The Conservation Movement Comes to Frogtown

Frogtown seems an unlikely place to start a revolution, but that’s where the tree huggers have started their campaign for green space in L.A.

I mean, other than Frogtown’s narrow streets, the tiny modest homes and the out-of-the-way businesses tucked along the L.A. River, there really isn’t much to say about the sliver of a community next to the Golden State and Glendale freeways and Dodger Stadium. The frogs that used to creep up from the river and overrun neighborhood streets did so with such frequency that people sometimes forgot what the area was really called.

But the tree huggers know all about Elysian Valley: It’s the site of their first park as part of a 51-mile network of parks, trails, recreation lands and natural habitat to transform the L.A. River into something more than a mostly concrete waterway. They picked a lot with two abandoned homes on Knox Avenue because there’s access to the river and it’s at a spot on the waterway where the bottom is natural. No concrete.

Admittedly, the Elysian Valley Gateway Park doesn’t look like much--it’s about a third of an acre and doesn’t have any of the usual amenities--but those in the know in Frogtown love it. “It’s a lot better than what was here before--abandoned cars, dead bodies and drug paraphernalia,” says area resident Johnny Rodriguez.

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At the opening of the new park on Thursday, officials of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, the tree huggers, talked about the new beginning for the L.A. River. They talked of the governmental cooperation that made the Elysian Valley park possible.

With City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg’s help, they planted a native sycamore tree to mark the occasion. A tiny frog was presented to City Councilman Mike Hernandez, who used to represent Elysian Valley before redistricting handed responsibility for the community over to Goldberg. He grinned as he accepted the amphibian.

And park rangers assured those in attendance that the site would be properly cared for.

But the scenes seemed out of place. While the park ceremonies were in progress, a blue Chevy Nova with a flat tire drove by, attracting the attention of some in the crowd. “You’re in the wrong place,” someone called out. The driver of the Nova ignored him.

Up the street, a drug dealer seemed amused. “Maybe I’ll go into business at the park,” he said.

While welcoming the park, some residents seeking refuge from the bright midday sun wondered if the rangers, employed by the state of California under a joint powers agreement with several conservationist groups, would ever be a real presence in their community.

Nancy Hafner of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy was quick to point out that rangers already patrol protected hillside terrain near Mt. Washington, less than three miles from Elysian Valley, and the Frogtown park wouldn’t be an extra burden for them.

Over the weekend, the park was mostly empty. But that doesn’t bother Hafner and others at the conservancy or their allies at the Trust for Public Land. They reason it is better to create more green space in the urban sprawl of L.A. for the few who use it rather than have the land remain, as in the case of the Frogtown park, a deserted lot with two abandoned homes.

And as I found out on Saturday afternoon, it’s a neat place to walk down to the river’s edge and hear the bubbly water going by. I didn’t see any frogs, but Jimmy Bermudez, a 12-year-old kid who bikes along the river, says not to worry.

“They’ll be there. They’re a lot more fun to listen to than those trains over there,” he said, motioning to the Taylor railroad yard across the river.

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The tree huggers are already on the hunt for more parcels for their new river. They’re again looking in Frogtown and upriver in the Atwater district, in working-class areas where tree huggers may not be welcomed with open arms.

Nevertheless, they’ll press on, arguing that these areas of L.A. are the most deficient in the city when it comes to parks and open space. Where the recommended national standard is 6.26 acres of parks and open space for every 10,500 residents, the average in northeast L.A., including Elysian Valley, is barely more than one acre.

Longtime Elysian Valley resident Nelly Gomes thinks the tree huggers are good people, but warns them not to take Frogtown lightly. “Frogtown ain’t part of the Santa Monica Mountains, but the people here are good and hard-working,” she says. “It’s OK if most of them don’t ever come back, but don’t forget about us. We’ll always be here and we don’t ever forget.”