The issues of a healthy food got on my dissident’s radar with City Hall’s assault on the nine community farms with massive fee increases on ordinary folks growing their own, passage of a ban on fast food in the “food desert” of South L.A.. and then the threat to kill the popular Hollywood Farmers’ Market
Then, on Friday, Tezozomoc, the inspirational leader of the South Central Farmers, called and said he was going to organize a protest at City Hall on Tuesday.
I wrote about the issue and Tezo and his group spread the word at the market on Sunday to farmers, vendors, artisans and patrons.
We gathered in the cold at 9 a.m.Tuesday outside the visitor’s entrance to CIty Hall, about 40 of us in all. And just like that, there was an instant protest.
Poster boards and magic markers suddenly came out and the market supporters from all the different perspectives start making their own protest signs they soon were waving at pedestrians and motorists.
It was a lesson on how to mobilize the community and make a statement to public officials about the folly of their policies and actions.
South Central Farmers know a lot about fighting for what they believe in. Not so long ago, they had a flourishing community farm but City Hall and the Community Redevelopment Agency decided to put a clothing company warehouse on the site and the was bulldozed after a long and bitter fight. Their battle is the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Garden.”
The site still is empty, a blighted eyesore, that South Central Farmers has the funding to buy and restore if only City Hall would give its approval. Meanwhile, they have 150 acres of leased land in Kern County where they set up a cooperative farm that is selling produce to the Whole Foods Markets and at farmers’ markets all over the city, revenue from the Hollywood market helping to subsidize those in Watts and Crenshaw.
At 10 a.m., we headed up to the City Council meeting and filled out cards for Public Comment.
It took about 90 minutes before the protesters were called because the Council chose to put on a dog-and-pony before enacting a green building code ordinance to fix the one they passed last week and because a long line of protesters from Hollywood, Westwood and Sherman Oaks were called first to object to the planned “fire sale” of nine city-owner parking lots to private developers — a deal that’s supposed to raise $53 million that will do nothing to solve the city’s massive budget crisis.
The parade of Hollywood Farmers’ Market supporters spend most of an hour explaining how it supports markets in the poorest parts of the city, provides income to hundreds of enterprising people, creates a sense of community in a city so often cold and indifferent to its people.
Council President Eric Garcetti began Tuesday’s meeting by making a commitment to save the market and expanded on his commitment at the end of Public Comment.
He came out from the horseshoe after I spoke and explained in detail his efforts to save the market and how he was working on a plan that the lets the LA Film School have access to its parking lot on Ivar.
It would require expanding the market north to Hollywood Boulevard where the parking lane could be used by vendors on Sunday mornings and possibly using Morningside Court off of Selma as well.
He said he would never let the market die, and I believed him.
In the space of 72 hours, a protest had been organized that brought people from many different backgrounds together for a common purpose and brought to public attention an important issue and moved forward to a solution.
It is a lesson everyone working so hard to make LA a great city should take to heart.
How can the Lost Angeles Council do anything right when council constantly violates their Council Rules by arriving late to chambers for the peoples business as “Council Is Awaiting A Quorum.”
It’s time for a public outcry to amend COUNCIL’S LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SALARIES that are attached to the JUDICIAL BRANCH, “judges of the Municipal Court.” It is obvious their OVER INFLATED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SALARIES need to be place before the voters in a special election, which will allow their LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SALARIES of over $170,000 a year to be adjusted and consistent with other legislative branch salaries of $95, 291 or less.
There are three branches of government for checks and balances, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
The current Los Angeles Charter needs to be changed because council’s duties and salaries belong in the Legislative Branch, not in the Judicial Branch.
Los Angeles Charter – Article II
Sec. 218. Compensation of Elected Officers
(1) Salaries. Members of the City Council shall be paid a salary equal to that prescribed by law for judges of the Municipal Court of the Los Angeles Judicial District or its successor in the event that court is dissolved or reconstituted.
The Controller shall be paid a salary that is 10% more than that of a Council member. The City Attorney shall be paid a salary that is 20% more than that of a Council member. The Mayor shall be paid a salary that is 30% more than that of a Council member.
The Controller shall be responsible for ascertaining the salary of Municipal Court judges and for setting and adjusting the salaries of elected officers in accordance with this section. Salaries shall be paid in bi-weekly increments unless the Council, by ordinance, prescribes otherwise.
(3) Operative Date of Changes in Salaries. The
salaries of elected officers shall be adjusted in the manner provided in this section upon the effective date of any change in the salaries of Municipal Court judges.
A Shoutout to L.A. Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-legis-pay-20101208,0,5043826.story
What a one sided story of the South LA Farmers. They behaved like a bunch of crooks demanding that Mr. Horowitz give them HIS land for free even though he allowed them to be on it for two years.. They used illegal immigrants, were abusive and hostile towards them and the LA Weekly, Daniel Hernandez wrote a good piece of how the South LA Farmer leadership used poor people and inside their circle had major issues. This group is nothing more then the thugs who run city council. To repeatedly PRETEND they are anything but in it for media attention is ridiculous. They have the same mentality illegals have demanding and an attitude of entitelment. This is why 73% of AMERICANS support SB1070 and Arizona.
Tuesday Dec. 14, 2010 at noon in the LA City Council chambers at 200 N. Main Street about 25 speakers made public comments of up to 2 minutes each to support renewing an unspecified city permit for the CLA, the entity that runs the Sunday Hollywood Farmers Market on Ivar and Selma Avenues between Hollywood and Sunset Blvd. At issue is the Farmers Market use of a parking lot needing Ivar Avenue access between the hours of 6am and 2pm on Sundays. The 19 year old Farmers Market City permit was thrown into question after a series of land acquisitions by a married couple, one of whom ostensibly owns and operates the Los Angeles Film School on Ivar Avenue, which reports that it has about 750 students who pay about $37,000 each for the film education there. At some time in the near future the Save Hollywood Farmers Market Coalition will have to compete with City Hall plans introduced by land developer lobbyists. This corporate effort needs to be shut down by the shine of a bright light on their back-room plans to drop another kiosk-crap company-controlled sales area in a new Kodak theater/Arclight complex on Selma and Vine. Free Market nothing is the neo-conservative economic agenda.
Anonymous’ use above to draw a relationship between local organic food production by skilled professional farmers and the need for federal immigration reform is a self-serving distraction from the issue in Ron Kaye’s article. The South Central Farmers now deliver over 1 ton of fresh organic produce each week throughout Los Angeles. The South Central Farmers used the tragedy of having productive, food-producing land taken away to make LA, its schools, kids and families more healthy using fresh organic produce, and have done so for the last 4 years on an ability-to-pay, sliding scale basis.
To those who haven’t seen “The Garden” go get it from Netflix. Then you will know what happened and why. Horowitz broke a promise to the farmers to sell the land to them after they raised the necessary funds to purchase the land. So what ever happened in the past between them no later mattered.
As for Ron’s comments about mobilizing protest – nothing scares the Council more than when articulate, organized people show up during public comment. Garcetti clearly realizes that he’s gotta get on board if he wants to be mayor.
That doesn’t mean I would trust what he says. It’s the doing that is going to matter about saving this market.
“land Taken AWAY” is a load of crap. The land wasn’t TAKEN AWAY it was OWNED by Mr. Horowitz. During the whole fiasco the polling showed the majority of Angelinos supported Mr. Horowitz. Stop making it appear as if they did something positive or good when in fact they acted like thugs and crooks demanding a land owner give up his land just to please them. The Garden is another piece of crap that documents ONLY what the South LA group wants. It doesn’t show all the families they threw out of South LA Garden because they refused to do be used by them. Read the LA WEekly story.
Shocking that they knuckled under the Mayor and voted with the rest of the thugs to not over turn the Mayor’s veto on DWP. What a bunch of weak unethical clowns. Word inside city hall is the Mayor’s people coached all those who voted what to say and how to say it.
The work the South Central Farmers have been doing before and since being displaced is not the act of any “thug” or “crook”. They are actively participating in the community around the old farm and in the surrounding communities. They could have sat around and complained and wined about not being able to farm on that land, but they decided to be productive and proactive in helping their community. They did not abandon it…they are still there by their own merit and community support. They grow organic produce that many people seem to love.
Having school age children from K through 12 and college level classes come out to the farm for several learning opportunities (before and after it was demolished) is something positive. Helping their community realize they have a political voice and could collectively make change is positive. Bringing in organic produce to underserved communities is something positive. Donating produce to schools and local businesses and organizations is something positive.
Also, before the “Academy Award Nominated” documentary, The Garden, was filmed, cut, and printed, all the parties involved were given equal opportunity to be interviewed, so that their perspective could be presented. Some of the parties involved CHOSE not to be interviewed and that is their right to privacy, however, it would have been interesting to hear their perspective and how it influenced the events that took place around this land.
Anyhow, I’m glad Garcetti is trying to help keep the HFM in tact…it would be ashamed to lose any portion of this market. If they cut out even one portion of the market, it will hurt not only the businesses who vend there, but the surrounding businesses as well. I really hope they find a solution to the parking issue. That would also be something positive. I would suggest that if the public would have been more informed, about the issue of parking the HFM was facing, maybe they would have been able to be much more proactive in contributing a solution as well.
It’s too bad Mr. Ron forgot to show the video of Zuma Dogg getting thrown out of the Clowncil after his public comment for a 30 day ban! Or the speaker’s comments that prompted Mr. Garcetti to jump off his duff and proclaim his finding of religion to “save” the Farmer’s Market. The City Clowncil is a gang of 15 creeps that are in WAY over their tiny little heads now. Why? STAY TUNED…
It’s too bad Mr. Ron forgot to show the video of Zuma Dogg getting thrown out of the Clowncil after his public comment for a 30 day ban! Or the speaker’s comments that prompted Mr. Garcetti to jump off his duff and proclaim his finding of religion to “save” the Farmer’s Market. The City Clowncil is a gang of 15 creeps that are in WAY over their tiny little heads now. Why? STAY TUNED…
Saving the Hollywood Farmers’ Market is vital for the preservation of all Los Angeles Certified Farmers’ Markets. It is the strongest, largest and has served its community for almost 20 years. The crowds and demand for the fresh produce, prepared foods and artisan goods is continuing to grow.
The Hollywood Farmers’ Market not only provides fresh food access through its farmers markets that are located in under served communities, and a variety of programs for the community, of which includes health fairs, “farmer in the classroom” program, “buena cocina” a cooking program that provides fresh from the farm produce in recipes in a series of nutrition education classes, and a kitchen. These are just a few of the programs and benefits of the HFM.
The Hollywood Farmers’ Market creates, develops and brings community together. The HFM has worked for about 20 years for the community,for the local growers, for the local artisan, for the local business community. They paved the way for companies like the LA Film School to build, develop and open business.
And what do they get for their work? Let’s modify their footprint. Cut up the market. Which section is next?
Regarding the negative and inaccurate comments about the South Central Farmers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The City caused 100% of the problem with the land. They are responsible for turning a local developer against a group that they the City gave the land to. The City took the land via eminent domain from the developer and then later, when they no longer felt the farmers were a benefit to the community, in light of making money from a successful developer, they made a back room deal.
I work with the farmers. I am not illegal. I am a successful business person. I work alongside and support the farmers because they offer hope to under served communities while at the same time are embraced and supported by multiple reputable institutions and communities of privilege. The South Central Farm has achieved much success in spite of their lack of support from the City Council Office. I suggest those with negative comments, do a little research before bagging on the farmers.
The LA Film School is a private enterprise. According information available on the internet, the LA Film School has positioned themselves as savoy business persons who have been able to expand over since its inception in 1999. The revenue they generate benefits the owners and the city. They have built a great deal of clout with the local community and the City. Along with this success the component of social responsibility and community support is missing. It would be admirable for this institution to embrace and support the HFM, but, that seems not to be the story. Their response is NIMBY, we want the HFM but not in my back yard.
The group who owns the LA Film School have also contributed greatly to our last presidential campaign. Nothing wrong with that, however the non-profit is not able to do this legally. So the little guy, is at a real disadvantage.
Funny, how the politician who plans to run for Mayor is the one person who decides to outwardly voice concern for the little guy. But, with the possibility of campaign contributions from the new kid on the block, it could potentially prove lethal for the HFM.
All this seems very familiar. I too recommend that anyone who cares about the Hollywood Farmers Market should see The Garden.
also recommend that all supports write Garcetti’s office in support of the HFM maintaining its current footprint and further offering support to the non profit in their endeavors to continue to provide community programs as they have do for about 20 years.
There is no way you can let the market die. These farmer’s markets are the things that we need to start getting BACK in neighborhoods, NOT getting rid of. It just kills me that people are so selfish and can not find a way to compromise in a neighborhood. Everybody better start being nicer to each other or this country is going to be in trouble. The Los Angeles Film School needs to work with the market, be a good neighbor, and create an awesome neighborhood. Just kills me….