Recent Streetsblog LA posts about South LA

In an effort to show how transportation, open space, planning and other issues impact the health and character of a community, Streetsblog and The California Endowment teamed to bring Streetsblog’s coverage to a hyper-local level in Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles. Sahra Sulaiman is the Communities Editor for Streetsblog Los Angeles and is leading our coverage efforts in these communities. This page serves as a place to read Sahra’s and all of Streetsblog’s coverage of issues in South L.A. Contact Sahra at sahra[at]streetsblog.org or on twitter: @sahrasulaiman.

The Crenshaw Wall tells the story of the community's resilience, strength, beauty, and power. Someone covered the faces of four female Black Panthers (one of which is in the frame) with swastikas on November 29th. The streetlight was down to make way for the Space Shuttle Endeavor as it moved up Crenshaw in 2012. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Black Panther Movement Figures on Crenshaw’s Great Wall Defaced with Swastikas

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 29, 2018 | 6 Comments

Earlier today, Jasmyne Cannick alerted the South Central community to the swastikas defacing the “Our Mighty Contribution” mural gracing Crenshaw’s 7800-foot-long Great Wall. Vandals deface Black Panther mural on Crenshaw Blvd. in #SouthLA with swastikas. https://t.co/UH3NXO4TkF — Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) November 29, 2018 Even as she lamented the hate crime, hateful comments were popping up […]

A sidewalk vendor feeds cyclists on Olympic Blvd. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

City Council Set to Approve Historic Sidewalk Vending Ordinance

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 28, 2018 | 1 Comment

"Por favor..." vendor Belén Ortiz implored the councilmembers, "Queremos salir de la sombra." (Please, we want to come out of the shadows.)

Crenshaw Blvd street reconstruction underway. Photo via Metro staff report

Metro Announces Crenshaw Line Will Open Mid-2020; Crenshaw/Green Operations Plan Debated

By Joe Linton | Nov 16, 2018 | 5 Comments

Metro CEO announced that the new Crenshaw light rail line will open in mid-2020. Metro is still determining how Crenshaw will operate, and how it will interact with the Green Line.

Mariachi musician Luis Valdivia (white suit, center) waits to address the crowd regarding an $800 rent increase he was hit with at a rally at Mariachi Plaza in April, 2017. He stands next to Arturo Ramírez, president of the Organización de Mariachis Unidos de Los Ángeles. Sahra Sulaiman/Streetsblog L.A.

Rent Stabilization and the Integrity of Vulnerable Ecosystems: Some Last Thoughts on Prop 10

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 6, 2018 | 20 Comments

Within a few weeks of buying the building located a block from Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights at the end of 2016, Frank “B.J.” Turner had raised rents on a handful of long-term tenants by between 60 and 80 percent. He had also created a website for the building, re-christened “Mariachi Crossing,” targeting those that […]

This (in-progress) detail by artist Jaime Scholnick will feature in a larger panel of scenes running along one of the underground walls at the Expo/Crenshaw station. Source: Jaime Scholnick

Art, the Crenshaw/LAX Line, and the Stories We (Don’t) Tell at Train Stations

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 1, 2018 | No Comments

Given the role public investment can have in reshaping marginalized communities, what responsibilities does Metro have as an entity that seeks to tell stories about the places it moves people through?

The vacant lots encompassing the 8400 and 8500 blocks on Vermont have held the community hostage to blight for over 26 years. The 8300 block (from which this photo was taken) had also remained vacant for a number of years and was originally going to be incorporated into the Vermont Entertainment Village project. In the mid-2000s, Eli Sasson sold off his 8300 block parcels (helping to doom the mall project) and the County services building rose on it instead in 2007. Source: County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

As Vermont/Manchester Transportation School Moves Forward, Community Reckons with Past, Wrestles with Form Change Should Take

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 16, 2018 | 2 Comments

For black stakeholders eager to shed the despised "Death Alley" label and address the damage rooted in segregationist policies, the stakes feel especially high

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