Maria Lemus doesn't remember exactly when she heard about the proposal for a gondola between Union Station and Dodger Stadium, but it was probably at the back-to-school backpack giveaway or the Christmas toy giveaway.
“This is a great project,” he said.
The gondola team had been showing up at his family's 415-unit housing project, William Mead Homes, for “the last four or five years” to present the 1.2-mile gondola proposal over Chinatown and respond the questions of skeptics.
The homes are less than a quarter mile from Los Angeles State Historical Park, one of three stops along the route.
“They've been coming to community events,” he said. “They have given scholarships to our children. They have brought turkeys and baskets of food to our community for Thanksgiving. “
A company funded by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt first proposed the gondola in 2018, selling the idea to politicians, the community and others as an alternative to the congested stadium entrance that clogs neighboring streets.
After years of planning and community campaigning, the developer of the project, called Zero Emissions Transit, hopes the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Thursday will grant it the environmental clearance needed to move forward with the gondola.
Although Metro Chairwoman and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had remained largely silent on the issue, she and board member Hilda Solis, along with two board allies, on Friday released a list of 31 conditions they want to impose about the developers.
His plan includes free rides for Chinatown residents, a regional stadium bus program that could compete with the gondola for passengers, a community development package with a fund for residents displaced by housing costs and a restriction on development future of Dodger Stadium parking lot. lots, which McCourt jointly owns with the Dodgers. Opponents believe the main reason McCourt is pursuing the project is to eventually develop those lots.
“My goal is to ensure that the community comes first,” said Solis, the Los Angeles County supervisor. “This non-negotiable directive included in my motion protects the community and ensures their participation in the formulation of community benefits.”
A spokeswoman for Bass echoed his sentiments, saying, “The mayor wants to ensure this project serves the surrounding community and will push for significant resources to support the area's most at-risk youth and revitalize Chinatown business.” . district.”
The project's environmental impact report estimated that the seven-minute elevator would cost $500 million and transport 5,000 people per hour to the games. It still must get approval from the Los Angeles City Council and other entities.
More than a hundred supporters and opponents are expected to show up at Metro headquarters on Thursday, a reflection of the intense ground campaign both sides have been waging. Nowhere has this been clearer than at William Mead, where long-standing political rivalries and residents' fears of gentrification have become entangled in the struggle.
The specter of historical displacement looms large here, where Chavez Ravine's Latino families were uprooted to build Dodger Stadium and a portion of the original Chinatown was moved to build Union Station.
“This community is divided,” said Xóchitl Manzanilla, who has lived in William Mead for 32 years. “It's a monstrosity what he wants to do,” he said, referring to McCourt. “This is an act of gentrification.”
Manzanilla, who teaches an art class at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, fears the gondola will ruin skyline views and attract luxury homes in an area where people struggle to pay rent.
William Mead's low, garden-style brick houses are located along five blocks on the outskirts of the city center. Built in the 1940s, the two- and three-story buildings on the edge of Chinatown are squeezed between the state park, the Twin Towers Jail, the Los Angeles River and railroad tracks.
More than half of the residents, mostly Latino, live below the poverty line and many of them are families.
Although the gondola will not pass over the housing complex, both sides have been competing for residents' support. The developer has been investing resources in the community for years and appearing during Christmas events.
The California Endowment, which tried unsuccessfully to block the project in court, has countered these efforts. Provided a $100,000 grant to community organizers who have been working in public housing and Chinatown.
Two of the biggest problems in Mead are parking shortages and community redevelopment. There are 279 resident parking spaces, and when there are events at the park or stadium, residents can't find a spot for their cars. Residents are even more concerned about a proposal to develop the land into 1,600 units of mixed-income housing, up from the current 415 units of public housing. Although the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles has said it will continue to ensure that residents are not displaced, many are concerned about changes that could further increase already sky-high housing costs.
Opponents in the neighborhood say the gondola will do just that, while supporters believe it will ease traffic on game days and prevent fans from taking up valuable street parking.
“This seems like a good thing,” said Inés Gómez, president of the homes' resident advisory council. “It will reduce traffic.” She has five children and said the developer has been supportive of the community, even providing the opportunity to watch Dodger games during a field trip to visit a model gondola in a parking lot.
On Tuesday, Gómez attended a meeting at the houses with the area councilwoman, Eunisses Hernández, who opposes the project. And she left believing that Hernández did not understand the benefits of it and was doing it for her. Hernández, who has been the most outspoken public official about the project, said she just wants to protect a vulnerable community.
“For too long this community has been overlooked and underinvested in,” Hernandez said. “It's easy to pretend you're the good guy when you bring all this stuff to a community that's been hungry for so long.”
She opposes Solis' effort, which she says only raised more concerns.
“The gondola will not solve the parking problem, but they have been sold the idea that the gondola will transform traffic in their neighborhood,” he said. “It will be transformative, but in some ways there will be displacement.”
