Cesar A. Chavez Avenue Gets OK After Concessions to Critics of Site

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to rename a stretch of roadway Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in a tribute to the late union leader but agreed to delay the change until next year and to put up historical plaques along Brooklyn Avenue to accommodate critics.

“God bless,” said David Martinez, a Chavez colleague at the United Farm Workers. “Cesar deserved this.”

The idea of honoring Chavez, who died early this year, has won wide support in and out of City Hall. But many critics took exception to the particular site selected--a route that extends from Olvera Street to the Eastside and includes portions of Sunset Boulevard, Brooklyn Avenue and Macy Street. It was chosen to tie together the districts of County Supervisor Gloria Molina and council members Richard Alatorre and Mike Hernandez.

Merchants along Brooklyn complained that their historic street, which once served as the center of the city’s Jewish community in Boyle Heights, should not be erased from the map. On Sunset, business owners argued that their current street name was known around the world.

“The city is going to lose some of its history and it can’t afford to do that,” said Dean Zellman, a Brooklyn Avenue clothier.

Supporters of the name change, however, rattled off a long list of Chavez’s accomplishments, which they said deserve acknowledgment by the city.

“Mr. Chavez is not an entertainer trying to get a star on the Walk of Fame,” said Juan Jose Gutierrez, executive director of the One Stop Immigration & Educational Center. “Here is a man who fought for justice.”

In a compromise, the council decided to declare a stretch of Brooklyn, between Cummings and Mott streets, a historical cultural monument.

The council, which must take a second vote to make the name change final, postponed switching the signs until next March 31--Chavez’s birthday. The United Farm Workers, which lobbied for the change, has offered to reprint stationery and other items at cost for the affected businesses.