Tag: Van Nuys and the Valley

Thanks Erica!

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Last night, around 8:30 PM, Erica picked up her Avocado Spread and two drinks from a Starbucks Drive-Thru (6833 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91405). Store #23369.

Then she (or they, meaning two persons in the traditional sense of the word) drove to the 15000 Block of Hamlin Street, parked her vehicle, and devoured (her/their) meal.

When (she/they) were done (she/they) threw everything out of (her/their) car, and left (her/their) mess on the street where (she/they) had parked under the exquisite oak trees and had enjoyed a quiet dinner in the peaceful shade of dusk.

(She/they) are, unfortunately, typical of Van Nuys.

These are also the people who speed through red lights, who play their music at full blast in their car, who also steal packages from front porches, and for many people these are our friends, families and neighbors.

Do I care if these people are any particular ethnic group or wounded victim group? Does their identity matter?

Not in the least. Because identity is not a matter of character. You are born with identity but you learn character. I just care that people I live near destroy my surroundings with their ignorant selfishness.

There is no elected leader, no parent, no law enforcement person who can police this kind of selfish behavior.

It is purely a matter of individual conscience and character.

1954: Korean boy adopted by Van Nuys GI

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Photograph caption dated January 6, 1954 reads, “Johnny Vanek, of Van Nuys, turns on Roy Rogers for Kwak Young Chul, Korean orphan whom he met in Seoul while GI and plans to adopt. Youngster is taking rapidly to American ways.” 

Marijuana in the Van Nuys Jail, 1951

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The presence of a little Cannabis Sativa on the premises of the Van Nuys Jail evoked some comical camera ready reactions from LAPD in 1951.

The coppers are mugging for the camera, ersatz high and stoned.

The plant was there to be used later that day for a lecture on the evils of the drug.

Photo courtesy of USC.

“”Photographer: Glickman. Date: 1951-09-06. Reporter: Massard. Assignment: Marijuana in Van Nuys jail. G31-32: Officer F.G. Plamonden gapes at blooming plant of Marijuana. Note bars in background. G13: l to r: Officers Ken Smith and Harry Kowalski wonder what goes on with the plant. Copsater found out that it was sent to Valley Div. to be in a lecture on narcotics. G14: Eyes wide open and wondering what marijuana plant is doing in police station is Officer Ken Smith”.

Million Dollar Living

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For an estimated cost of about $6,000 a month you can live in a brand, spanking new, “single family” house constructed right on Sepulveda Boulevard, with a front entrance on the beautiful street, leading you into white walled, vertical living with enormous open plan kitchen, four bedrooms, 3.5 baths, several balconies and roof decks.

However….

You won’t have a back or front yard. Your next door neighbors will be mere inches apart from your unit. A tarp covered homeless encampment and RV is in full view across the street.

At night, you may not be able to sleep with the constant noise of ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, speeding vehicles, and intoxicated and drugged people on the sidewalk.

There is Valley Presbyterian just up the block, and several nursing homes across the street with their daily and nightly medical emergencies.

But all this may not matter to you as you worship your “enormous kitchen with Tafisa HPL custom cabinetry, quartz countertops with a waterfall island and Bertazzoni state-of-the-art Italian stainless steel gourmet appliances.”

At a mere $911,500 this single family home will require a yearly income of probably a quarter million, as you will also owe $12,000 or more in property taxes. Utilities, mortgage, HOA, that’s all extra.

If all this sounds too good to refuse, march on over to 6708 N. Royce and see if you can get into this delightful design for living.

Van Nuys Business District Struggles Against Decay: 12 23 1979

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43 years ago the situation of the Van Nuys Business District was quite abysmal. The good shops had closed down and the street was full of bail bonds and pawn shops. Merchants complained about street racing, and the negative affects of parking meters which discouraged shoppers from spending more time in stores.

On Wednesday nights the street came alive as thousands converged to watch cruise nights. But the crowds blocked streets and left behind trash. The businesses didn’t like it.

In 1977, “Vitalize Van Nuys” began, a privately financed, community-based redevelopment organization. It sought to revitalize businesses, generate more employment and upgrade the surrounding residential community.

34-year-old Bruce Ackerman operated the Greater Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce after working with the San Fernando Chamber of Commerce. He promoted a resurgence of retail.

“Van Nuys really hit rock bottom in 1977,” recalled Dick Lithgow of Agency Insurance.

There were 23 massage parlors back then.

Hopeful signs in 1979 included a $14 million dollar government complex with new courthouses, post office and police station. There were also new studies forecasting “a tremendous demand for office space in Van Nuys.”

Legitimate businesses such as Nahas Department Store complained that vagrants harassed customers in the parking lot.

Owner Richard Smith said the neighborhood was increasingly elderly and Hispanic. “We were concerned with the growth of the barrio around 1975-76, but that has not caused any problems for us,” he said.

Another positive sign for Van Nuys in 1979 was the 100 businesses that had spent more than $4 million dollars ($4,000 per business) upgrading their properties.

In 2022, it is hard to imagine the challenges Van Nuys faced in 1979.

Fortunately, those far sighted visionaries gave us a truly spectacular urban boulevard we can all be proud of: clean, safe, thriving, walkable, architecturally magnificent, the jewel of the San Fernando Valley.

Thank you especially goes to Councilwoman Nury Martinez and Mayor Eric Garcetti for their leadership!

Those Fantastic Clouds

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In Southern California, we are so used to living under full sun with no clouds, that the presence of an impending storm is a revelation. The illumination inside our house changes, and there are real shadows hitting the walls and the sofa again just as there are in other real cities around the globe.

Introspection and thoughtfulness, a pause in the frantic, occluded light, the end of the year.

It takes days for the rain to come. We know it’s coming, the way we knew the virus was coming in February 2020, like a slow-motion freight train. But precipitation, no matter how meager, is a benevolent threat we can get excited about.

Yesterday we were still in the midst of a refreshing cycle of weather: cold nights, cool days, sun and partial sun, rain and no rain.

Around 4 pm I looked outside and saw a stunning sight of a gold leafed tree against a blue, pink, and gray sky. It would only last a few minutes so I grabbed my XE3 camera and ran out.

It was a strange hour. There was a menacing helicopter chopping up the sky, and reckless, going back home drivers speeding down Columbus and Hamlin in monster trucks. 

Death was just beyond my driveway so I wandered out cautiously.

Somewhere along crudely unpaved Columbus, where there are no sewers or curbs, I could see the vast sweep of the northern sky and those fantastic clouds miles away.