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CITIZENS COMMITTEE TO SAVE ELYSIAN PARK

1672 Morton Ave,, L.A. 90026 MA, 5-84.27
NEI'iS !.ETTER No, 8
April, 1966
ELYSIAN PARK FIGHT NEARS CLIMAX
TEE ANALYSIS of convention center sites !"eleased April 1
by C. Erwin city. admin1strati ve officer (CAO), seems to
indicate that Mayor Samuel Yorty and the promoters are bent upon
bulling through City Council the grab of 63 (or mor'e) acres of
Elysian Park in the next few weeks.
JOINT MEETINGS of the Finance and
Committees of .the City Council to examine
duled for >vednesday, April 13
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at 3 p.m.;
2 p.m.; and Tuesday, April 19, at 3 p;m,
held in the Council Chamber.
Recreation and Parks
the report are sche-,
Friday, April 15, at
All meetings are to be
THE REPORT appear's contrived to facilitate the park land-
grab and the a.ccompanying multi-million dollar taxpayers
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subsidy
of a private commercial venture; it also suggests a
time-table geared to the June 7 primary, If the CAO s recommen-
dations are followed, consideration will be restricted to four
sites, all outside the central business district -- the Airport,
Exposition Park, Ambassador Hotel and, of course, Elysian Park.
THE DOI'iNTOWN SITES -- Bunker Hill and Pico-Figueroa --
are to be bypassed, although the promoters, themselves, have
stated that the Pico-Figueroa site is "excellent" from every
point of view, The only stumbling block, they said, was financ-
ing the purchase of the land. Now Occidental Life Insurance Co,
has offered to lend the required money, but the CAO recommends
that no consideration be given to the proposal,
THE CAO REPORT ignores or glosses over the many well-
known reasons why the Elysian Park site is a poor one. It.also
ignores the public outcry against this unconscionable vandalism
from organizations representing hundreds of thousands of the
people of Los Angeles.
AS 'NE APPROACH the climax of the City Council fight, we
need your support .more than ever, Attend the committee meetings
if possible, write your councilman and help build our Legal Fund.
It looks as if we
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11 be needing it soon.
GET TICKETS FOR PARK SATIRE
One way you can support the Citizens Committee and have
a rollickin good time in addition is attending the new, 1966
version of That Was the Park That Was, ' at St. Athanasius Church,
April 22 and 23, (See leaflet). Write for tickets to 1672
Morton Avenue, L.A. 90026 or telephone 663-5543 or MA 5-8427.
Donation $1.50, children 75.
RENE"w MEMBERSHIP
If each member would get one person to join the Citizens
Committee, we would quickly double our effectiveness! And remem-
ber, it is not too soon to renew your membership for 1966. If
you are not yet a member, join now, (Use blank on reverse side.)
SPRINGER WINS POLITI PAINTING
The Burke house party March 19 was a bang-up affair, with
Leo Politi's donation of a painting of a Chin.,;se girl the prime
attraction. It was won by Norman Springer, long-time defender of
Elysian Park. Congratulations, Norman; and thanks, Leo and
'Alberta Burke, for providing us with a memorable evening.
SUPPORT dELCOMED
On March 8, Raymond H. Dortch, president of the Southern
California Council of Public Employees, District Council 20, Am-
erican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-
CIO, wrote the City Council:
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0n this issue of Elysian Park they
(the 5,000 members} are unalterably opposed to any reduction in
the already inadequate park space provided for the millions of
citizens in Los Angeles, It is unthinkable to take park land
away from the people to promote a business enterprise, People
need and want more park space, not less."
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