October 18th, 2016This afternoon at 5:08 pm in Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers will host the Chicago Cubs in the third game of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). There will be games tomorrow and Thursday as well — all beginning at 5:08. Both automobile and stadium gates will open a full three hours before the game, at 2:08 pm. An excerpt from an email that was sent to (some) local residents from Erika Sanches, Coordinator, Community & Government Relations for the Dodger organization, set the stage for the impending invasion that residents dread but know is coming: Your Los Angeles Dodgers have advanced in the post season. As they have done for decades, the Dodgers organization will, for each of these games, perpetrate the fraud that will wreak havoc on the narrow streets and the residents of the communities surrounding the stadium in the form of bumper-to-bumper traffic, sometimes for hours, along with the concussions from fireworks that will frighten small children, the elderly and pets, rattle windows, and set off car alarms. Both of these outrages are clear violations of the Dodgers' Conditional Use Permit, but they don't care, because they know they can get away with it; and anyway, they have given the residents notice. What more could anyone ask for? Pyrotechnics should be expected during the lineup announcement and during the national anthem. This excerpt from an email of a resident to the Dodgers on August 19th, in reference to night 2 of the two-night Guns N' Roses concert in Dodger Stadium, clearly and legitimately articulates the issue: Are you ever going to respond to us? The noise emanating from the stadium is shaking up our peaceful community. My wife and I take care for our elderly mother with a heart issue and this is causing us a major stress. It is truly unbearable. It’s the loudest ever. We thought AC/DC and KISS were bad but now you’ve proven to us that it can get even worse. Needless to say, there was no response from the Dodgers; remember, they provide lip service but nothing else, because they simply don't care. Another resident sent this as part of an email on October 9th: Erika asks below if we have any questions [an email from Erika Sanchez was attached]. I have a question: how can you continue setting off fireworks, possibly twice in a single day, given that this is in clear violation of your Conditional Use Permit and despite numerous requests from your neighbors to reduce frequency and noise levels? And what was the Dodgers' predictable response? Nothing. Nada. Rien. لا شى. Ничего ... well, you get the picture. Meanwhile, on this day back in 1922 ... Telesforo Martínez applied for, and received, a construction permit for him to build a four-room home at 1808 Gabriel Avenue in Palo Verde. The home was occupied for nearly 30 years; but in 1951, the vacant home at 1808 Gabriel Avenue was demolished. The residence was vacant because Telesforo Martínez and all of the residents of 1808 Gabriel Avenue who came after him, had been evicted.
Today, 94 years after Telesforo Martínez built his home, Dodger fans will park their cars where the home of Telesforo Martínez once stood. Perhaps some of those cars will have sat in traffic for more than an hour on Solano Avenue in Solano Canyon or Scott Avenue in Echo Park. When the fireworks begin as the Dodger lineup is announced and the National Anthem is sung, the residents of the communities surrounding Dodger Stadium will, once again, suffer the indignity that has been perpetrated against them by an uncaring, powerful corporate entity, just as the residents of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop suffered the indignities of the condemnation of their homes and the eviction of their persons that were perpetrated against them by an uncaring, powerful, civil entity so many years ago. |
About the AuthorLawrence
Bouett is a retired research scientist and registered professional
engineer who now conducts historical and genealogical research
full-time. A ninth-generation Californian, he is particularly interested in the displacement of the nearly 1,100 families that lived in the Chavez Ravine communities of la Loma, Palo Verde, and Bishop to make way, ultimately, for the construction of Dodger Stadium. His ancestors arrived in California with Portolá in 1769 and came to Los Angeles with the founders on September 4, 1781. CategoriesArchives
January 2018
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"Thank you for such an informative site which highlights the plight of those relocated from Chavez Ravine. My stepfather was a happy child growing up in the Palo Verde area. He had many stories about living in the area and working at the [Ayala] store."
"Wow that is awesome thank you"
"Dodger Stadium will always be a monument to the displacement of three entire communities"