Council OKs AIDS Memorial for Park

Over the objections of some vocal Lincoln Heights residents, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the construction of an AIDS victims memorial in Lincoln Park.

Although most council members said it is difficult to go against the wishes of angry constituents, they voted 10 to 0 to approve the proposal, saying it was the right thing to do. Several used the word “courageous” to explain their approval of the proposal.

Councilman Nate Holden turned to the audience in the packed council chambers at City Hall and told opponents of the plan, “[AIDS] won’t go away. It is what it is.”

The controversy over the memorial at Lincoln Park, two miles northeast of downtown, has turned raucous in recent months. Opponents have argued loudly at public meetings that the memorial, named “The Wall -- Las Memorias,” was inappropriate for a public park and that little, if any, outreach had been done by supporters to inform residents about it.

Several meetings of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood Council, including one last Thursday, ended in acrimonious debate with the group unable to reach a consensus. Supporters have accused opponents of being anti-gay, an assertion that opponents deny.

In addition, anti-monument fliers turned up last month at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a few blocks from the park.

Discord was such that the head of the city’s Human Relations Commission, Rabbi Allen Freehling, appeared Tuesday to say there was little common ground between opponents and supporters.

In the end, supporters stuck to their argument that the nine-year effort to honor Latinos and others who have died from AIDS had widespread support. Opponents stubbornly replied that the controversy erupted in the past several months because few in Lincoln Heights knew about it.

In the past, opponents argued that the memorial would take away valuable park space in a part of town that sorely needs it.

At Tuesday’s meeting, although more than 100 people attended, each side was given only five minutes to speak.

Lincoln Heights resident Robert Vega, an opponent, said he had helped collect 1,000 signatures from those opposed to the monument. “There’s been no outreach,” he said. “We want to keep the park as it is.”

Another opponent said other maladies, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, were more worthy of public attention than AIDS.

Richard Zaldivar, an AIDS activist who was the driving force behind the proposal, replied that many in the area knew about the proposal, contending that some Latinos do not want to talk about AIDS.

Although it was clear from the comments of council members that the project would be approved, some opponents still voiced their displeasure.

When Councilman Ed Reyes, who represents Lincoln Heights, spoke in Spanish to explain his vote, one woman told him to sit down.

Reyes said the issue was hard for him because some of the harsh criticism to the project came from parishioners at Sacred Heart Church, where he is a member.