The Los Angeles public housing project history forgot
How temporary housing for veterans in Griffith Park changed the city…
Dear Evan,
This very month last year, we gathered at a ceremony in Griffith Park’s Travel Town to acknowledge and grapple with – for the first time – one role Griffith Park played in the story of post-World War II America: home to an internment camp to detain primarily Japanese immigrants. Like so many of our sacred spaces, Griffith Park contains a history that is complicated and not always storied – forcing us to reckon with who we are as a nation and what we stand for.
Last week, the community once again came together in Griffith Park, this time to acknowledge a piece of World War II history that illustrates the best of who we can be. Just 3 years after the closing of the internment camp at Travel Town, Griffith Park officially welcomed a public housing site right here where the Autry’s and the Zoo’s parking lot now reside – the Rodger Young Village.
In response to the influx of veterans returning home from overseas following the end of WWII and facing a critical housing shortage – not unlike the one we’re facing today – we responded by building housing projects that offered affordable, temporary housing for veterans and their families.
The result was nothing short of a miracle – housing built quickly and efficiently that prioritized the needs of its residents, and focused on community. The City Housing Authority gave $1,040,000 for the project, which was matched by federal funds. The city provided streets, sidewalks and utilities and the City Council waived all zoning and building codes and issued a permit to operate the housing project for three years.
The city quickly put up 1,500 Quonset huts – corrugated metal buildings used frequently by the military during the war. Rodger Young Village – named after Rodger Wilton Young, an infantryman in the U.S. Army killed during World War II – boasted a market, drug store, and theater, plus delivery service for milk, diapers, and baked goods. Telephones were located outside throughout the village and a ringing phone would be answered by the nearest bystander who would then fetch (or get a kid to fetch) the intended recipient of the call. Churches came to conduct services in the theater and the village even had its own firefighters. Nestled inside a park, it provided children plenty of space to play and explore. At its largest, 6,000 people lived there.
When reading about the history, what I found most remarkable was that Rodger Young Village became one of the most diverse communities in Southern California at the time. From 1946 to 1954 – notoriously segregated years in our country’s history – RYV was home to veterans of all races and branches of the military. Adults and children alike befriended their neighbors with little regard to their racial or ethnic background, educational levels, or religious beliefs.
Historians have even noted that such acceptance of diversity even helped to end the practice of segregation at many local restaurants. One source told of residents often going to nearby eateries to dine with their neighbors. If a restaurant refused to serve someone in their party, the entire group would leave and often never return. Restaurants, now faced with losing business, dropped their discriminatory policies.
Last week, I got to meet some of those very residents – Dan Pierson, Chuck Levin, Christine Moore, and the family of late resident Pamela Miron. Young children at the time, their experiences and memories from the years they called Rodger Young Village home indelibly shaped their lives. The affordable housing allowed them to live comfortably and in dignity with their families and provided them the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life no matter race, religion, or socioeconomic status. Chuck even recalled his second birthday party being covered in the local paper under the headline: “Small Fry UN.” The community they built demonstrated that when given the resources and when we act with urgency, we have the power to build great things, even beautiful things.
Rodger Young Village is a testament of the values we hold as Americans, and as Angelenos.
It is a reminder, during a time when we are facing very similar housing challenges, that through innovation and resources we CAN rise to meet those challenges – a lesson I will be uplifting as I continue the fight to make housing more affordable across our city.
With love and hope,
Nithya
I. Updates From City Hall — Protecting People Experiencing Homelessness During Severe Weather Events, Preventing Abuse Of The Ellis Act, Regulating Embodied Carbon Emissions, Implementing Speed Mitigation Measures In Silver Lake
II. In The District — Celebrating Safe Streets In Reseda, Addressing Tourism In The Hollywood Hills, Hosting Our First Spring Movie Night In Studio City, Celebrating Earth Weekend With Griffith Park And FoLAR
III. Upcoming Events – Pawsapalooza Dog Adoption, Great Big Family Play Day, Sherman Oaks Community Cleanup
IV. Resources & Forums — LA BRAVE Virtual Open House, Los Angeles Regional Small Business Summit, Apply For L.A. Al Fresco + Webinar, LADWP Women’s Career + Wellness Expo. Metro Sepulveda Corridor Update, Accessing:LA Business Networking Event, Join The Latino Theater Company Summer Youth Conservatory
V. Construction & Closures — Lakeridge Rd. Resurfacing
VI. Other Helpful Links
PROTECTING PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS DURING SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS
Among the City’s most important resources for people experiencing homelessness during storms are Augmented Winter Shelter (AWS) beds and motel vouchers, allocated via the City and County respectively. As I’ve shared in this newsletter previously, during the City’s recent major rains in February 2024, people in need of shelter experienced wait times as long as 4 hours via the 211LA hotline, thousands of calls went unanswered, and there were not enough motel vouchers and shelter beds to support those in need.
Following the failures of this system, I introduced a motion to improve the City’s Augmented Winter Shelter (AWS) program and develop a comprehensive plan to ensure all available resources are leveraged to protect unsheltered residents ahead of, during, and after major storms. Last week, Council adopted this legislation!
In a city with 30,000 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness on any given night, fixing our system is a matter of life and death. My motion seeks to implement a plan to ensure that the agencies responsible for protecting people experiencing homelessness during extreme weather events are coordinating resources and that every bed and voucher is utilized efficiently with the capacity to add more, as needed.
As the City grapples with the reality of a changing climate, having the flexibility to respond to intensive rain, extreme heat, and other emergencies is an essential consideration for the next budget cycle, which is exactly what this motion will allow us to accomplish.
PREVENTING ABUSE OF THE ELLIS ACT
Last year, we worked collaboratively as a Council to pass some of the strongest tenant protections in this city’s history since the adoption of the RSO (rent stabilization ordinance) four decades ago. Today — as has been the case for some years now — we are at risk of losing some of those very RSO units due to Ellis Act evictions.
According to the Los Angeles Housing Department, more than 27,000 rent-controlled units have been removed in the City of Los Angeles using the Ellis Act since 2001. While the original purpose of the Ellis Act was to support smaller landlords who were looking to leave the rental business entirely, there is evidence that bad faith use of the Ellis Act is contributing to significant losses of affordable housing and displacement of vulnerable tenants.
I introduced a motion that was adopted in September of last year to address this issue, and which asked LAHD to report on prevention of “bad faith” evictions and misuse of the Ellis Act. This week, Council voted to adopt the resulting recommendations from LAHD aimed at preventing this abuse, including policy changes to enhance tenant protections relative to the Ellis Act, assessing the feasibility of further amending the RSO to add certain restrictions and penalties for landlords, and assessing the feasibility of establishing a “bad actor” policy, whereby owners are unable to obtain permits for new projects if there is a record of unresolved citations, orders to comply, or violations at an existing property.
While these are significant changes – it is critical that we do the work to update our laws when they are no longer working as intended. And in the midst of state-wide housing shortage, amending existing policy intended to protect affordable housing is non-negotiable.
REGULATING EMBODIED CARBON EMISSIONS
While the majority of efforts to regulate carbon emissions from the building industry to date have focused on decarbonizing building operations – including heating, cooling, cooking, and hot water use – comparatively limited focus has been placed on embodied carbon. Embodied carbon is defined as the emissions associated with building construction, aka the material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, and construction processes which account for up to 13% of all CO2 emissions worldwide!
Last week, Council adopted my motion to tackle this huge contributor to climate pollution and create a framework for regulating embodied carbon resulting from building construction, as required by the new regulation standards mandated by the California Building Standards Commission set to go into effect on July 1, 2024. This motion is part of a greater effort across the country to implement net-zero building requirements and will help the City comply with upcoming state requirements, giving us the tools to think through how we can take every step possible to get us to a greener city.
In order to take bigger steps on climate change, we have to move beyond the low-hanging fruit, and looking at how to reduce carbon in buildings without making it harder to build is an important next step.
IMPLEMENTING SPEED MITIGATION MEASURES IN SILVER LAKE
Despite being a heavily trafficked area for pedestrians, the stretch of Hyperion Ave between Fountain and Lyric in Silver Lake, is a notorious speedway for drivers, where people behind the wheel often exceed the speed limit by 10 miles or more. The community has been asking for speed mitigation measures to be put in place since before I came into office, and I am so happy to report that we are going to be able to deliver them!
This month Council adopted my motion to transfer $90,000 from the CD4 portion of the Street Furniture Revenue Fund to go toward four speed tables: two on Hyperion between Fountain Ave and Lyric Ave, and two on Hyperion between Lyric Ave and Tracy Ave. Additionally, my motion asks LADOT to assess utilizing their authority to lower the vehicle speed limit by 5 MPH on Fountain Avenue from Sunset Boulevard to Hyperion Avenue, and on Hyperion Avenue from Fountain Avenue to Rowena Avenue.
We know that speeding kills, and we shouldn’t have to wait for a life to be lost before taking action.
CELEBRATING SAFE STREETS IN RESEDA
The luck of the Irish was on our side this St. Patrick’s Day, with perfect weather for an inaugural bike ride down our new protected bike lanes in Reseda!
Alongside Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo, our City Engineer Ted Allen, and State Senator Caroline Menjivar, my team and I gathered to celebrate the opening of the Reseda Complete Streets project, which now knits together Council Districts 4, 3, and 12, tying Reseda to Northridge and Tarzana in a new, safe, and activated corridor for the West Valley. A project of this magnitude takes real vision, and I am especially grateful to Councilmember Blumenfield for his leadership.
Over the last few years over 100 people were seriously injured or killed along this stretch, emphasizing just how needed this kind of investment is here and across the city. This project reconfigured a 3 mile stretch of Reseda Blvd to ensure that people in the area have the safest possible routes to travel as they are walking, biking, taking buses, and any other way they choose to travel along these streets. This was a true multijurisdictional and multimodal investment, and I’m excited for more of these kinds of investment in the coming months and years.
I also want to shout CicLAvia for helping make this celebration possible! From food trucks to games, to a hopping DJ booth and bike rentals, you made “Ready for Reseda” a block party to remember!
ADDRESSING TOURISM IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS
Council District 4 has the distinct honor of being home to some of the City’s most recognizable landmarks, from the Griffith Observatory to the Hollywood Sign, making tourism a vital component of our district’s economic health!
A valued part of this tourist economy are the tour buses that help transport visitors to these iconic destinations and contribute to our overall growth and prosperity as a City. However, many of these tour buses have taken to using smaller local and collector streets in residential areas, that are simply not appropriate for them to be on. On Mulholland Drive in particular, tour buses that stop and stand in locations not designated for this purpose, are a serious safety hazard, which is why I’m happy to report that we have officially unveiled our new tour bus ordinance signs to enforce restrictions on City streets as outlined in the Municipal Code.
As these signs go in the ground, our educational campaign ramps up to ensure tour bus operators are aware of the new regulations. Under the ordinance enforcement starts 30 days after a sign is placed. Our goal is not to penalize these operators, but to achieve voluntary compliance from our tour buses, and a calmer, safer environment in the Hollywood Hills.
I want to thank our community members who have worked for many years to make these signs a reality. Whether it was working with my predecessor to initiate the City ordinance or with Former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council and the Upper Nichols Canyon Residential Association spent countless hours working on this issue. Anastasia Mann and Stacy Sillins in particular have been incredible community advocates, and I’d like to uplift their dedication and hard work! I also want to give a special shout out to our City engineers who really made this happen, Brian Gallagher, Bhuvan Bajaj, and Oliver Hou, as well as everyone at LADOT who worked with our office to get these signs in the ground.
I want to thank our community members who have worked for many years to make these signs a reality. Whether it was working with my predecessor to initiate the City ordinance or with Former Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council and the Upper Nichols Canyon Residential Association spent countless hours working on this issue. Anastasia Mann and Stacy Sillins in particular have been incredible community advocates, and I’d like to uplift their dedication and hard work! I also want to give a special shout out to our City engineers who really made this happen, Brian Gallagher, Bhuvan Bajaj, and Oliver Hou, as well as everyone at LADOT who worked with our office to get these signs in the ground.
We are now one step closer to Mulholland Drive functioning as it was meant to – as a scenic jewel of Los Angeles for everyone to use safely and responsibly.
HOSTING OUR FIRST SPRING MOVIE NIGHT IN STUDIO CITY
What could be better than watching a movie surrounded by family, friends, and neighbors? How about watching it with free snacks, snow cones, and a thrilling karate performance, too!
On one of the few dry weekends last month, our office came together with the Studio City Neighborhood Council, Rec and Parks, and families from around the neighborhood and across the district for a spring movie in the park!
The event was a delightful gathering filled with laughter, snacks, and a shared love of Kung Fu Panda at the Studio City Rec Center. Families spread out their blankets, friends huddled together in excitement, and karate kids ran around for a perfect evening of community spirit. Just before the movie began, Sensei Ari and his students delighted us with an exciting martial arts demonstration, mesmerizing us with a riveting display of kicks and punches!
__________
A very special thank you to Abi Velasco, Stephanie Estrada, the Studio City Neighborhood Council, and all the community partners that helped organize this fun-filled night.
__________
CELEBRATING EARTH WEEKEND WITH GRIFFITH PARK AND FOLAR
This weekend was chock full of events to celebrate our planet, from planting native trees in Griffith Park to educating ourselves on the unique history (and exciting future!) of the LA River.
On Saturday, I joined the Friends of Griffith Park for their annual Griffith Park Earth Day celebration with Mayor Karen Bass, Jimmy Kim from Rec and Parks, Jonathan Parfrey from Climate Resolve, and Carlos Campero from City Plants. We took a moment to uplift the ways in which our City is leading on climate change and also to acknowledge that one of the biggest challenges we face in this moment is that the quick and easy fixes to combat climate change are gone. What is left is the hard work that requires us to make huge investments and significant lifestyle changes that require us all to participate in. My office has taken this directive seriously, and we are doing this work step by step: from passing the city’s first building decarbonization ordinance last year to distributing over 10,000 organics recycling pails to residents across the district.
Following this event, I joined Friends of the LA River (FoLAR) on Sunday for their Earth Day extravaganza, complete with live music, food trucks, and art lessons! FoLAR’s dedication and commitment to preserving the LA River is a testament to the power of environmental activism and the work they do reaches far beyond just one day. As home to the largest stretch of the LA River, Council District 4 is so lucky to have partners like FoLAR who help us act as stewards of the river, making sure that our communities know the river’s history and what its potential is as a place to bring people together, learn about nature, and revitalize Los Angeles in a way that many of us have been dreaming about for a very long time.
My dream is to have a fully connected stretch of protected bike lanes and walking paths from the Valley all the way to the center of the city that uses the river and transforms how we get around Los Angeles – and I know that together we can achieve it. Let’s open up the river’s banks, let’s invite people in, and let’s dream about what the river can be as a way of connecting us to LA’s history and to its incredible future!
Take home a new FUR-EVER friend at Griffith Park’s dog adoption event, hosted in partnership with LA Animal Services. Bring chew toys, supplies and surplus food to donate to a pup drive and enter a raffle to raise money for local shelters and win a prize! The event will feature food, music, local art, and doggy-themed vendors.
DATE: Saturday, April 27
TIME: 12:00PM
LOCATION: Adjacent to Shain’s Inspiration, 4800 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Join the Autry Museum on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th for a day of family fun, live entertainment and activities for kids of all ages! This year’s festival features two stages filled with live entertainment, character meet + greets, the BIGGEST Dino Exhibit we’ve ever had covering 20,000 square feet of space, plus arts & crafts, create & build, sports & games, a bike course, local programs & camps, food, fun, swag and more. This year you’ll also receive special access to the new family play space at the Autry!
DATES: Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5
TIME: 9:30AM – 5:00PM
LOCATION: Autry in Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027
SHERMAN OAKS COMMUNITY CLEANUP | MAY 18
Volunteers Cleaning Communities is teaming up with the Sherman Oaks beautification Committee and Big Sunday to host a community cleanup at the Village at Sherman Oaks Business Improvement District. Join us Saturday, May 18th from 8:30AM – 10:30AM at Pineapple Hill Saloon – we’ll have hot coffee and pastries for volunteers at the end of the cleanup!
DATE: Saturday, May 18
TIME: 8:30AM – 10:30AM
LOCATION: Pineapple Hill Saloon, 4454 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
LA BRAVE VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE | APRIL 24 | MORE INFO
Our office, in partnership with the LA Department of Transportation and the LA Bureau of Engineering invites you to a virtual open house to learn about an exciting active transportation and street safety project, known as LA BRAVE (LA Bikeways, Riverways, and Active Valley Equity) happening on Wednesday, April 24th, from 6 – 7:30PM! The City of Los Angeles is applying for grant funding for LA BRAVE which will extend the LA RiverWay off-street biking and walking path west from Coldwater Canyon Avenue to Woodman Avenue. The grant application will also include on-street active transportation and safety improvements, including bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Fulton Avenue connecting the Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Valley Glen communities.
Please join us to learn more about the project scope and grant timeline as well as ways to give feedback on locations in the project area where you may face active transportation obstacles or barriers or face unsafe roadway conditions.
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL SMALL BUSINESS SUMMIT | APRIL 29 | MORE INFO
The Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, and the Los Angeles City Economic and Workforce Development Department will be hosting its second annual Los Angeles Region Small Business Summit in celebration of National Small Business Month!
The event will focus on helping small businesses recover, grow, and thrive beyond the challenges that they currently face. This celebration will include remarks from County and City representatives, panel discussions, a resource expo, on-site services, and much more!
DATE: Monday, April 29
TIME: 9:00AM – 3:00PM
LOCATION: 3911 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, California, 90037
APPLY FOR L.A. AL FRESCO + WEBINAR | MAY 1 | MORE INFO
Applications are now open for the L.A. Al Fresco Dining Program! L.A. Al Fresco launched in May 2020 as a temporary program to promote the economic vitality of our City’s restaurants during the COVID-19 emergency. The program created a new, streamlined process for restaurants to obtain approvals for outdoor dining on private property, sidewalks, and in the streets adjacent to their establishments. It also temporarily relaxed regulations that would otherwise govern outdoor dining, including zoning regulations, fees, and permitting procedures.
In response to the success of the temporary program, the City is now offering permits for businesses that would like to offer Al Fresco dining permanently.
And, be sure to join the City of LA for a series of webinars focused on establishing an Al Fresco in the public right-of-way. Learn how to apply, what happens after you apply, the payments required, documents that need to be submitted, and the project plan standards to follow.
LADWP WOMEN’S CAREER AND WELLNESS EXPO | MAY 4 | MORE INFO
The LADWP Women’s Career and Wellness Expo returns for its second year as an opportunity for women, girls and the greater Los Angeles community to learn about career opportunities at LADWP, as well as employee initiatives and benefits LADWP offers to support women in the workplace.
__________
At the Expo, attendees can:
Speak with women from LADWP’s workforce about their careers in skilled crafts and fields construction, electrical, engineering, IT, security and more!
Participate in equipment and machinery demonstrations and hands-on activities
Connect with wellness representatives and learn more about employee benefits LADWP offers
Enjoy free food and giveaways
__________
DATE: Saturday, May 4
TIME: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
LOCATION: LADWP Truesdale Training Center, 11760 Truesdale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352
METRO SEPULVEDA CORRIDOR UPDATE | MAY 7 | MORE INFO
The natural barrier created by the Santa Monica Mountains makes traveling between the Valley and the Westside complex and challenging – and will require innovation and multiple solutions. Metro is working to evaluate alternatives for a high-quality, reliable transit service option connecting the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. Please join us for in-person and virtual meetings that will focus on the monorail alternatives and gather feedback about the possible elimination of Alternative 2.
DATE: Saturday, May 11
TIME: 10:00AM – 12:00PM
LOCATION: Marvin Braude Center, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd. Van Nuys, CA 91401
ACCESSING:LA BUSINESS NETWORKING EVENT | MAY 20 | MORE INFO
The 9th Annual AccessingLA: TeamWith event is aimed at providing small business owners who offer Personal and Professional Services to learn about Los Angeles area opportunities and receive valuable information about how to grow their businesses. This event is part of the City’s Asian American Pacific Island Heritage Month celebration and National Public Works Week.
The day will consist of informational presentations and panel discussions, an exhibit hall with information booths from a variety of public and private agencies, and Koi Pond* – an opportunity for business owners to pitch their business to a panel of experts. The business owner with the highest score will be featured on our AccessingLA website for the next year!
*Koi Pond participants are chosen prior to the event based on an application process. If you are interested in applying to participate please apply HERE. The application site will close on May 1st, 2024 and participants will be notified a week prior to the event.
DATE: Monday, May 20
TIME: 9:00AM – 2:00PM
LOCATION: Japanese American National Museum, 100 North Central Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012
JOIN THE LATINO THEATER COMPANY SUMMER YOUTH CONSERVATORY | JUNE – JULY | MORE INFO
Are you a current high school student passionate about theater? Applications for the Latino Theater Company’s Summer Youth Conservatory are now open to students in the LA area who want to participate! No experience required!
All students who apply and are accepted receive a full scholarship to the program which also includes lunch, snacks, and class materials *free of charge*. Slots are limited so we highly encourage students to apply as soon as possible.
Summer Youth Conservatory Info:
DATES: Monday- Friday (June 23rd- July 27th)
TIME: 9AM-5PM
LOCATION: The Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA.
*Sunday, June 23rd (SYC Orientation)
*Saturday July 27th (SYC Showcase)
__________
The deadline to apply is Monday, June 17th, by 10PM (PST)!
DATE/TIME: May 9, 2024 through May 15, 2024, 6:30AM – 4:00PM
LOCATION: Lakeridge Rd. from Lakeridge Pl.to Cahuenga Blvd. East and Lakeridge Rd. from Lakridge Dr. to Longdale Ln.
DETAILS: The first phase will require the preparation of the existing roadway by cold milling the street. The final phase will require the paving of the existing roadway and resurfacing the street. While the project is in progress, “Temporary No Parking Signs” will be posted on the street. The signs will be posted at least 24 hours before the actual work begins to provide notice to residents and business owners. Please have all vehicles removed from the street to protect them from damage by construction debris and to prevent interference with the planned work. When work is not in progress between the preparation and resurfacing phases the signs will be reversed to allow for vehicular parking.
Vehicles will have access during the cold milling of the project. However, it is requested that driving be limited within the project area to avoid possible damage to your vehicle. The only time that access will be restricted within the project area is when the street is coated with liquid asphalt, prior to the resurfacing of the street. When the crews are working, there will be construction equipment and trucks in the area.
Thank you for your understanding and patience during this project. Persons with mobility impediments and their caregivers can request assistance if the scheduled street work limits their use (including ingress or egress) of the public right of way. If you have questions or need to request an accommodation, contact the supervisor on the project site or call (213) 485-5561 or (213) 847-3200.
Gas Assistance Fund – The Gas Assistance Fund (GAF) offers a one-time grant to help customers pay their natural gas bills.
Ready Your LA Business Workbook – City of LA’s FREE workbook to help business owners prepare their business for any emergency. Available in English and Spanish.
Alerts
NotifyLA — Sign up to receive urgent notifications about local emergencies by phone, email, and/or text message.
LAFD Alerts – Sign up for alerts on fires and evacuations in your area.
