Skid Row | Portrait
Dark, dusky and on the edge
Posted by Portrait| Los Angeles Skid Row (Los Angeles, United States) on 13 September 2007 in Lifestyle & Culture and Portfolio.
5th St. Market is one of the only local stores on the "Row" where a consumer can buy a beer. There are no longer any "Liquor Stores" on the row.
This image was taken sortly after closing hours. That is when all the homeless are allowed to reclaim a place to sleep on the streets and won't be arrested for loitering.
That "Law" is strictly enforced now because of the current shift in residential lofts; new concerns for resident safety and economics.
The City, Police and Local Advocates have an effectual system of enforcing the number of carryout permits. Interestingly, several liquor stores were shutdown in this area during 2006 and early 2007. One was a drug/ rock cocaine store three blocks from the Central City Police Station.
5th Street Market is owned by a Korean family that seems to really respect the skid row locals in spite of the high crime, and violence. And despite the crazy high prices, there is always a waiting line to get into that store.
However, this store is in a great location and just up the block, skid row ends at Main St.
5th and Main was one of largest outdoor Heroin markets in America. It [was] concurrently run by several gangs, and was a neutral area. Meaning Bloods, Crips, La Mara, Mexican Mafia, and 5th+hill gang all did business on the same block. No conflict during business hours was the rule.
The famous Hollywood Star Junkies would ride downtown in Porsches, BMWs or Limousines, get their monthly supply, and then go back to their lavish homes on the hills. Additionally, the older skid row Vietnam Veterans who had been hooked since the war years on opiates found a ready supply of Black Tar and Morphine. That part of the drug trade has simply moved deeper underground as I will clearly show in the weeks to come.
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Side note: a 2002 study found 27,000 homeless in Los Angeles County were US Military Veterans.
Also see homeless stats at: http://www.bringlahome.org/
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Late in 2006 there was a major Federal Agency sting that caught several actors.
Imagine that!
Today the corner of 5th and Main St is ready to become a model block in the new urban dream for loft dwellers.
New money, new branding and Gentrification is spreading fast.
Some of the "Old Welfare and Drug Hotels" have been sold, or are up for purchase. Currently, upscale lofts dot the streets with bright lights, and increased security. And now, people in Flip Flops walk fancy dogs, then sit at cafes and speak in codes of class. The old school words of racism are never heard in public.
The few homeless that stray onto Main Street are quickly redirected back down the nickel(5th St) by security, and hordes of bike cops. Or, by very harsh insults hurled by the Flip Flop wearing loft dwellers.
Art Galleries have now replaced the empty and hard to rent spaces. Many of the slumlords have been litigated out of town by the city. Moreover, the working class poor are displaced once again. There are about 5,500 very poor and elderly residents at seven of the larger hotels. There are about 30 hotels in Skid Row that cater to the extreme poor. The rooms are about the size of two closets, and often there are several people calling that one room their home.
Skid Row lost one more block in 2007, the "CONTAINMENT PLAN" is working. The Strategic aim point is: push the people back toward the bridges where no one will see them. Reduce the funding for the smaller non-profits so they also go out of business, buy the welfare hotels and then force the small mom and pop stores to close earlier.
This is not some odd theory of mine. This is actually part of the strategic alliance "Backroom" plan. I will explain that in the future, and in the movie... until then: Click the Google!
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http://www.google.com/search?q=containment+on+skid+row&btnG=Google+Search
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In Central City Los Angeles, money speaks in clear and easy to understand terms.
Billions of new dollars now pour into this inner city (urban) redevelopment zone.
This era of dark and dusky nights on skid row will soon end.
For those that have invested in the new urban dream that is good news. Yet for others in need of non-profit mental health services, housing and job placement that's real bad news.
::: Skid Row | Portrait is a simple story about one enclave in this great Americana. It speaks about reduced poverty, and injustice towards humanity. Economics and race are central focal points.
Peace.
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