The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) is relying on 2000 Census statistics to help validate their efforts to declare portions of Atwater Village and Northeast Los Angeles (NELA) “blighted”.
CRA/LA is currently seeking to create a redevelopment project area in NELA. The so-called NELA River Redevelopment Project Area would cover most communities that lie along the eastside of the Los Angeles River, including significant sections of Atwater Village. To be able to create a redevelopment project area neighborhoods within it must be declared “blighted”, regardless of community input or actual conditions in the neighborhood.
To justify their efforts CRA/LA has frequently cited 10-year-old census statistics in presentations, reports and publications. CRA/LA is using outdated census statistics that depict Atwater Village and other NELA communities as “hopelessly blighted”, they specificity focus on old data that portray the area as home to mostly low income Hispanics with a significant number of households living below the poverty line. CRA/LA also uses the out-of-date census data to indicate that the proposed NELA River Redevelopment Project Area has a high percentage uneducated adults and low skilled workers.
CRA/LA’s use of decade old census data for the creation of a new redevelopment project area produces a false depiction of “blight”. It fails to take into consideration the current demographic and economic realities of the region. Since 2003 Atwater Village, and other NELA communities, has experienced a surge of positive social change and strong economic growth despite the present economic malaise.
The 2010 Census will conclude this December, current demographic data will be available by early 2011 and some expect the new census data to reflect the area’s positive change.
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For more information about the proposed NELA River Redevelopment Project area visit CRA/LA website at: www.crala.org/nela or
to the LA City Clerks website at:
or contact:
Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles
Alison Becker, AICP - Associate Planner
6255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 2206
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323.960.2660
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