Whenever anyone mentions a turf war in Watts, California most would think it was gang related. But recently, the people battling over a gravel lot near the world-famous towers are not bangers, but artists, City Councilwomen, and skateboarders, according to a story in Time Magazine.
L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn hopes the park will provide a positive outlet for kids, and has met with local residents over the last two years to garner support for her plan. But some members of the community are outraged at the idea an athletic facility in the shadow of their iconic Towers.
Those against the park say it will “jeopardize” the artistic legacy of the towers and bring “tagging, gang issues, and an open space for drug dealing.” Our favorite quote, not surprisingly comes from The Tony Hawk Foundation’s Executive Director Miki Vuckovich: “”The Towers represent Watts’ creative history,” he says, “and the kids on their skateboards represent Watts’ creative future.”
[Link: Time Magazine]
During my work in Watts since 1959, more than 50 years, the city and its citizens have looked forward to enjoying a ‘cultural crescent’ in the area from the 1904 train station to the Watts Towers on 107th Street! I sat in endless planning meetings for The Cultural Crescent. The CRA has already honored Watts musician Charles Mingus in a sizable and expensive building near Watts Towers, and it also includes a state-of-the art, expensive open amphitheater! Plans still call for a movie theater, and eating facilities in the small area near the tiny 1/10 acre Watts Towers triangular lot!
A skate park does not fit in and would drive residents and visitors elsewhere!
Bad idea.
Bud Goldstone, engineer, author
Given that the Watts towers are probably the ONLY safe area in Watts, it makes absolute perfect sense to build a park there. I wonder if the area residents have even realized that it’s the least likely place for a kid to get shot for skateboarding in Watts.
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