What do we think is going to be the future of Downtown LA post pandemic?

[LA21st]

People don't think about skid row often because it's not in their daily lives. And there's little reason to go there. How hard is that to understand?

You la haters want to pretend it's in our face and those videos made you look stupid. I can find thousands more, but you get the point. You're lying.

It's honestly sad some of you spend your time looking for videos about tents. You're not even trying to find a solution. You're doing it to push your dumb narratives. And you think you're on some high horse? Get out of here with that.

FOR THE LAST TIME, NOBODY SAID THERE ISN"T A PROBLEM. You guys are incredibly weird. The hatred is insane. Do you want us to admit there's zombies on every block, tents on every street for 4 million people so you can feel better about your lives?
Fine, you're so right.

[bossabreezes]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Uh, that's no different from people in any other city on earth. You're trying to pretend people in la are different because your weird personal reasons.

You're all just mad the videos proved you wrong and Theres a gazillion more. Austin has a massive homeless problem.
They said the same thing people in la do.
Same for Chicago posters about crime on this forum.
"It's only in pockets "
No, but they say it anyway.

So essentially you’re agreeing that you’re just ignoring the issue, and you’re fine with it, because others do it too.

And why would I be *mad* that Venice was cleaned up? I never even brought Venice up, I was talking about skid row. I am very happy that Venice Beach has been cleaned up, it was a disaster area and very sad. I am HAPPY to see progress.

The sad reality, however, is that as soon as Venice was cleaned up, other encampments have not seen improvement or have gotten worse/larger.

Lastly, this thread is not about Chicago Crime or Austin Homelessness. Good try with the whattaboutism.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

So essentially you’re agreeing that you’re just ignoring the issue, and you’re fine with it, because others do it too.

And why would I be *mad* that Venice was cleaned up? I never even brought Venice up, I was talking about skid row. I am very happy that Venice Beach has been cleaned up, it was a disaster area and very sad. I am HAPPY to see progress.

The sad reality, however, is that as soon as Venice was cleaned up, other encampments have not seen improvement or have gotten worse/larger.

Lastly, this thread is not about Chicago Crime or Austin Homelessness. Good try with the whattaboutism.

Because you're holding LA residents to a different standard. People care about their daily lives and their loved ones.
That's true for anywhere. It's absurd to think otherwise. Unless you don't know or meet alot of people.

Why did I bring up Chicago and Austin? Becausse they made the same statment I did, you just didn't care when they do it.

Alot of the venice homeless were moved into some form of housing. Like Echo Park.

[bossabreezes]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Because you're holding LA residents to a different standard. People care about their daily lives. That's true for anywhere. It's absurd to think otherwise. Unless you don't know or meet alot of people.

If this was true, then nobody would have protested the murder of George Floyd because it didn’t impact their daily lives.

People care about stuff. A lot of people in other cities care about their own endemic problems. Austin does have a homeless problem, but the residents have been very critical of it and are making much more progress than you see in LA.

I think there’s a certain twist to the problem in LA, where lots of people simply want to ignore and deny that local policy here has failed. No accountability from politicians or their voting base.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

If this was true, then nobody would have protested the murder of George Floyd because it didn’t impact their daily lives.

People care about stuff. A lot of people in other cities care about their own endemic problems. Austin does have a homeless problem, but the residents have been very critical of it and are making much more progress than you see in LA.

I think there’s a certain twist to the problem in LA, where lots of people simply want to ignore and deny that local policy here has failed. No accountability from politicians or their voting base.

How can you say people in LA aren't critical when they cleared Venice and Echo Park? And now MacArthur Park? And a bunch of other places?

And there it is, it's a polticial driven narrative. No shit.

Other cities don't care more than LA. And LA cared about George Floyd. You have no idea what you're talking about. And where's all the protests about all these cities that are far more violent than LA? Houston? DC? Philly?

Isn't violence....worse?

[bossabreezes]

Because it’s a quick fix. Moving people one place to another isn’t actually solving the problem.

We need accountability from leaders. They need to solve the root of the problem, which they are not currently doing to an acceptable level.

Some people thing it’s a housing issue, others think it’s a mental health issue. Neither is being properly addressed. A few SRO projects here and there is not going to take nearly 70,000 transients off the street. The toxic NIMBYism in LA isn’t helping either, I’ve never seen such anti-progressive zoning in such a giant city. Clearly, the majority either wants this or doesn’t care. Both of which are culpable.

I literally said people cared about George Floyd. Reread what I wrote, you’re twisting it. Yes, violence is worse. LA is seeing an uptick in violence, a lot of it related to transients. A woman was just murdered on Friday in Hancock Park by a suspected homeless man.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

Because it’s a quick fix. Moving people one place to another isn’t actually solving the problem.

We need accountability from leaders. They need to solve the root of the problem, which they are not currently doing to an acceptable level.

Some people thing it’s a housing issue, others think it’s a mental health issue. Neither is being properly addressed. A few SRO projects here and there is not going to take nearly 70,000 transients off the street. The toxic NIMBYism in LA isn’t helping either, I’ve never seen such anti-progressive zoning in such a giant city. Clearly, the majority either wants this or doesn’t care. Both of which are culpable.

I literally said people cared about George Floyd. Reread what I wrote, you’re twisting it.

Wrong again. They were moved into housing.

So let me get this straight. LA failed with Venice and Echo Park, and they failed when they moved them into housing?
But Austin hasn't failed? What?

NYC has more homeless than LA does. Because of the weather, they have to put them in shelters. Although NYC's reddit is saying there's more tents than ever now.

LA doesn't have that situation where a judge demands shelters because of weather.

[bossabreezes]

If you open your eyes, and see 70,000 homeless people in the city- it’s obvious LA has failed. It’s not even a question.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

If you open your eyes, and see 70,000 homeless people in the city- it’s obvious LA has failed. It’s not even a question.

Oh, your feelings about a place you don't even live in.
According to people WHO LIVE HERE they were moved into housing. Are you glad they have housing now or are you rooting for LA to fail because poltitical narratives? Which is it? Because you sound like a angry person who wants the latter.

Watch those LIVE videos I posted. And that's downtown LA for God's sake. You're mad you're wrong and caught lying.
I get it.

[bossabreezes]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Oh, your feelings about a place you don't even live in.
According to people WHO LIVE HERE they were moved into housing. Are you glad they have housing now or are you rooting for LA to fail? Which is it? Because you sound like a angry person who wants the latter.

Watch those LIVE videos I posted. And that's downtown LA for God's sake. You're mad you're wrong and caught lying.
I get it.

Sorry, how old are you? You sound like a child.

First, I live in LA now. Second, I was lying? I think you’re the one putting out misinformation here- I don’t think anyone would make the claim that you just did- LA did not house 70,000 homeless people.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by bossabreezes

Sorry, how old are you? You sound like a child.

First, I live in LA now. Second, I was lying? I think you’re the one putting out misinformation here- I don’t think anyone would make the claim that you just did- LA did not house 70,000 homeless people.

You're misinformation. I said they found housing for Venice Beach, Echo Park. You keep saying they were all pushed out somewhere else.

The videos showed you're lying. Count how many homeless or drug addicts are in those LIVE videos. Those videos are accurate, and what most people see.

I'll ask the question again. Are you happy those people found housing, or are you just a angry person who wants to say LA failed no matter what?

[LAisthePlace]

Have to chime in here as a current Downtown Los Angeles resident to give my take and cut through the negative hyperbole ("horror show") that kicked off this tread...

Even with the challenge of the pandemic I believe Downtown has an incredibly promising future.

The population growth (doubling over the last 2 decades) is nothing short of incredible and there is a continued, vested, customer based for restaurants, bars, retail from morning to night that never existed in the broader neighborhood in decades.

And while, the pandemic has been hard on basically all Downtowns across the country, especially ones that have the bulk of their activity coming from Office, Hotel and Conventions like DTLA, there is still so much DTLA has going for it in the current moment.

It used be, for me at least, just a decade ago, Downtown was destination based and you might drive/uber in for a restaurant, bar or show, but not stay and not really walk around.

Now huge swaths of DTLA feel like proper neighborhoods with people walking, eating, shopping and people from just about all demographics out and about, spending the day here as a regional destination.

I say this coming from someone who moved to Downtown LA from Brooklyn (imo the best human scaled urban borough in the country) where I've been the past several years, that Downtown LA feels more like a proper urban core than any other time I've been.

That said, I'm not simply a blind DTLA booster, so here things I think need to happen for DTLA to keep reaching its potential:

-Apartments Stay on the same track with apartment + condo building. We still have 5+ towers in currently being built - The Grand, Brookfield, Mitsui Fudosan, Oceanwide (hopefully can finish up) - with tons more in the pipeline
-Hotel. Continue to build out hotel options for both tourists and convention center guest so DTLA can be the launching pad for exploring LA. Hope that some of the recent closures (Standard, Nomad) get new operators and some long dormant ones (Clark, Trinity) finally open.
Parks More green spaces are needed as DTLA continues to densify.
Mass Transit - The more we expand the transit network the more DTLA as the hub becomes a place people can easily visit, work, get to. The regional connector and hopefully the WSAB will be game changers.
Bike Lanes - I see people using the protected bike lanes on scooters and bike lanes all the time. We need more.
Lighting DTLA needs to be better lit. The area around The Bloc is super well lit and is one of the reasons it feels so nice IMO. Better lighting could go a long way especially in the Historic Core.
Neighborhood Connectivity Continued development is needed to keep stitching together neighborhoods.
Schools For families (and I see plenty out and about) to stay in DTLA there needs to be more K-12 schools within the DTLA proper
Parking We need to both remove parking minimums (to make apartments more affordable, reduce the aesthetic blight of parking podiums) and keep building on surface parking lots. Downtown should be pushing hard to be a walkable urban neighborhood where is a car is optional and a parking spot isn't a must as part of your monthly rent.
Homelessness Continued build out of affordable housing (not just in DTLA but regionally) balanced by ensuring the streets are clean and safe. Encampments outside of skid row (they do exist, but are absolutely not "everywhere)
Retail - Still uneven. 7th and Fig, The Block and Broadway are positives, but there are tons of brand new, recently redone, recently vacant and long time vacant spots that need to be filled.
Graffiti - Noticeably worse than pre-pandemic for me. The BIDs do great work on cleaning up street level stuff, but there are some noticeable examples (Los Angeles Theatre) that are unacceptable.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by LAisthePlace

Have to chime in here as a current Downtown Los Angeles resident to give my take and cut through the negative hyperbole ("horror show") that kicked off this tread...

Even with the challenge of the pandemic I believe Downtown has an incredibly promising future.

The population growth (doubling over the last 2 decades) is nothing short of incredible and there is a continued, vested, customer based for restaurants, bars, retail from morning to night that never existed in the broader neighborhood in decades.

And while, the pandemic has been hard on basically all Downtowns across the country, especially ones that have the bulk of their activity coming from Office, Hotel and Conventions like DTLA, there is still so much DTLA has going for it in the current moment.

It used be, for me at least, just a decade ago, Downtown was destination based and you might drive/uber in for a restaurant, bar or show, but not stay and not really walk around.

Now huge swaths of DTLA feel like proper neighborhoods with people walking, eating, shopping and people from just about all demographics out and about, spending the day here as a regional destination.

I say this coming from someone who moved to Downtown LA from Brooklyn (imo the best human scaled urban borough in the country) where I've been the past several years, that Downtown LA feels more like a proper urban core than any other time I've been.

That said, I'm not simply a blind DTLA booster, so here things I think need to happen for DTLA to keep reaching its potential:

-Apartments Stay on the same track with apartment + condo building. We still have 5+ towers in currently being built - The Grand, Brookfield, Mitsui Fudosan, Oceanwide (hopefully can finish up) - with tons more in the pipeline
-Hotel. Continue to build out hotel options for both tourists and convention center guest so DTLA can be the launching pad for exploring LA. Hope that some of the recent closures (Standard, Nomad) get new operators and some long dormant ones (Clark, Trinity) finally open.
Parks More green spaces are needed as DTLA continues to densify.
Mass Transit - The more we expand the transit network the more DTLA as the hub becomes a place people can easily visit, work, get to. The regional connector and hopefully the WSAB will be game changers.
Bike Lanes - I see people using the protected bike lanes on scooters and bike lanes all the time. We need more.
Lighting DTLA needs to be better lit. The area around The Bloc is super well lit and is one of the reasons it feels so nice IMO. Better lighting could go a long way especially in the Historic Core.
Neighborhood Connectivity Continued development is needed to keep stitching together neighborhoods.
Schools For families (and I see plenty out and about) to stay in DTLA there needs to be more K-12 schools within the DTLA proper
Parking We need to both remove parking minimums (to make apartments more affordable, reduce the aesthetic blight of parking podiums) and keep building on surface parking lots. Downtown should be pushing hard to be a walkable urban neighborhood where is a car is optional and a parking spot isn't a must as part of your monthly rent.
Homelessness Continued build out of affordable housing (not just in DTLA but regionally) balanced by ensuring the streets are clean and safe. Encampments outside of skid row (they do exist, but are absolutely not "everywhere)
Retail - Still uneven. 7th and Fig, The Block and Broadway are positives, but there are tons of brand new, recently redone, recently vacant and long time vacant spots that need to be filled.
Graffiti - Noticeably worse than pre-pandemic for me. The BIDs do great work on cleaning up street level stuff, but there are some noticeable examples (Los Angeles Theatre) that are unacceptable.

Excellent post. As a fellow dtla resident, I echo this. One thing I'll add is that we need much better sidewalks, lighting (you mentioned) and landscaping. LA city is notoriously horrible at the little things that area important. Imagine if dtla was maintained like Pasadena, Santa Monica or weho

[LA21st]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees through their bs. And then they get upset and play victim for using their hyperboyle.
It's hilarious in a way. But it's all politics driven, as bosa admitted.
They could easily say ",homelessness is a problem in some areas " but instead "its tents for miles, druggies on every corner, tents on every block, horror show ".

Yes, the lighting is something I would like them to fix one day as well.

[Reverberation]

Originally Posted by LA21st

I think its very strange you hunt youtube videos about tents. There's only more youtube videos about LA because LA is the center of social media influence. 500 views? I doubt it came up in 2 seconds.

If NOVA was, you'd see more videos about the weird shit there. But few people care about it.

Don't forget the train pirates. Take the tents, addicts, and shantytowns appearing along freeway ROW and add the looting of passing freight trains and it would not be wrong to observe that LA has progressed itself back into the developing world - assuming they can stop there.

https://twitter.com/johnschreiber/st...71854465359873

https://twitter.com/CBSLAKristine/st...15852216385538

Letter from @UnionPacific to @LADAOffice on rise in train robberies. 90 containers breached a day, theft up 356% says UP. UP considering rerouting it’s trains out of LA county. UP asks DA to be harder on theives. Says they’re back out on the tracks a day after released. @CBSLA

The area in question is across the river from Union Station near Griffith and Mission.

[craigs]

Jeez, even the fascist RepubliQAnon traitor SLO has come out of the woodwork to avail himself of LaJollaCA's anti-Los Angeles hatefest--it's like a 1/6 reunion!

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by Reverberation

Don't forget the train pirates. Take the tents, addicts, and shantytowns appearing along freeway ROW and add the looting of passing freight trains and it would not be wrong to observe that LA has progressed itself back into the developing world - assuming they can stop there.

https://twitter.com/johnschreiber/st...71854465359873

https://twitter.com/CBSLAKristine/st...15852216385538



The area in question is across the river from Union Station near Griffith and Mission.

That happens in Chicago too. I'm sure tons of other cities. You just don't hear about. it. The stories are all over reddit

You are wrong. That's why you're all crying about it. Lmao.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Reverberation

Don't forget the train pirates. Take the tents, addicts, and shantytowns appearing along freeway ROW and add the looting of passing freight trains and it would not be wrong to observe that LA has progressed itself back into the developing world - assuming they can stop there.

https://twitter.com/johnschreiber/st...71854465359873

https://twitter.com/CBSLAKristine/st...15852216385538



The area in question is across the river from Union Station near Griffith and Mission.

I guess the LA Raiders have taken on a new meaning.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by homebucket

Regarding the Arts District, I think it feels like it's on an "island", even though it's technically connected to Little Tokyo, because it angles away from DTLA, and is separated largely by Skid Row and the Fashion District.

People generally don't like to walk through Skid Row because there's really nothing there. People are usually okay with walking through the Tenderloin in SF because it's still an actual functioning neighborhood. There's restaurants, clubs, theatres and concert venues, and lots of housing there otherwise, so even though it's not the most comfortable to walk through, there's still reasons to go and hang out there.
https://goo.gl/maps/9q85krKK4hs22f9u9

However with Skid Row, there's just not a lot going on otherwise, so people aren't going to walk from DTLA through Skid Row to get to the Arts District. They're likely to just drive there. So it lacks that connection to inner DTLA.
https://goo.gl/maps/BfLN5FWDJDvSVepX9

Yeah, I would usually walk over to and then down second street to avoid skid row. With a lot of new housing in Little Tokyo it feels more connected to downtown. I do not consider the Arts District as part of downtown. It is more like a unique neighborhood just right outside of downtown. It is pretty far removed and has its own feel to it and is still is not really connected by transit. Even when the Red/Purple line opens a stop on 6th street it will still feel disconnected since you would have to go through union station to get to downtown. Once the downtown connector is complete you can hop on the stop at 1st and Alameda to get downtown but this stop is on the boarder of Little Tokyo and the Arts District rather than in the center of the neighborhood.

[destroycreate]

LA21st if there's anyone who's a crybaby, it's you. You sound like a kid from the valley who just got an account on SSP and comes across worse than even the most fervent Toronto booster. If someone addresses negative things about LA, a super complex, amazing, yet imperfect city, you essentially troll and bully them for having an opinion that's different than yours. Kind of pathetic. I never hated on LA, I live here for god's sake - just stated what I thought about DTLA and how it is currently. We can agree to disagree, that's the purpose of this forum. Yet you become hellbent on gaslighting other people until they agree with you.

The homeless issue here--especially in DTLA and surrounding areas--is one of the worst in the whole country, you can't tell me or anyone else otherwise, as it's flat out delusion to say otherwise. Even in nice areas across LA, encampments have sprung up, from Culver City to Venice to freaking Beverly Hills (Burton Way) and Hollywood. It does affect a lot of people's quality of life if you live in the city. I don't go to the Valley much but it's far more suburban and detached, so you aren't likely seeing everyday. It's why I left Ktown where it had became extra pronounced after my lease ended and moved further west. Because I want clean and safe city streets that apparently makes me a Qanon Republican.