Barlow’s Residential Condo Planning and Your Input

Some of us recently received these brochures in the mail with just a little information about the 800 plus residential condos that might be built on the hospital’s property. For those Echo Park residents attempting to take part in the brochure’s survey online, all they get is this:

…before even getting started! So far, it looks like the only way to share your thoughts (or many concerns) is to fill out the survey and mail it in, or call Chris Fuentes at 213-202-6840. You can also join the conversation of many concerned Echo Park residents on the Echo Elysian Neighborhood Council Forum.

You can also download the full brochure by clicking here, and you can download/print the actual survey here.

The Eastsider LA has also done some great coverage on the Barlow development, you can read more by clicking here.

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Echo Park Time Bank Free Workshop

The next free workshop on Time Banking will be on Saturday, February 13, 2010 from 5-5:30 pm at Williams Hall (2000 Stadium Way, between Scott and Elysian Park Ave.)

Williams Hall is in the center of the Barlow Hospital campus in Elysian Park, behind the library. Stay after or the member potluck.

Go to the Echo Park Time Bank blog for more information.

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Echo Park Backyard Bird Count

The Echo Park Backyard Bird Count is coming up this Sunday, February 14, 2010.

Meet fellow bird lovers at the Echo Park Lake Boathouse at 9:00 am (lasts about 2 hours), and discover the birds in your backyard, schoolyard or park. It’s fun, it’s free and it helps the birds. All ages and skills welcome.

Whether you are brand new to birding or an expert, your count counts! Your checklist will contribute valuable information for science and conservation.

For more information, contact Judy Raskin at judycalifornia@yahoo.com or call (323) 663-6767.

The Great Backyard Bird Count runs four days, February 12-15. To participate on other days or at home, get more information at www.birdcount.org.

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Power out on Glendale and surrounding area

It took a moment to notice something was different while driving up Scott to Glendale Blvd around 11pm Sunday night.  All the power was out up until the traffic light right before the 2 as well as in the surrounding blocks. Be careful tonight!

The Eastsider LA has the scoop. Apparently it was caused by a traffic accident. Can’t blame the rain for this one 😉

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Thank you EPIA!

We arrived at Delilah’s Bakery SUPER early to nab our own citrus tree at the EPIA Fruit/Citrus tree giveaway. Thank you EPIA for our very own Margarita tree…err Lime tree!

There will be another give-away so make sure to reserve your tree and arrive early.

And don’t forget the next EPIA Neighborhood Issues Committee meeting is Wednesday, January 20 from 7-9:00 pm at Williams Hall, Barlow Hospital.

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Car Crash on Sunset Blvd. Near Douglas in Echo Park

At around 3:00 this afternoon, I was heading north(ish) on Douglas getting ready to turn left onto Echo Park when I look up to see a bus (heading East on Sunset) slam into another vehicle. It appears the other driver may have been heading West on Sunset and was turning left onto Douglas, but I am not entirely certain.

Thankfully, it doesn’t appear that there are any serious injuries, and emergency vehicles were on the scene immediately. Sunset is a little jammed right now due to the incident, so try to avoid the area or wait a little longer.

And, as always, drive safe!!

~Kelly

Little cars are no match for these busses

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Echo Park Fruit Tree Giveaway

The Echo Park Improvement Association (EPIA) will be distributing free fruit and citrus trees at Delilah’s Bakery in Echo Park on Saturday, January 16 from 2-5:00 pm.

Trees can be reserved in advance, and need to be picked up by 4:30 p.m. Unreserved trees will be distributed on a first come, first served basis. The trees will be for Echo Park residents only.

You can reserve a tree by emailing EPIAmail@yahoo.com or by calling the EPIA hotline at (323) 882-4835. Please include your name, phone number and type of tree you would like.

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Echo Park restaurant supporting the Haitian community

Jenny Burman from Chicken Corner stopped by TiGeorge’s Haitian restaurant today to check out all the commotion – a couple of camera crews out front. Owner George Laguerre is from Por-de-Paix, and has been in touch with friends and relatives in Haiti following the devastating earthquake.

Click here to ready Jenny’s account on Chicken Corner.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, January 14th), TiGeorge’s Chicken will be hosting a benefit on behalf of victims. Proceeds from food sales will go to relief efforts.

The event starts at 5 p.m. at TiGeorge’s on 309 Glendale Blvd. in Echo Park.

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Echo Park theater may have a future


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The old theater on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park has been collecting dust for 20 years, and according to The Eastsider LA may have a future as a new restaurant.

According to the article, form CEO of music.com Tony Yanow is interested in turning the theater into a”150 seat restaurant called El Camino, featuring craft beers, regionally grown food and two stages for dinner theater.”

Click here to read the full article from The Eastsider LA.

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Volunteering at 826LA

On Saturday, January 16 at 12:00 noon, the Echo Park location of 826LA will be holding a New Volunteer Orientation for those who are interested in volunteering at 826LA. The Orientation is the first step for anyone interested in becoming a volunteer, and lasts between 30 minutes and an hour.

Here are also some upcoming Orientations:

Saturday, 1/16, 12pm, 826LA East
Thursday, 1/21, 6pm, 826LA West
Friday, 1/22, 3pm, 826LA East
Friday, 1/29, 6pm, 826LA West
Tuesday, 2/2, 6pm, 826LA West
Monday, 2/8, 1pm, 826LA East & West
Tuesday, 2/16, 11am, 826LA East

You can also view more upcoming dates by clicking here: 826la.org/calendar

Please email iwanttohelp@826la.org to RSVP, and bring a photo ID and your friends!

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Truck and Bus Collide Monday Night on Glendale Boulevard

The commotion and sirens a few people heard last night were in response to a truck/bus accident on Glendale Boulevard near the 2 Freeway. Here are the details according to a CBS2 online news report:

5 Hurt When Truck, Bus Collide In Silver Lake

LOS ANGELES (CBS) – Authorities said five people were hurt Monday night when a truck crashed into a Metro bus in the Silver Lake area. The crash, which was reported at 9:05 p.m. Monday, occurred in the 1800 block of North Glendale Boulevard, according to Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The driver of the truck hit a guardrail, went through a red light and slammed into the bus, Sgt. Gregory Hoyte of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Traffic Division said. The driver of the truck remained hospitalized early Tuesday, Hoyte said. No arrests have been made. Four people from the bus and one from the truck were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, Scott said.

Be careful out there everyone!

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Fruit Tree Giveaway in Glassell Park

On Saturday, January 16th starting at noon, the Glassell Park Improvement Association together with TreePeople are holding their annual fruit tree giveaway.

The distribution will take place at the Glassell Park Recreation Center parking lot. A variety of fruit trees (as well as citrus) will be handed out on a first come, first served basis.

The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation will provide mulch, so bring bag or a bucket to take some with you. Citizen Foresters will be available and community supporter Tony Macias will provide information on how to plant, prune and care for the trees. Volunteers are also welcome.

If you may have any questions please contact Alonso Calderon from GPIA me at acalceves@yahoo.com or GPIA president Jim Kiehl at jekiehl@earthlink.net.

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Northeast Division Neighborhood Crime update

Here’s some excerpts from the Northeast Community Police Station newsletter from Captain Bill Murphy

Hello everyone. This newsletter will focus on giving all of you an overview of last year’s crime. We had a really good year – we reduced crime for the eight straight year. But our mission to continue this trend is going to be extremely challenging. I do not have to tell you how bad the economy is today – with an unemployment rate of almost 13% in the City (higher if you consider those who have stopped looking for work). But the most troubling issue we may face this year is the potential release of approximately 30,000 prisoners from our correctional system. It is estimated (no one knows the true numbers right now) the County of Los Angeles would possibly get half of these with the City of Los Angeles getting the lion’s share of this number. The release of the prisoners is due to two factors: a federal judicial mandate to reduce overcrowding in the correctional system; and a bleak state government budget that may require dramatic cuts in the correctional budget – hence pris oner releases.

As of right now, we are being told that the prisoners (if released) will be non-violent offenders. This means that they probably went to jail for property-related offenses such as GTA, BTFV, 459, or narcotics charges. Unfortunately, property crime happens to be NOE Area’s biggest crime problem – auto-related crime alone accounted for 52% of our crime – and we may very well get dozens or even hundreds of these types of prisoners released onto our streets. Know that we are already planning for this and will use every prevention, intervention, suppression, and re-entry strategy available to keep you safe and your quality of life high. With that let’s talk about last year’s crime.

Crime Terminology

187: Homicide

211: Robbery

BTFV: Car break-in

GTA: Car theft

AGG: Shooting, stabbing, or assault not resulting in death

459: Burglary of a residence or business

261: Sexual Assault (rape)

NOE Year End Crime Statistics

Homicide: Down 42.3% (15 vs. 26)

Rape: Down 47.4%

Robbery: Down 1.5%

AGG: Down 11.1%

Shots Fired: Down 18.9%

Shooting Victims: Down 30.3%

Total Violent Crime: Down 11.1%

Burglary: Down 20.1%

GTA: Down 15.0%

BTFV: Down 7.5%

Larceny: Down 14.0%

Total Property Crime: Down 12.8%

Part I (Total Crime): Down 12.5%

* Ended year with EVERY category of crime down – very hard to do this
* We had 836 less serious Part I crimes than the year before
* NOE Area ranked THIRD in crime reduction Citywide (out of 21 police stations). We held first place for almost nine months. Missed second place by one tenth of one percent

(probably 6-10 crimes out of over 5800 reported)

And for Echo Park, the Neighborhood Crime Update is:

We had a serial BTFV suspect hitting multiple vehicles all across NOE. An observant resident of Echo Park called in a suspicious person and a patrol unit responded immediately. They detained the suspect who was wearing a black hoodie (sweatshirt with hood) and gloves on his hands as he approached his vehicle. The officers conducted an outstanding investigation. The suspect’s vehicle was literally filled with stolen property from 16 different BTFVs he committed that day! Our Auto detectives came in on their day off to debrief the suspect. He copt-out to committing dozens of car break-ins throughout NOE. Auto detectives were able to get the judge on the case to increase the bail to 50 thousand dollars (high for a property crime).

Unfortunately, the suspect’s mother bailed him out immediately and we are monitoring his activities. This arrest led to a dramatic decrease in BTFV’s. We do have a strong case and will press for a fast prosecution. Our undercover officers actually arrested him hours after he was released with property from additional victims. He was brought back before the judge who imposed a $400,000 bail. Mommy could not bail him out of this amount!

Good News: Part I crime Down 12.4%, Homicides Down 66%, (3 vs. 1), AGG Down 34.8%, 459 Down 32.7%, GTA Down 29.4%, and BTFV Down 3.8%.

Needs Improvement: Robbery Up 13.% (4 crimes), and Larceny Up 10.9% (7 crimes).

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Book Sale at Edendale Library

Check out the Edendale Library book sale tomorrow (Wednesday, January 6) from 2-5:00 pm.

The branch is selling “over 1000 newly donated non-fiction books… donated by a local book dealer who has gone out of business.” You can find these books on the center tables in the Community Room, starting at ten cents a piece (case only). According to the posting, the library has “over 7,000 books in total, many rare, old, out of print, signed first editions and collectible.”

All proceeds go to library programs and books, and they need all your support!

For more information, please contact Sheila Anthony at 323-868-1243

The library is located at 2011 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park.

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Pioneer Chicken to become Little Caesars

Photo courtesy of an EPN reader

Many of you might notice the on-again, off-again work being done on the Pioneer Chicken building on Echo Park Avenue. After months of gathering dust and graffiti (which closed down last March), the old Pioneer Chicken is being turned into a Little Caesars pizza restaurant. According to the LA Eastsider last month, a plumbing permit was issued in December for the new franchise location.

Curious cats beware – according to the reader who submitted this photo, a “guy yelled bloody murder at me while I took the pic.”

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