a former tree on First Street
The Los Angeles United School District is building a new school on what has historically been the Virgil Middle School playing fields. Those fields were recently relocated to a new site north of the school. The relocation and new construction are parts of a school project that initially proposed removing a great deal of housing in the eco-village neighborhood… but that’s another story.
Last week, as construction began, LAUSD removed about a dozen mature ficus trees along the sidewalk around the new school site. This includes large trees along the north side of First Street from Bimini to Westmoreland, and along the west side of Westmoreland Avenue from First to Council[edited 6/6/2011: and another half-dozen on Council Street, too].
The youth at Bresee Foundation created this video documenting the destruction of the trees. The vid features Los Angeles Eco-Village founder Lois Arkin. (more…)
