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July 07, 2007

Atwater Village Fishing at the Los Angeles River

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By Carmelo Gaeta

Some of you may have heard about the abundance fish in the LA RIVER, others of you are probably still in disbelief that not only are there fish down there but also people are fishing for them. I will admit I am one of those fishermen.

I was raised in Atwater Village and still have family and friends here. My aunt Flora lived within a block of the river on Tyburn, so it was only natural as a kid with an older brother and cousins to spend time in the river, looking for snakes, frogs, tadpoles, crawdads and anything else that would float down river.

The River was an open air science lab; you could see the cycle of life, to see a tadpole turn into a frog was an amazing thing as child. My connection to the river goes back 30yrs. So, one day last summer, after living a few years in New York, while I was walking my dog along the river just south of the Tyburn pole I came across two guys fishing, and to my surprise they had a fish in their bucket. My cousin David told me people were fishing in the River, but until I saw it for myself I didn't believe it. I felt it my duty as a native of Atwater having lived on Petite Ct, Madera, Perlita and now La Clede to fish the River myself, and boy have I, I'm hooked. I've fished from the Los Feliz Bridge to the 110 & 5 freeway interchange.

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Posted by webmaster at 04:09 PM |

February 24, 2007

Response to IEA Report on AVNC Canceled Election

Response by Luis Lopez to IEA Report on AVNC Canceled Election

Click here to download statement (pdf file)

Posted by webmaster at 03:56 PM |

October 11, 2006

WHAT’S HOME DEPOT DOING IN GLASSELL PARK AND ATWATER VILLAGE?????

Home Depot and Dakota Communications (a high-priced marketing communications firm from the Westside) are telling residents about the 200 new jobs that Home Depot will provide if they go into the vacant Kmart Store.
 
That’s NOT the truth. Richard Green, Home Depot Real Estate Manager, has publicly stated that they want the Kmart site so they can build a BIGGER STORE; TRANSFER the GLENDALE employees to the new GLASSELL PARK STORE, so they can build a NEW BIGGER STORE in GLENDALE and HIRE NEW EMPLOYEES for that store.

HERE’S THE REAL TRUTH:
HOME DEPOT DOES NOT WANT THE FLETCHER SQUARE COMMUNITY DESIGN OVERLAY PLAN (CDO) TO PASS. IF IT PASSES, HOME DEPOT CAN’T BUILD THE MEGA STORE THEY WANT AND COMPLY WITH THE CDO. WE DON’T NEED 4 HOME DEPOTS ALONG SAN FERNANDO ROAD WITHIN AN 8- MILE RADIUS.

GLASSELL PARK AND ATWATER VILLAGE NEEDS BOOK STORES, SIT DOWN RESTAURANTS, COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CLINICS, COFFEE SHOPS, A BANK, GYM, OFFICE SPACE, A PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY BUSINESS CORRIDOR AND LOTS MORE. A MIXED USE, PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY DEVELOPMENT WILL BRING MORE AND HIGHER PAYING JOBS THAN A HOME DEPOT.

THE DEPT. OF PLANNING HAS HEARD THE TRUE COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND HAS DRAFTED THE FLETCHER SQUARE COMMUNITY DESIGN OVERLAY (CDO).  NEARLY 4,000 RESIDENTS OF GLASSELL PARK, CYPRESS PARK, ATWATER VILLAGE, SILVERLAKE, EAGLE ROCK AND MT. WASHINGTON HAVE SIGNED A PETITION IN OPPOSITION TO ANOTHER BIG BOX LIKE HOME DEPOT, AND IN SUPPORT OF THE PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY DESIGN GUIDELINES OF THE CDO.

PLEASE COME OUT AND SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY. ATTEND THE DEPT. OF PLANNING’S PUBLIC HEARING IN GLASSELL PARK
GLASSELL PARK COMMUNITY/SENIOR CENTER
3750 VERDUGO ROAD @ PUBLIC STORAGE BUILDING
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2006 AT 6PM
 

LET THE PLANNING DEPT. KNOW THAT YOU SUPPORT THE FLETCHER SQUARE CDO. HOME DEPOT ONLY CARES ABOUT HOME DEPOT AND ITS STOCKHOLDERS, NOT GLASSELL PARK, ATWATER VILLAGE AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES OF NORTHEAST L.A.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PROPOSED FLETCHER SQUARE CDO

Posted by webmaster at 01:47 PM |

September 06, 2006

A “Newbie” perspective on Atwater Village

A unique outlook and funny musings at a new neighborhood blog named “Atwater Village Newbie":

http://atwater-village.blogspot.com

Posted by webmaster at 08:54 PM |

August 04, 2006

News from Dave's Accordion School of Atwater Village

Dave's Accordion School of Atwater Village, which has been here since 1971, was recently featured on National Public Radio, NPR, in a Day-to-Day segment with Brian Unger.  The "An Accordion Romance" segment follows Dave through portions of several lessons with one of his beginning adult students, and illustrates some of the struggles and fun moments of learning to play accordion.  The piece can be heard streaming on the NPR-Brian Unger website.....or just click on the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5562861

Posted by webmaster at 05:26 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 29, 2005

Evidence of Things Past

It's always amazing when I discover a bit of historical Los Angeles that's been sitting beneath my nose. It happened again while I was visiting my father in Atwater, whose apartment is located alongside the Los Angeles River.

The image of the Los Angeles river is commonly one of concrete and graffiti. In the eyes of most of us living in Los Angeles, the river is more a joke rather than the powerful force of nature that often flooded large parts of Los Angeles until the mid-part of the last century. It's power only coming to the fore when the inevitable news is broadcast that someone has been caught in the rush of water caused by a severe storm. It is then that the river reminds everyone that it is truly a force of nature ...

But Saturday, the water traveled leisurely amongst the rocks and the plant life that only occur on this particular stretch of river. Here the bottom of the river is not sealed with concrete. Here there is depth to the river and as a result evidence of growth and life.

My father and I have spent a lot of time here. I have photographed him here several times before. Today, there was a new addition to the backdrop, a mural. It was a painting of a Pacific Electric Red Car, part of an extensive system that had once served numerous areas of Los Angeles. It is while we were sitting here talking that a man approached with a small digital camera in his hand.

His name is Bob Wildman and he is a member of the Friends of Atwater Village. They were responsible for the mural, which was painted on the concrete supports that had once held up the weight of the rails and the cars as they traveled back and forth between Downtown and Glendale. Though I had known about the Red Car route that went down Broadway and Hollywood Blvds, I hadn't known about the route that passed through Atwater. I had never thought much about these stands of concrete, though they seemed strangely out of place, serving no obvious purpose. But like so many things, I never thought to look into what purpose they had or did serve.

As Bob told us about the groups efforts in the community, I imagined the red car rumbling over the tracks. With traffic in Los Angeles become increasingly worse, it was sad to think of the demise of a public transportation system that had once been one of the most extensive one's in the country. With the rise of the automobile, the rail cars days were numbered. What need would there be with such a system when "everyone" was going to own a car?

Fifty years later, we see the result, a city struggling to move its populace if not with improved efficiency at least with reduced anxiety and frustration. Suffice it to say that things are less than successful.

Looking at the mural, which is located just below the Hyperion Bridge, I see many things. I see a community reclaiming a piece of a city and a bit of it's history. I see a glimpse of what moving through this city was and should be. I also see a little stretch of river that means many things to many people.

Saturday, I got to claim just a lit bit more of Los Angeles for myself.

By:  Ibarionex_Perello on Monday, October 31, 2005 - 10:08 PM

Copied from: http://lavoice.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1230

Picture from Friends of Atwater Village

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