SAFE STREETS-Here in Northeast LA, we’ve been battling obstructionism, the refusal to consider the facts, and even the outright lies of Councilmember Cedillo (photo) and his ilk for so long now that it’s depressing. Just this week, “Roadkill Gil” released a letter urging all of us misguided Safe Streets advocates not to use the hit-and-run death of Elena Espinoza-Lugo on North Figueroa Street as a “political opportunity for personal gain” -- which, of course, is what he is doing with the tragedy.
This lady’s family stood with community members -- Cedillo’s constituents -- at a vigil calling yet again for a safer Figueroa. As most folks know, Figueroa’s road diet had already been engineered and funded, but Cedillo has consistently blocked its implementation, all the while refusing to explain why he does so. Now he plays the pity card, hoping he can shut up all the neighbors who are tired of dying in the street. No doubt, he will use this show of calculated false compassion for personal and political gain.
Sad to say, his colleagues on the City Council will probably fall for Gil’s crocodile tears. We are fast approaching the Joe McCarthy moment, when US Army lawyer Joseph Welch asked the truly evil senator who spearheaded the witch hunts in the 50s, “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
McCarthy ended up being censured by his Senate colleagues. We can hardly expect such honest nobility from the LA City Council – a body that seems to be congenitally incapable of perceiving the slightest wrongdoing within its ranks. No, sir, they are angels in spotless white robes in each other’s eyes. But the rest of the world sees them differently.
The rest of the world sees cities and streets differently as well. If you want a break from the dreariness and if you think you might enjoy seeing what neighborhood advocates and activists are doing in other cities around LA, the country, and the world, then you should get yourselves over to the New Urbanism Film Festival.
This is a born-and-bred-in-LA event now in its third edition. It will be playing in the Mid-City area from October 8-11. Besides feature films, you can attend video shorts, lectures, networking events, and urban walks and bike rides -- often with locally-crafted food mixed in with the motion.
While the Neanderthals on City Council glower in their wood-paneled cave, you can sit in air-conditioned comfort watching what people all over the globe are doing to build stronger communities, vibrant local economies, and streets that are safe for walking and cycling. There are people out there breaking their neighborhoods free from the bonds of fast traffic, bad air and unsustainable land and energy use.
There is more to life than sitting in a car in a bleak asphalt channel, listening to hate radio while your blood boils and your waistline thickens. Guys like Cedillo will never understand this…but they represent the dead past.
Come to the New Urbanism Film Festival and see the future…where it’s already arrived. With a little inspiration, LA will get there too.
(Richard Risemberg is a writer. His current professional activities are centered on sustainable development and lifestyle. This column was posted first at Flying Pigeon) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 80
Pub: Oct 02, 2015
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