Griffith Park isn’t like the homeless people, but it does need your help.
For those who haven’t been following the Griffith Park adventure, a few years ago there was a Master Plan proposed by Councilman Tom LaBonge for the future of the park.
That’s okay. I like a man who sets boundaries and likes to talk about our future! However, this Master Plan includes a hotel, restaurants, a pier in the LA River (!), flying trams, and all sorts of things to turn the Park into Disneyland North. No word on if there’s room on the trams for the Griffith Park animals that will be squeezed out.
Getting Landmark status from the Historic Cultural Commission is essential to protect the park from arbitrary use and building like this. The meeting is TOMORROW!
If the elephants got loose from the LA Zoo, or if we HAD any elephants there, Griffith Park might look like this. Photo by Kelly and Robin in Kenia.
The future of Griffith Park is in your hands. Please show your support by attending the 10AM Thursday Commissioners’ meeting in Room 350, third floor, City Hall.
Ron Kaye recently sent it on as an email alert, as well:
ACTION ALERT: Support protection of Griffith Park as a cultural-historical monument by turning out for the meeting of the CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION at 10 a.m. Thursday (tomorrow), Room 350, City Hall. The commission is expected to vote on the issue.
But there’s another way you can support this, if leaving your computer would be a hardship, and it only takes a minute – trust me, I did it. Register support at: http://www.friendsofgriffithpark.org/GPPreservationRegister.html
307 people have registered. Don’t more people than that use the park? Come on, be #308! And any comments you make there will be printed out for the whole Commission to read.
But I’m torn. I’m getting a lot of pressure from my esteemed and intense Griffith Park Open Space Committee, of which I’m a member, to actually go to this meeting. At 10 AM. Downtown. Aside from the fact that some people HAVE to work, it’s almost as if they didn’t read my previous post on this! Not to mention that at the last meeting LaBonge didn’t even show up, nor did one of the Historic Cultural Commission! How rude.
I predict the Historic Commission will approve this status. But like the Felix The Cat sign, that’s not going to cut it. The fate of Griffith Park, and most issues in LA, it seems, lies not in the hands of the Historic Cultural Commission, but in the City Council members, who can veto the Historic Commission, and have!
And in the City Council, almost all of the Council will defer to the councilperson whose district the issue is in. In this case, that’s LaBonge. Who is against this proposal. I would much rather concentrate on the City Council, and C. LaBonge in particular.
So do I really have to go? </whine>
Donna Barstow
Griffith Park is the 2nd biggest park in the US, and I'm just the person to investigate it! I've lived here for over 25 years. I was part of the PROS Committee in Griffith Park Neighborhood Council and am on the Housing & Tenants Rights Committee in the Silver Lake NC. I'm in the LA Press Club, and you can find some of my articles in the LA Weekly and the Los Feliz Ledger. I'm a cartoonist for Parade Magazine, The New Yorker, LA Times, Slate, & most major media. Questions and contacts welcome.
3 Comments
MIA
Didn’t see you there today.
Smiley
Donna, once again, you do not have your facts correct. The Councilman opposed the Melendrez draft of the Master Plan. Therefore, he created the working group responsible for drafting a new master plan. He also never opposed the historical designation of Griffith Park.
Frowny
Smiley, Once again you have your facts wrong.
LaBonge himself put most of the objectionable items into the Melendrez draft before it was even released. So basically you’re saying he objected to his own ideas. Wow. I guess that makes it unanimous.
As for the historic designation, LaBonge opposes it for all of Griffith Park, as opposed to bits and pieces here and there. We all know this. So let’s see just how much he truly thinks his **** don’t stink when he gets his chance to do the hatchet job on what the Cultural Heritage Commission sends forward. But of course he’ll work it behind the scenes as much as he can, then say the reworking was all another department’s idea/request, not his.
So… “Smiley”… we know his M.O, we know how he manipulates behind the scenes. We can smell his **** at any distance. LABONGE CANNOT HIDE ANYMORE. So what’s it gonna be, Tom?
Have a happy happy day. :-)