UN4LA: 2023 in Pictures

Cities in LA County are increasingly allowing digital billboards, displays and kiosks to proliferate in the public right-of-way.  West Hollywood bus stops play trailers for upcoming movies.  Inglewood has approved massive billboards with animated ads.  In January, Metro approved the so-called "Transportation Communication Network", which involves the construction of scores of digital billboards across LA.  Metro chose to ignore citizens' concerns about distracted driving, light pollution and the collection of personal data.

After years of abnormally low rainfall and increasing pressure on LA's water resources, in Spring 2023 the area was hit by a massive series of storms that filled reservoirs and ended the dry spell.  But climate scientists say LA's water resources will continue to decline for the foreseeable future, and emphasize the need for long-term planning.

In the early 70s, the State of California began construction of the 710 Freeway, destroying about 1,500 homes and displacing more than 4,000 residents.  After a struggle that lasted decades, the State finally abandoned its effort to extend the freeway, and in 2022 relinquished a segment of the 710 Northern Stub to the City of Pasadena.  In April of this year, the 710 Advisory Group began meeting with the goal of creating a plan for development that would prioritize equity and environmental justice.

In 2019, LA City Planning approved the demolition of 40 rent-stabilized apartments at 1719 Whitley to make way for a 10-story hotel.  Stunned that this could happen when city officials were continually claiming that LA was in the middle of a housing crisis, in 2020 UN4LA filed a lawsuit to stop the project.  In 2022, the courts granted our petition for writ of mandate, ordering the City to revoke approval of the project.  The City appealed, and in June of this year the appellate court upheld the trial court's decision.  We thought the matter had been settled.  Unbelievably, after all of this, on December 20, 2023, LA City Planning published a new determination letter approving the same project all over again.  If LA is experiencing a housing crisis, it's likely because City Hall has created one. 

In June, Curren Price became the fourth member of the LA City Council to be charged with committing criminal acts since 2020.  A complaint filed by the LA County District Attorney's Office charges Price with embezzlement of public funds, perjury and conflict of interest. Interestingly, Price's arraignment has been repeatedly postponed, with his court appearance now scheduled for January.  And, while there were initially calls for Price to be suspended from the City Council, those voices seem to have faded into the background.  Price is still participating in City Council meetings.

Photo from LA Free Press, via MorrisKight.com (Mary Ann Cherry, biographer of Morris Kight)

Though the Stonewall riots happened in New York, the impact was felt all the way on the other side of the US.  In 1969, as the gay rights movement gathered momentum, Morris Kight and Don Kilhefner played a central role in creating the LA Chapter of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Community Services Center.  Among other things, they led protests against negative images of LGBT persons in the media and were instrumental in organizing the first gay pride parade on Hollywood Boulevard.  In August, the City of LA recognized Kight's contributions by designating the Morris Kight House a historic cultural monument.

You'd think that with four members of the LA City Council having been charged with criminal acts in four years, the Council would be bending over backwards to demonstrate a commitment to the highest ethical standards.  Unfortunately, this was not the case in August.  Controller Kenneth Mejia had nominated Jamie York, a longtime member of the Reseda Neighborhood Council, to the Ethics Commission.  Numerous Angelenos spoke up to endorse York as a worthy candidate, and when the nomination came before the City Council, the agenda included a recommendation to approve it.  Amazingly, when it came time to vote on the item, the Council rejected York's nomination UNANIMOUSLY.  No discussion.  No debate.  They voted 14-0 to send her packing, demonstrating once again that the LA City Council has no real interest in upholding ethical standards.

This year construction continued on the Intuit Dome, the latest project to be realized on the site formerly occupied by Hollywood Park.  With SoFi Stadium, just to the north, already drawing massive crowds and creating massive congestion, it's likely that traffic will get even worse when the Dome opens next year and the Clippers move in for the 2024–2025 NBA season.

There are few street trees in Lennox, an unincorporated area just north of the 105 Freeway that also lies in the flight path for LAX.  This means high temperatures and poor air quality for the area's residents, since tree canopy plays in important part in cooling urban neighborhoods and keeping air clean.  Unfortunately, that didn’t stop LA County Public Works  from removing several of the community's street trees over the summer.  While some replacement trees were planted, it will take years for them to grow to the point where they'll provide the same ecosystem services as the trees that were cut down.  In the meantime, area residents will continue to deal with the health impacts associated with high temperatures and bad air.   

While the City of LA was considering its "Vision Plan" for the LA Zoo, hundreds of citizens submitted comments begging the City to halt plans for the excavation of an artificial canyon in Griffith Park, and the destruction of an existing ridgeline.  The City went ahead and approved the plan anyway, and as a result, Friends of Griffth Park filed a lawsuit in September to stop the Los Angeles Zoo Vision Plan from moving forward. 

Mayor Bass has been working hard to address homelessness in LA, but has had difficulty making progress on this complex problem.  There are numerous factors, including lack of proper funding for mental health, a growing substance abuse crisis, and decades of neglect by the City's leaders.  In December, Controller Kenneth Mejia issued a report highlighting one aspect of this neglect: The City and the County don't even have accurate data about the availability and utilization rates of shelter beds.  The LA Homeless Services Authority's system for tracking bed availability is so unreliable that the agency relies on daily census emails to find out how many beds are available.

In 1987, André Heller created an amusement park in Hamburg, Germany, that featured rides designed by some of the most prominent artists of the time, including Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sonia Delaunay and Keith Haring.  Sadly, after the park closed, the attractions ended up sitting in a warehouse for decades.  Fortunately, they were recently rescued from storage and again made available to the public as Luna Luna, a colorful and lively exhibition on display in Downtown.  While the new incarnation is different from the original conception, more of a museum show than an amusement park, thousands of Angelenos have been drawn to experience this colorful and whimsical exhibition.

Little Tokyo lost another piece of its heart when Japanese restaurant Suehiro, which had served the community for decades, was evicted at the end of 2023.  Longtime patrons of Suehiro were outraged, and attempted to stop the eviction, but were unsuccessful.  According to the Rafu Shimpo, the owner of the building has filed an application to establish a marijuana dispensary on the site, and has expressed a desire to "make Little Tokyo resemble a Melrose Avenue type of business district."

Fortunately, Suehiro survived the eviction, and continues to serve hungry Angelenos at its new location, 400 S. Main St. in Downtown.