redo his logo. While he is frustrated with the looters, he said he was lucky that was the only damage done to his business. “At some point over the next five to 10 years, while I’m here, it’ll probably get tagged again and I’ll probably have to do it over again. It’s not the end of the world,” Prescott said. He said his business was already hit hard after being forced to shut down for two months as COVID-19 spread across the world, and that this is just another thing. “I understand why people are protesting. I’d be there with them if I wasn’t doing this,” he said while drilling a wooden panel to his window. “I’m a person who was born into an upper-middle-class white family with a degree of white privilege that’s high. It’s easy for people like me to take that for granted,” Prescott said. To show his solidarity, he said he plans to host a pottery class once a week and donate the funds to one of the causes to bring positive change—despite being the only employee and working 80-hour weeks. Sauli Danpour, an Iranian immigrant, who has been in the United States for 45 years, started a business 37 years ago with $4,000 and now owns two Downtown properties. The building he owns at 700 Wilshire was significantly damaged by looters. Someone attempted to start a fire, triggering the
sprinklers and flooding the garage. He said he didn’t realize the extent of the city’s damage until he came Downtown to see for himself, saying, “Wow, we’re in the middle of a war here.” After he saw his building’s damage, he filed insurance claims and called in his crew and paid them to help board up the building, dry up the garage and clean up any remaining glass, absorbing extra costs out of pocket. He said a fence was put around the building to serve as an extra buffer. “They do have a right to protest, but just destroying property, you’re basically destroying other people’s livelihoods,” he said, mentioning how many of the businesses that were looted were minority owned. Danpour said he saw the viral video of Floyd’s death and that it was extremely disturbing, saying, “There’s no question that all of us should be outraged at what’s going on.” He said he hopes these riots serve as a wake-up call for politicians, and he hopes they will address the underlying issues of how we got to this point. “I think it’s time for the politicians to really do something about race relations,” he said. “And frankly, I don’t think it’s just race divisions; it’s socioeconomic divisions. There’s a lot of poor people that are feeling left behind, just like African Americans and Hispanics and other groups that are not benefiting from the American way of life.”
Joel Stallworth, owner of The Small Shop LA, sits in his store surrounded by broken glass after it was looted. He posted the photo on the shop’s Instagram page @ smallshopla.
Photo courtesy @smallshopla on Instagram
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JUNE 8, 2020
Covered California will help BUSINESS
Matthew Kaplan, left, and Ethan Lazar of Costa Brava Cocktails delivered their products to friends, family and others during the pandemic.
Photo courtesy Costa Brava Cocktails
Costa Brava brightens the pandemic with deliveries By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski hen the pandemic put a pall over the world in March, Matthew Kaplan and Ethan Lazar had to do something about it. The founders of Costa Brava Cocktails did their best to brighten people’s days by delivering drinks and items like toilet paper and hand sanitizer to folks around town. They also donated to the USGB Bartenders’ Emergency Assistance Program to help aid restaurant workers who serve cocktails. Costa Brava Cocktails hit shelves in January, and so far its lifetime has been bleak. “Our whole timeline has been very negative,” Lazar said. “People are losing their jobs, and people are just generally sad. We wanted to brighten people’s days through direct contact and make a video about it.” The video and project are dubbed Costa Cares Project, and it has 6,000 views on Instagram and 15,000 on Facebook. The team handed cases of Costa Brava Cocktails to high school friends and others who have been stuck in quarantine. Kaplan and Lazar—who graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019 and Hamilton in West Los Angeles previously—started the business as seniors in college. “We got back from studying abroad and realized we put on 15 pounds in Barcelona,” Lazar said. “Before the summer, we went on the keto diet and shunned all sugar and
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FAMOUS FIRE-GRILLED CHICKEN
carbs. There weren’t any drinks on the market that fit our lifestyle.” They tried White Claw, but it was overcarbonated and made of malt liquor, which, Lazar added, has an inferior alcohol base. Kaplan added that the two familiarized themselves with government regulations on how to craft a beverage and form a company. They raised nearly $500,000 during the summer of 2019. “We’re trying to have people realize the main difference is White Claw is flavored malt beverage,” Lazar said. “We’re a premium take on that. We’re made with premium vodka. We have zero sugar and zero carbs. We upped the alcohol to 6.7%, so it’s a little stronger.” In three months, Costa Brava Cocktails landed in 20 locations like independent liquor stores, bars and nightclubs. The pandemic slowed down the company. “The most fun part was coming up with the recipes,” Lazar said. “It started in Matt’s kitchen at school. We were messing around with different flavors and we had the measuring cups out. We made little tweaks. It took us a couple months. “We would throw parties at his partner’s house and fill up Gatorade jugs and ask those who tried it to fill out Google surveys. We won a $2,000 pitch competition, so a public university helped fund an alcohol company.” Info: costabravacocktails.com
JUNE 8, 2020
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM
DOWNTOWN NEWS 9
Paul “PK” Kingston leads youth and teen camps as well as adult sketch writing at Second City.
Leslie Seiler teaches improv and sketch writing classes through Second City.
Photo courtesy Second City
Photo courtesy Second City
Second City goes virtual in DTLA and beyond C
By Annika Tomlin OVID-19 might have shut down the theaters, but Second City is continuing to teach comedy in all forms. The 60-year-old Chicago-based sketch and improv comedy center had a leg up on the competition because it has taught online classes for some time. Dan Telfer is a longtime Second City instructor in Los Angeles. Among his students was Andrew Thorp, who created the online program for the renowned school. Telfer admitted he was reluctant to convert to the new model because he thought standup should be taught in front of a live audience. “It’s been an interesting to say, ‘Well, I know you can’t hit an open mic, but nobody can,’ which levels the playing field,” Telfer said. For the streaming classes, the students practice their jokes on Google Hangouts. Instructor Leslie Seiler teaches improv and sketch writing classes. Her specialty, however, is conservatory, which shows adults how to write a complete Second City performance over a year. “(Teaching the conservatory shows) is just one of the most rewarding and awesome experiences because you really bond with the group and you help them create something out of nothing, which can be really magical, for lack of a better word,” Seiler says. Seiler was skeptical about first going online but has since come to realize that it works. “I think the highlight for me was literally the moment when I realized this is working,” Seiler said. “I could see people’s skills growing, changing and becoming better improvisers through Zoom, and I realized that the exercises that we had adjusted were truly paying off.” Her colleague, Paul “PK” Kingston, leads youth and teen camps as well as adult sketch writing. The youth and teen camps range from ages 4 to 17. Kingston is also directing the Second City Hollywood teen troop, which is the company’s highest level of teen programming. “Each week they do a long-form improv show for about a half an hour, and the three hours leading up to that are our class in training boot camp skills,” Kingston said. “I basically teach everything to everyone.” Kingston gets a kick out of the students’ “a-ha” moments, especially those who are nervous or reclusive. “There is commonly, in our entry-level classes, a lot of apprehension and a lot of hesitation,” Kingston said. “But to be there for the moments—whether it’s kids, adults or teens—when they have that moment of ‘Oh my God, I did it,’ it’s really, really nice and heartwarming to be there.” Kingston said the students have adapted well to the change to online courses. “I had two kids in a team together and they were performing back and forth and back and forth, and it basically got to the point where they were starting to predict one another’s (moves),” Kingston said. “Basically, at the end of it, I just sat there and thought about this amazing scene, because what really blew my mind was that one was in Vancouver and the other one is in Orlando. You have just connected diagonally internation-
ally across North America.” All of the instructors are happy they are still able to teach and “hold the torch and keep it burning,” as Telfer said. Each instructor gave advice to someone starting out in comedy. “Just take the risks,” Telfer said. “I think the thing that people are most worried about is how to write the perfect joke or, like, am I being authentic to myself. You just have to really, really push yourself to say the thing that’s on your mind.” Seiler continued, “I think the best advice is to just try it, to jump in and allow yourself to have fun. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves in life in general and certainly when we take an improv class. “I think we can all really use some brain breaks right now. So, to do something where you don’t need to really think too hard is great.” Kingston added, “It’s all about trust. Trust yourself, trust your instincts, trust your heart, trust your scene partner. But most importantly, do not rely on your brain. Comedy is all about the experience and having an audience relate to that moment. When you are thinking about it too much, it takes away that relatable aspect that makes it a transparent performance, so just let it be.” Getting their start All three instructors took classes at Second City before going in their separate directions. Telfer continued to do sketch and improv and mostly standup shows around Chicago before he met with comedy instructor Anne Libera, who offered him a teaching position in 2009. “I started in Chicago, and I built a curriculum out,” Telfer says. “There are people still teaching my curriculum in Chicago and in Los Angeles. We’ve moved to this new online model, but it’s kind of funny how much is still vestiges of what I came up with in 2009.” Seiler went from taking classes on improv and sketch to performing with the touring company and being a part of the main stage performances. “It’s was sort of just a natural progression that after you’re done with the main stage—where you write your own content for improv—you kind of become a specialist in it really,” Seiler says. “The training center asked me, ‘Will you like to teach?’ and so I just started teaching there.” Kingston progressed from taking classes in Toronto to teaching the summer camps for the youth. “Through the summer camps, I basically started one year as a camp assistant and then the very next year I was asked if I wanted to start teaching youth and teen classes,” Kingston said. “Over the ensuing years before we moved out here to LA, I started teaching our adult improv and sketch classes all while still teaching youth and teen programs. The next thing I knew I was directing my first writing graduation show.” Info: secondcity.com
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JUNE 8, 2020
LA violinist finds ‘hope’ in music By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski iv Ashkenazi has a special distinction. The local musician is the only violinist in the world to hold an instrument from the Violins of Hope collection on a long-term loan. Classical music fans can hear songs performed on it via his recently released album “Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope” on Albany Records. The record features music performed on the violin, which survived the Holocaust and has been restored by Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom in Tel Aviv. The music is by composers affected by the Holocaust. On the record, the Juilliard School graduate is joined by fellow alumni Matthew Graybil. During the pandemic and quarantine, Ashkenazi showed off the violin with a Facebook Live performance in April. “I asked if I could borrow one of their instruments for a Holocaust-related program,” he said. “They said yes. In April, I flew to Israel, saw my family and went to the show in Tel Aviv, and they had about 10 instruments for me to try—all instruments they knew they weren’t going to need afterward. “There were 70 instruments in the collection. They let me borrow the instrument for a May concert before I had to return it.” Ashkenazi’s collection is the first solo record performed with a Violins of Hope instrument. He received general donor support from the Bloom Jewish Music Foundation.
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Traveling project Violins of Hope is a multiformat project celebrating instruments rescued from the Holocaust. It was to visit the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and Downtown LA this spring, and Ashkenazi’s album release would have coincided with it. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced its postponement until January and February 2021. “It has a beautiful sound,” Ashkenazi said. “One of the main ideas of Violins of Hope is to allow voices that were silenced to be heard again, and by restoring these instruments and getting them played on, those voices will never be silenced.” Ashkenazi became involved with Violins of Hope in 2017. As an alum of the Perlman Music Program, he was invited to join several other musicians performing on instruments from the collection in recitals and educational programs for Violins of Hope Sarasota. Shortly afterward, he received the violin used on the album on long-term loan. Since then, he has played it for Violins of Hope events and other special projects. Amnon Weinstein has devoted the past 20 years to locating and restoring the violins of the Holocaust as a tribute to those who were lost, including 400 of his relatives. Weinstein has restored more than 60 violins as a way to reclaim his lost heritage, give a voice to the victims, and reinforce positive messages of hope and harmony. The Violins of Hope have been played in concert halls and exhibited in museums throughout the world. They have been featured in books, print, film and television. They have been used in lectures and educational programs, and their stories and messages have impacted hundreds of thousands of individuals. “In most Violins of Hope events, musicians have a limited time with each instrument,” he said. “I have been given a unique opportunity to develop a relationship with this special instrument and its voice.” The violin was built between 1900 and 1929 in Eastern Europe or Germany. “I have chosen Jewish repertoire from throughout its lifetime: The earliest piece, ‘Bloch’s Nigun,’ was written in 1923,” Ashkenazi said. “The most recent piece is Sharon Farber’s arrangement of a movement from her cello concerto ‘Bestemming,’ commissioned especially for this recording. “The program features composers affected by the Holocaust and prominent Jewish music that changed how we think of Jewish music,” he said. “We wanted to showcase the future of Jewish music, too. We commissioned Israeli American composer Sharon Farber. “She wrote a piece for us based on her cello concerto with narration she made a few years back. The basis for that work was the story of Curt Lowens, the hero of the Dutch Resistance, who saved more than 150 Jewish children as well as two downed American airmen.” For the album, Farber arranged the final movement of her concerto, “Triumph,” for violin, piano fourhands and narrator. Lowens died in 2017, so actor Tony Campisi agreed to be the narrator.
Niv Ashkenazi is a core member of Street Symphony, an LA-based nonprofit that places social justice at the heart of music making and serves communities disenfranchised by homelessness and incarceration in Los Angeles County. Photo by Luis Chavez
Violinist Niv Ashkenazi serves on the professional advisory board of Shane’s Inspiration, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to building inclusive playgrounds. He formerly served on the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra board. Photo by Luis Chavez
Longtime musician Ashkenazi has made several Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center appearances and has performed in Europe, the Middle East and across North America. In the 2019-20 season, he was the first artist in residence at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts. He has appeared as a soloist with the likes of the Long Beach Symphony, Culver City Symphony Orchestra and Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has performed with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Juilliard String Quartet, Cavani Quartet and Ariel Quartet, as well as performing in Dyad, a violin and bassoon duo with his wife Leah Kohn, who served as his album’s producer. Also active as an educator, he has been a guest artist and given master classes at La Sierra University, California State University, Northridge and Westmont College. He is a core member of Street Symphony, an LA-based nonprofit, which places social justice at the heart of music making and serves communities disenfranchised by homelessness and incarceration in Los Angeles County. He serves on the professional advisory board of Shane’s Inspiration, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to building inclusive playgrounds, and he formerly served on the board of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra. Info: nivashkenazi.com
JUNE 8, 2020
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CLASSIFIEDS NOTICE OF SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned intends to sell the personal property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property pursuant to Sections 21700-21716 of the Business & Professions Code, Section 2328 of the UCC, Section 535 of the Penal Code and provisions of the Civil Code.
Sixth+mill pizzeria will offer contactless to-go service with its sister restaurants, BRERA Ristorante and The Factory Kitchen. Photo courtesy Factory Place Hospitality Group
Factory Place reopens ‘Under One Roof’ By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski actory Place Hospitality Group, which owns The Factory Kitchen, BRERA Ristorante and sixth+mill pizzeria, is taking the first step toward reopening with a weekly to-go dinner service called “Under One Roof.” “While we hope that we are allowed to reopen our dining rooms soon, we are continuing to work diligently to make sure that we provide our customers and employees with safe environments and access to heart-warming foods,” said Matteo Ferdinandi, CEO of Factory Place Hospitality Group. “Meanwhile, as the community complies with the stay-at-home order, we hope this takeaway service creates a comforting and safe at-home dining experience for all.” Led by Ferdinandi and executive chef and business partner Angelo Auriana, the three
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Los Angeles establishments will offer the most-popular dishes from each restaurant on one menu and under one roof. The menu will also include wine pairing suggestions, cocktail kits and Chef Angelo’s homemade fresh pasta, dry pasta, classic sauces by the pint, and other unique pantry items. Each week, the menu items will change, and details will be announced every Friday prior on Tock. The menu selections will also be available on each individual restaurant website. The contactless to-go service will be available at the sixth+mill pizzeria-BRERA Ristorante kitchen located at 1331 E. Sixth Street, and pickup will be located in the adjacent parking lot. The to-go offerings will be available on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with pickup times available between 3 and 8 p.m. Info: exploretock.com/sixthmillbrera
The undersigned will sell on the 9th day of June 2020 at 11: 00 A.M. on the premises where said property has been stored and which are located at Thriftee Storage Company LLC, 1717 N. Glendale Blvd. in the city of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, State of California, the following: Solomon Mascarinas S p a c e n u m b e r : A3,D51,D38,C9 Personal effects Amount: $3312.00 Jesse Benavides Space number: U55 Personal effects Amount: $427.00 Connie Chan Space number: E25 Personal effects Amount: $517.00 Purchases must be paid for at the time of purchase in cash only. All purchased storage units with the items contained herein are sold on an “as-is” basis and must be removed at the time of sale. Sale subject to cancellation in the event of settlement between Thriftee Storage Co. and obligated party. Thriftee Storage Company LLC Dated at Los Angeles, CA by Felipe F. Islas / Manager Published: 6/1/20, 6/8/20 Los Angeles Downtown News
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BRERA Ristorante, The Factory Kitchen and sixth+mill pizzeria are offering different menus each week. Photo courtesy Factory Place Hospitality Group
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We are opening doors to the future with virtual touring. We are temporarily closed for in-person tours but would love to meet you so call the leasing office offi today to set up your live virtual tour.
SELF-GUIDED tours and virtual tours now available at all properties Living in a beautifully appointed Museum Tower apartment home puts you in the middle of this cultural immersion. Our floor plans range in size from studios to two-bedroom apartments and boast tasteful amenities and functional features. Our property includes a fitness center, an outdoor heated pool, a social room and a 24-hour attended lobby.
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JUNE 8, 2020