[Sdpg] L.A. Eco-Village Save the Corner Campaign. Please act quickly!

[sdpg-admin at arashi.com]

In a message dated 2/20/02 9:37:50 AM, crsp at igc.org writes:

<< Dear Friends,

This is to alert you that once again the L.A. Unified School District is
planning to destroy the L.A. Eco-Village corner four-plex and gardens to pave
it.


If you live or vote in or adjacent to school board member Jose Huizar's LAUSD
District #2 (including  Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate,
Vernon, Boyle Heights, Chinatown, Echo Park, Filipino Town, Little Tokyo, the
Pico/Union area and other portions of Downtown Los Angeles east to Vermont),
please write a letter to Jose immediately.  See information sheet and sample
letter attached.  Call me if you cannot open the attachments and I will fax
ot mail info to you.


Below is an info sheet and sample letter.  Attachments are the same
information with photo of the corner and formatted.


Thanks for your support for helping to create a saner city.


Best,

Lois


SAVE THE ECO-VILLAGE CORNER


Tell the School District to save the corner four-plex and gardens at White
House and Bimini Place


Background

LAUSD plans to demolish the four-plex at White House and Bimini Place and put
up an asphalt  parking lot.  Many neighbors oppose this, because it blights
the neighborhood, destroys educational opportunities, destroys food producing
green space, creates security problems, destroys a key property in a block of
  buildings of historic importance, destroys housing, damages the quality of
neighborhood life, wastes tax money, and more.


Community efforts have already saved the Corner from the LAUSD bulldozers
three times in the past 12 years.  Now we want to save it once and for all!
The site houses the school's library, and has been used for classes, parent
education, offices, and teachers' lounge.  The gardens have served as an
outdoor environmental classroom. The building also contains a live/work space
for the community's non-profit organization which provides free after-hours
security for the school grounds.  LAUSD has spent approximately $100,000 on
improvements in the past five years, including nearly completed fiber optic
wiring for a computer center. This public investment should not be wasted.


Community Vision

All the stakeholders in the community can come together to preserve the
corner property.  We can use the building and grounds to improve educational
opportunities  for White House Place Primary Center children while meeting
important neighborhood needs.  Future uses of the site could include: school
library, environmental education, community gardens, live/work space for
school related functions, including a computer center, and more.


What you can do:

·   Please write a letter to school board representative Jose Huizar.
Letters needed now (Feb. 02)!

·   See sample letter and addresses attached

·   Find out about the past struggles at www.ic.org/laev Click on <The
Demolition Threat>

·   Come to a campaign meeting and get involved.

·

Contact us for information.

Alexandra Buresch  ala at insightgreeting.com  (213) 570-0521

Lois Arkin   crsp at igc.org   (213) 738-1254

---------------------------------------

Sample Letter to LAUSD School Board Officials:

Note: Personal Letters are best.  Put it in your own words, and make the
points that are most important to you.  Be respectful (at this time, we don't
know where school board members stand on this issue), and request a response.
  Actual paper letters are best, though email and phone calls can also
influence.

---------------------------------------

Date


Honorable Jose Huizar

Los Angeles Unified School District

450 N. Grand Ave., Room A-201

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Fax:  213/626-2815


RE: Please  save the White House Place Primary Center Corner Annex and
gardens at White House and Bimini Place in L.A. Eco-Village


Honorable Board Member Jose Huizar,


LAUSD plans to demolish the corner Annex at White House Place Primary Center
and install a parking lot.  LAUSD does not need more space for parking, and
the buiding has more value to LAUSD, the neighborhood and the city than
another parking lot.  Parking can be accommodated on an immediately adjacent
District owned parking lot. The property houses the school's library.   WHPPC
has used the Annex in the recent past for intercession classes, parent
education, teachers' lounge and workspace, school resource offices, outdoor
environmental classroom, and more.  The building also houses the nonprofit
neighborhood resource organization, CRSP, and its executive director.  CRSP
sponsors the Los Angeles Eco-Village and provides neighborhood security to
the school as well as the community.


  The building and gardens are integral to the neighborhood.  L.A.
Eco-Village, an internationally renowned project, could bring unique
educational opportunities to WHPPC and other local schools as it has in the
past, and demonstrate productive school/neighborhood joint uses.


As a constituent in your district, I urge you to halt LAUSD's plans to
demolish the corner.  Neighbors want to work together, as they have in the
past, to achieve a creative solution for the school and the community.


Please let me know where you stand on  this important matter, and please keep
me informed of future LAUSD developments at this site.  Thank you very much.


Sincerely,


[your name]

[your address]

[include phone, fax and email, as appropriate]


cc:

Caprice Young, President LAUSD School Board, 450 N. Grand, #201, LA CA 90012,
fax: 213/

Eric Garcetti, LA City Council, 200 N. Spring, Rm 470, LA CA 90012, fax:
213/613-0819

Alexander Buresch, 3520 White House Place, LA CA 90004, fax: 213/386-8873


All LAUSD Board members may be reached at 450 N. Grand Ave., Room A-201, Los
Angeles, CA 90012.  The LAUSD member that represents the area is Jose Huizar,
so he is the best person to express your concerns to.


The members of the Board are:

Jose Huizar, (213) 625-6180; jose*huizar at board.lausd.k12.ca.us

Caprice Young, Pres. (213) 625-6386; caprice*young at board.lausd.k12.ca.us

Genethia Hayes, (213) 625-6382; genethia*hayes at board.lausd.k12.ca.us

David Tokofsky, (213) 625-6383; david*tokofsky at board.lausd.k12.ca.us

Marlene Canter, (213) 625-6387; marlene*canter at board.lausd.k12.ca.us

Mike Lansing, (213) 625-6385; mike*lansing at board.lausd.k12.ca.us

Julie Korenstein, (213) 625-6388; julie*korenstein at board.lausd.k12.ca.us >>