Getting that ad space ready - note that it will be an electric sign! blinky blinky
Once the new neighbors start meeting the old neighbors, sparks are gonna fly. This place will become mugger central because of its central location (several on ramps to the 101 within 2 minute’s drive). Also, these new units are all high-end. White Trash like me could never gain entré! The Jefferson Project is asking for $3,000 per month in rent. RENT! I don’t know how much the McCadden units are going for but it must be in the same neighborhood (forgive the pun) of the Hollywood and the Jefferson Project. By the way, the arrogant Hollywood is still trying to get 2.5 million dollars for their penthouse units. Look to The Hollyblog to give you full coverage of the emerging class warfare!
What’s the big deal? So they aren’t paying decent wages, maybe even paying illegal immigrants under the table to haul stuff away. Why is everybody getting their panties in a bunch? If it weren’t for unions, there would be no middle class in this country. Sweatshops would abound. Workers would be forced to labor for twelve or more hours at a time. There would be no OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Hell, there would be no Department of Labor, whose Secretary serves on the President’s Cabinet. The last effect Secretary of Labor that this country had was under Bill Clinton. His name? Robert Reich. He served under Bill Clinton and was one of his chief economic advisors. The reasons why Obama didn’t tap him for his administration is beyond my comprehension. Maybe he asked and Reich turned him down? He’d make a better Secretary of the Treasury than Geithner, who has proven himself to be a complete corporate shill. But maybe he is doing a good job by Obama, taking the heat for his misguided pro-corporate policies. So how did I get all the way from the Jefferson to here? Well, there used to be strong labor laws in this country, but under Uncle Ronnie, they were dismantled by Congress (with the help of the pro-right wing Supreme Court). Now, all we have left of the vestiges of a strong union mentality in this country is Labor Day. I wonder how many middle class Americans realize that they have a day off to barbecue thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of labor agitators from the Great Depression era. I wonder how many people know who Joe Hill was. (Joan Baez does a great version of the song, “I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night.”)
If it weren’t for labor unions, there would be no middle-class today –Russell Smith
Guess how much a unit is going for at the Jefferson? Three thousand dollars a month, that’s how much! With that kind of money backing up this never-ending project, one would think that they would hire members of Carpenters Local 209 to help build this…thing. But no! Every penny counts in this rat-eat-rat world of ours. Back in the old days, the Union would have had a nice gang of thugs to beat the living shit out of these scabs who are stealing jobs from dues paying members of Carpenters Local 209. It is sick-making when one realizes that construction workers, REAL construction workers, are some of the hardest hit people here in L.A. in this Republican-created Depression.
Call 972-556-1700 to complain!
One last insult to the workers of Hollywood. I saw Spiderman getting a ticket for being Spiderman. The world really is turning into an Orwellian nightmare. Watch!
Oh, how I hate them. How I hate cell phones! Just shut up and watch the game! I am really quite quite shocked that nobody kicked his ass before the ball came along and schmooshed his nose!
October 2007
June 2010 – Day in and Day out!
Now
What do they “plan” on doing in this amazing city of Hollywood? I’ll tell ya! a whole lot of nothing. The amazing city of Jollywood is really the happiest place on Earth. I will tell you why. Because in the United States of America we are blessed with a unique assembly of liberties and this is ground zero where the clash between liberties and personal freedoms occurs on a daily basis. For ten years I’ve watched it play out between skateboarders and city park staff. Between city employees who are really just trying to do their underpaid jobs, while at the same time, help these same kids develop some kind of personal growth with the backdrop of rampant, unbridled capitalism to misguide these under-parented children whose parents are simply struggling to put food in their mouths [period]. Sometimes I feel honored to be a witness to all this melodrama, while at other times I just feel like a victim!
Well the joke is on me. Neither the parents nor the kids give a hoot. In fact, most Americans don’t realize that this wee patch of land called Hollywood (zip code 90028) is a big microcosm; or is it a tiny macrocosm of America’s culture clash? Here is where races, genders, belief systems, morals and the kitchen sink, collide, bounce against one another and spew new perspectives, and ideas. The energy and the tension are palpable. Here is where rent controlled properties are being quietly squeezed out by new luxury condos and apartment complexes.
Versus
Social Services? Whu? Police Protection? Huh?
The woman who is the subject of the two videos is a neighborhood fixture. It’s sad because she needs help. Serious help. And so does our neighborhood. In my make-believe world, one would call the police and report that a women is in severe distress and needs psychiatric and social services support. The police would come, and put her in restraints with the help of some kind of Emergency Medical Transport. From there she would be brought in front of a judge. Clearly the woman is incompetent and unable to make rational decisions on her own behalf. The judge would send her to the Los Angeles County Hospital. There she would be admitted for observation and treatment. After about two weeks of psychopharmacological intervention, as well as two or three interviews a week, she would be reassessed and sent to a half-way house transitional care to prepare her for life as productive member of society, or released to her family, in a worst case scenario- hospitalized for a longer period of time and put in the care of the State of California.
The Old County Hospital
Dream on!
Here is what really happens:
I call the cops four times on June 25, 2010 (give or take a day).
They can’t find the tree she is living under, despite detailed instructions, descriptions and the fact that I am not the only person who has called the police on her.
After the second call, I am asked to meet the police in front of my building in order to show them where she is.
For one thing, you can hear her from the front of our building.
When I hobble down there with my cane, they’ve already left.
I call a third time. The dispatcher keeps telling me “Hold on, hold on, hold on” in some weird mantra-like fashion.
I ask him, “Why do you keep telling me to “hold on?”
Angrily, he replies, “Well, then hang up if you want to.”
I want to hang up and I do so.
After waiting another 15 to 20 minutes to see if the police are going to respond to my complaint, I conclude that they will not, so I call them again.
Again I am asked to meet them in front of my building.
This time they are actually in front of the building!
I pulled my So-Happy-To-See-You face out of my pocket and insert it in front of my I-Really-Am-Sick-Of-This face.
I am then subjected to the kind of creepy and humiliating treatment that borders on the Bad Lieutenant behavior.
The passenger says my name three times, “Are you blah blah blah?”
I affirm that I am blah blah blah.
He responds, “My partner is gonna love this.”
They are intrigued that I know her name. I tell them that we’ve both lived here for over ten years.
I try to bolster my reputation and standing in the community when I tell them that I operate a blog – ta dah!thehollyblog!
While the passenger laughs and repeats the name like it’s a stupid joke. The driver says, “I don’t know what a blog is.”
I just laugh and respond, “She’s around the corner, underneath the big tree on your left. Just follow her screaming.”
They pull off. I watch from my window as they simply run her off of the property.
After I go to bed, my sleep is interrupted by her screaming and usual carrying on. To quote Shakespeare’s As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage.” Or even more glum, Macbeth’s soliloquy when he states,
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught. — Winston Churchill
There was a strange gathering outside my window yesterday. I recognized at least one face for sure and it was the one that seemed to be doing most of the talking. PLEASE! If you care about Hollywood Russ’ safety, view this video, because I think there are some unsavory characters in it. It is also my opinion that some of them would not be the least disturbed if ol’ Russ fell of the map.
I know that I have friends and family who love me. But I also know that I’ve made more than a few enemies. I’ve been putting the kibosh on that ill-conceived construction project for ages now. Why don’t they just give up? Fill the hole up will dirt, cover it with sod and make it pretty public garden! That would help improve the property values in the neighborhood, as well as the morale of the long-suffering residents who’ve endured the crack-era (1980’s) and the meth-era (1990’s to present) and now the hot-spot era (2000 to present) with forbearance and grace.
All these developers want to do is build, build and build some more. They’ve got every politician in this city in their back pockets ever since old man Mulholland came on the scene. Can’t they have mercy on this one little corner? Now the above video only last a few minutes, but the thug conference lasted a bit longer and grew larger. They had to move to the corner of Yucca and Las Palmas to continue their deliberations. What was so important to discuss. Where they hammering out the details of my hit? Who would they hire? Who would hire who? How much would they pay? Let’s not forget that I made at least one city official, John Carpenter, look bad. Can there be much debate on whether he’s incompetent, or just on the take? Maybe both!
I’ve been trading increasingly less cordial emails with my friend low friend in high places about the concrete garden next door. There have been serious improprieties involved in this project from the beginning, but that is not why I’m here today. Today I want to share a video and some pics that I took yesterday. But first let me preface these visual delights with a wee snatch of poetry from one of my favorite Irishmen, fellow bard and victim of the stupidity of others.
I never saw a man who looked
With such a wistful eye,
Upon that little tent of blue
Which prisoners call the sky…
— Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, Part I – Third stanza
Just go to this link. Make sure you scroll down and press GO, in order to change the crime map to your address. Those of you who are familiar with Google Maps should find the following interface easy to deal with. I suggest you change the view from Satellite to Map by clicking the button at the top right corner. If you change the drop down menu to last 7 days, you will see so many dots that it will scramble your senses. Each dot stands for a crime with a color key to the right.
If you want information on Hollywood’s Neighborhood Watch program, good luck. As far as I can tell, there isn’t one. The Senior lead officer, who is supposed to be in charge of this, is Officer Ralph Sanchez. I tried to call him at (213) 793-0704, but am still waiting for a return call. His supervisor downtown on this is named Elaine Morales, (213) 486-6000. She is involved in the LAPD Community Relations programs. Hmph. Here’s the link to LAPD’s Neighborhood Watch Program. I would like to thank the nameless police despatcher who gave me Ms. Morales’ phone number. Ms. Morales directed me to Officer Sanchez. She also asked me to call her back if I didn’t get satisfaction. I hope your ears are burning Ms. Elaine!
Now let’s talk about 1751 N. Las Palmas
Use a forklift much?
If you want to take a look at the permit for this project, click here. I spoke with one of the safety inspectors for the job, Mr. John Carpenter. He can be reached at (213) 482-0364, which is contrary to the Inspection Report. If you take a close look at the document, you should note that the site hasn’t been inspected November 9, 2009 where Mr. Carpenter notes that he could not get access to the property! His manner to me was abrupt, and that’s putting it kindly. Frankly, I don’t think he knows what the hell is going on with this property. I asked why it was stalled for so long and he replied, “Funding.” When I tried to ask him for more information on this point, he cut me off and said, “FUNDING!” As if I needed a hearing aid. Whenever I pointed out a problem, he’d refer me to another entity, usually the police. I know that the LAPD has a special officer who deals with construction site issues, but Mr. Carpenter didn’t know anything about that. Oh, no. And when I mentioned other violations, like the workers habit of spilling particulate matter into the air, he said, “Call Cal-OSHA!” He did agree to tell the workers to stop hammering at 6:30 in the morning, but what I took away from this conversation was a man who didn’t want to be bothered by the likes of some uppity citizen of the fair city of Hollywood. So in addition to the 270 units that are being put up by the Jefferson Project and the 218 condos going up at the McCadden Project, we now have an additional unkown number of units going up within a one-block radius. The smaller buildings are being mushroomed out of existance. Any building built before 1980 is protected by rent control. The developers (probably Republicans) will stop at nothing to destroy these building and replace them with pricey condos and apartment units that nobody can afford anyway.
Here’s a brief video for Cal-OSHA. The forklift these guys are using is so old, that rather than try to restart it over and over again, they just leave it running:
Guess my next job is to find out where the local Cal-OSHA office is located. Who I need to talk to there and start harassing them. In the meantime, I encourage everyone in the neighborhood to join the Hollywood Hills Neighborhood Council and show up at their meetings. We don’t have to take this lying down!
with dirt and dust, potholes and scratches, overcrowding and greed. For the record, the builders of The Hollywood wanted to knock down my building and the one beside me – both rent controlled apartment complexes. Over one hundred rent control units were almost lost to those greedy, money-grubbing tyrants who trample the poor every day without conscience. Who’s got $3,000 a month to spend on a two bedroom apartment? It’s mercinary because as foreclosures skyrocket, I’ll bet you ten to one that rents rise accordingly. Once you fall into that hole, all the forces of capitalism come into play to push you further down. Social Darwinism = unbridled capitalism. But you know what our representatives from the city council up to the mayor, the govenor and our representative in Congress, Ms. Do Nothing Barbara Watson, what they have to say is :
Day in and day out, I’ve been pointing my handycam at those gaint cranes and warning you all, Beware of Greeks baring gifts, so to speak. Come back in a week or so, and this pathetic block will look like something out of the Marshall Plan. And what of the residents who already live here? Call 1-800-EAT-DIRT.
They just keep digging and digging- those heartless, money-grubbing bastards. They are the scum of the earth that some choose to call “developers.” Developers routinely put widows and orphans out on the street. In fact, they make people homeless just for fun. Have you taken a look at Hollywood lately? It’s crawling with homeless people and with lots of holes that make more homeless people.
I propose that the citizens of Hollywood depose our Mayor. He gave his imprimatur to this whole feeding frenzy at the 90028 zip code. I give as my evidence Johnny Grant Way. This is the name given to the driveway for the parking structure to the Hollywood & Highland complex. The high-end shopping monstrosity was the appetizer for the sharks. It was sold to us residents as the beginning of jobs and affordable housing. Do you know what is really happening? Just more condos for rich idiots. They start at over 800 thousand bucks. Do you want one?
My blog is not about Tinseltown. It is about Hollywood the neighborhood. Families live alongside crackheads, bums, artists, musicians, homeless schizophrenics and just plain crazy characters (that would be me).
THE HOLLYBLOG 