Posts Tagged ‘Silver Lake’
Need a Marathon Break? The Triangle Dig Continues Sunday
March 19th, 2010 | 
Author: 
It has been a great week for publicity surrounding Parkman Triangle. We got some coverage in Curbed LA! Some folks were not happy with the tone, but any coverage is better than no news, right? Many comments were also posted expressing enthusiasm for the project.Digging will continue on Sunday. We need to move more dirt from the berm to the middle of the site, so we hope to get many volunteers to make this quick work! We are asking people to show up anytime between 10am and 2pm. Bring work gloves, sunscreen, a hat, and a water bottle (in case we run out!). (more...)
Parkman Triangle Is A Reality
Yesterday, we had a fantastic turnout for our work on Parkman Triangle. I asked Ara Babaian to share his thoughts on this project. I will invite others working on Parkman Triangle to give their views and hopes for a plan that we hope catches on in LA. Let me start with Ara!--LK/GGP
On Saturday, March 13, 2010, over 20 residents of Silver Lake and a few others from as far away as Brentwood volunteered at the future site of Parkman Triangle to spread, mix and compact the fill dirt with clean base. Parkman Triangle will be a micro-park situated in this high-traffic, urban residential part of Silver Lake—an “urban lounge” of sorts where walkers will hang out for a few minutes, get some shade, and then move on. This urban lounge, to be called “Parkman Triangle” because of its triangular shape and its location at the intersection of Silver Lake Boulevard and Parkman Avenue, will provide much needed green space to this part of Silver Lake just south of Sunset Boulevard. But Parkman Triangle will do more than just add some green—it will also serve as the focal point for this part of Silver Lake which is not quite as developed as the areas near the Reservoir and at Sunset Junction. (more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life, construction and architecture | 
Tags: Ara Babaian, Eric Garcetti, John Southern, Los Angeles, Office of Community Beautification, Parkman Triangle, Parkman Triangle Improvement Project, Parkman Triangle Park, Silver Lake, Silver Lake Improvement Association, Silver Lake Neighborhood City Council | 
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Parkman Triangle: Volunteers Needed!
The transformation of Parkman Triangle is piling up: literally, as we received three more HUGE truckloads of fill dirt on our little gem at Silver Lake Blvd. and Parkman.We will need volunteers between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday the 13th. If you cannot make it this time, no worries: we will need your efforts for another 8 to 10 Saturdays.
Today's delivery of dirt gave us a great lesson in what it takes for LA drivers and commuters to behave civilly and how to read hand gestures by construction crews. Despite my orange Land's End vest (the closest thing to a CalTrans uniform I've got), some people apparently thought the outstretched hand in a STOP pose meant either get in the other lane and block traffic coming the opposite direction, or just continue driving on anyway. Then there was the woman in a black Cadillac who kept honking her horn (while she was plugged in to her iPod) loudly as a truck was dumping its load, not realizing that behaving like a twit won't make 30 cubic yards of dirt move any quicker, though it did stress other cars around her out!
Lesson learned: give construction crews a break and follow their lead. They are only stopping and slowing traffic for your safety--and more importantly, theirs!
Please contact me directly if you can help us in the morning.
Special thanks to Materials & Applications (a jewel in Silver Lake's architectural and design scene) for helping to get the word out, and to Stacy at C.D.G. Materials in Riverside for the great pricing and outstanding professionalism of their truckers, who made a dicey delivery seamless!
Parkman Triangle Hits Pay Dirt!
Well, actually it was free dirt. It's been an eye-opening experience working on the Parkman Triangle Project. I've spent many hours this month calling contractors, from trucking companies to landscapers to plumbers to dirt companies. What money we have really needs to go to plumbing, so to save about $2500, we decided to see what we could scrounge up from contractors who are working on projects and need to dump their dirt. (more...)Parkman Triangle: Stage One!
I was thrilled to find out that work Parkman Triangle Park has finally started. I took the dog out for a walk to see for myself, and I like what's been done!
The asphalt has been ripped out, and soon the water main can be installed. It turned out to be quite a job. The workers who were at the site told me that it turned out there were two layers of asphalt: one was the original street, and then you had the top layer which has been home to illegal parking and Sunday flea markets for years. The workers seemed excited about this project, too: they had also worked on a similar greening project in East Hollywood. (more...)
Parkman Triangle-Demolition Monday?
GGP is in Brazil with little internet connection, but we have heard that demolition on Parkman Triangle may start on Monday--so stay tuned. Let's hope this finally happens. Since we cannot be there, please take pictures if this happens!!!!
Many thanks to John Southern and Ara Babaian for all their work.
Water Wars: The Floodgates Have Opened!
Wow. Two weeks ago I posted a short film I did with Patrick Benson on LA's tenuous relationship with water. And as I often do weekly, I posted the link to most of the LinkedIn groups to which I belong. From a bird's eye view, the results were interesting: I think few actually watched the film, but I sure got a lot of comments based on my title, which was "Is water really the next oil?"
The discussions are still flying on LinkedIn. Most were engaging, and I was so overwhelmed I wasn't able to reply to all of them. (more...)
Parkman Triangle Park in Silver Lake
At the corner of Silver Lake Boulevard and Parkman Avenue lies a 2000-square foot patch of asphalt that has lain empty for decades. Occasionally, trash is strewn across it; sometimes there are unpermitted weekend yard sales or flea markets; often cars are parked on it illegally. Years ago this space was paved over to make right turns off of Parkman to Silver Lake Blvd. safer, but the redesign left wasted space that currently does nothing for the local community.But soon, after two years of research, phone calls, and neighborhood activism, this barren space in Silver Lake, south of Sunset Boulevard, will become a vibrant park, thanks to the Parkman Triangle Improvement Project. (more...)
LA’s Fragile Water Supply
Los Angeles and water sure have a sordid history together. Of course there's the 1974 movie, Chinatown, that sums up the backroom deals and violence that worked to bring water to a thirsty and ambitious Southern California. Now we are on the verge of another chapter in the "water wars," as years of drought, increasing population, and frustration elsewhere in California threaten to disrupt the way of life to which Angelinos have grown accustomed.
(more...)
Posted in water |
Tags: conservation, Ivanhoe Reservior, Los Angeles, Patrick Benson, Silver Lake, Silver Lake Reservoir, videos, water rationing, water wars |
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A Walk Along Sunset Boulevard
A few days ago I had to take my car to the shop. With my handy Flip camera, I took some random shots as I walked from Echo Park to Silver Lake, along Sunset Boulevard. I really do believe that the best way to learn a city is to walk it: whether it's along Chong-no in Seoul, Michigan Ave. in Chicago, or Charles Street in Baltimore, you notice so much that you miss in a bus.
I hope you enjoy the little 2 minute video. The title is a little confusing--in the video, it says "A Walk Along Silver Lake." Once you create a movie using the Flip, you cannot edit it, and if you look on GreenGoPost's You Tube channel, there is a nearly identical video . . . but instead of the music, you hear hissing traffic noise if that's more your speed.
Posted in art and culture, transportation |
Tags: Echo Park, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Sunset Boulevard, videos, walking |
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I’m a Vegan Hair Salon, and I’m Taking Over.
I've seen enough. Hand me the keys. I'm taking ooh-vah. - Tabatha Coffey, star of Bravo's hit reality series, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, to another clueless owner as she is gob-smacked, once again, by a poorly-run hair salon . . .I know there are far more serious issues going on right now, such as the climate change conference in Copenhagen, but I figure COP15 has enough media buzz--not to mention the discussion of all the private jets and limousines that are hauling all the politicians and potentates to and around a Scandinavian city . . . in winter.
Which is why it may seem ridiculous that I am bringing up Tabatha's Salon Takeover (more...)
Posted in art and culture, business, food and consumer products |
Tags: greenwashing, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, Tabatha Crowley, Tabatha's Salon Takeover, travel, vegan |
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A Silver Lake Garden: a video tour
GreenGoPost now has a channel on YouTube!
We promise there will be better videos down the road, but for now, enjoy this 7 minute video of our backyard garden: and feel free to fast-forward through it!
Got a video of what you're doing in your yard? Please reply back with a video!!!
Posted in food and consumer products |
Tags: gardening, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, videos |
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Guerrillas in the Midst
Activism. Activist. They are words that many people love to shout out. To me, they often give me the creeps.How many times have you heard someone say, "I don't eat THIS" or "I don't buy THAT" or "I don't do ALLOFTHEABOVE."
My response is: it's always easier to NOT do something. It takes a lot more commitment to actually do, or COUNTER, something to which you are opposed.
Well, Saturday night, as we returned home from dinner in Silver Lake, we saw a group of folks on a corner up to something that looked pretty good. We pulled over, and we saw about 20 folks, of all ages, plowing, hacking, and digging away. Some looked retired; others probably hadn't even started Kindergarten. They all were having a blast. (more...)
LA Gone Wild
Last night I attended the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council meeting. The evening featured Gregory Randall, the City of LA’s lone wildlife specialist . . . in a city of 465 square miles crammed with four million people. Because of the recent events in Griffith Park, where eight coyotes were shot in the aftermath of two (probably only one) people getting bitten (who had napped in the park), the church hall was full of very vocal residents. (more...)
Posted in air - land - quality of life |
Tags: coyotes, Gregory Randall, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, Silver Lake, wildlife |
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Join the Parkman Triangle Gardeners Group on Facebook!
Whether you live south of Sunset in Silver Lake, or north of Sunset, in a nearby neighborhood, or the West Side, or outside of LA, please join the Parkman Triangle Gardeners Group to exchange seeds, tools, ideas, and photos! The group has been around since July, but GreenGoPost and the group's founder, Ara Babaian, are working to get this group moving in time for fall planting!
There may even be a LIVE event soon . . .