organic – Here in Van Nuys

Future Gardens of Van Nuys?

June 15, 2015June 17, 2015Posted in Van Nuys and the ValleyTagged "London Permaculture", City Council District #6, Gardening, Mayor Eric Garcetti, NCJW, Nury Martinez, organic, Parks, Pockets, urban, Van Nuys and the Valley5 Comments

One of the continuing themes of this blog is to look at what we are and imagine what we might be.

I think about that as I walk around Van Nuys, a misbegotten and deformed district.

But also an oddly lucky place where land is abundant and cheaper, yet frequently and usually, neglected and wasted.

At 14550 Sylvan St., between Van Nuys Blvd. and Vesper, there is now an empty courtyard surrounded by buildings on three sides. They once fixed cars here. This is a street full of fine old buildings, including the former Van Nuys Library (now a law office) and the former post office. There are also small stores: a tailor, a barber, a school, and a storefront church.

This is where a garden belongs. Buildings are small scale and human, within walking distance of every important building in downtown Van Nuys.

I took photos (with permission) from England. The ‘London Permaculture’ Flickr page shows urban gardens transforming bleak and hostile spaces into fertile and green growing areas.

Brown brick, beer guzzling, working-class England can be drab, but these gardens are a morale booster for their users.

Our alleys, behind Van Nuys Boulevard, can be fixed up with cafes, bars, trees, plants and lights. Eating, drinking and socializing can replace public urination, rats, tagging and trash.

At 14526 Victory Boulevard, the NCJW (National Council of Jewish Women) has a donation center which again, is a North facing forecourt that would also do nicely as an outdoor beer garden, pocket herb garden, etc.

At Friar and Van Nuys Boulevard there is a large parking lot, which is across the street from another large parking structure, in an area with too much parking. Why does Van Nuys, in this ramshackle location, with its empty storefronts and dead buildings, need 2,000 parking spaces?

There are wasted opportunities of land and development all over Van Nuys.

We live in an environment built for the lowest common denominator of mediocrity and exploitation.

DSCF0009 — West of Van Nuys Blvd. near Hamlin St.

Who can marshall the resources to bring money and planning into Van Nuys?

Plowing Asphalt into Green Spaces.

June 9, 2010June 9, 2010Posted in Environment, Van Nuys and the ValleyTagged "Real Estate", Asphalt, Capital, Car Dealers, Environment, Land, Lease, Links, organic, Planning, Restaurants, San Fernando Valley, Steve Weiss, Urban Planning, Van Nuys and the ValleyLeave a comment

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click bottom center of photo to STOP.

Two big parcels of land on Van Nuys Blvd., encompassing at least three acres, have come into being now, due to the demolition of the Keyes Mercedes building at Chandler and the emptying of Rydell Chevrolet on the NW corner of Burbank.

To see these lots cleared is to appreciate the enormity of space they once occupied, and offers urban dreamers the chance to imagine how these land areas could be utilized for greener businesses.

According to my friend Dick Carter, a restaurant real estate broker, parking is always a problem. The Keyes and Rydell lots offer possibilities for integrating parking, dining and agriculture.

An organic diner or restaurant could grow herbs, citrus, vegetables, and sustainable plants on these lands, products grown locally and freshly right here in Van Nuys. People would sit outside, in gardens, under trees, and dine on foods grown on Van Nuys Blvd!

Government tax breaks, modifications in zoning, and enlightened planners could transform our environment, our neighborhood and our health.

And Steve Weiss at Capital (818-905-2400) is leasing the Rydell space.

Culver City Mazda.

July 21, 2009July 21, 2009Posted in EconomyTagged agricultural, cars, conversion, Culver City, dealership, Depression, farming, organic, redevelopment3 Comments

Photo: Here in Van Nuys

Very soon, sooner than we might imagine, there will most likely be hundreds of dealerships, all over California, whose vast acreage will be emptied.

People are simply not buying or leasing as many cars. Auto companies are not producing. There is a depression in the car industry.

What can we do with the leftover land underneath these closed dealerships?

I wish that these enormous plots of oil soaked asphalt, which once existed and thrived as a testament to our voracious hunger for cars, would somehow be converted back to orange groves or some agricultural use.

Culver City has a wonderful farmers market, that comes here Tuesday afternoon. What if this “progressive” city were to tear up this defunct auto dealership and plow its asphalt into dirt and grow organic fruits and vegetables here?

Humans will always need to eat. Our appetite for the gasoline powered automobile is not eternal.

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