Folk Art Mirror

Why we don't need mirrors in Venice. This one is better.

Bye Bye Bench: The Last Straw.

What's the difference between these photographs? (other than the fact that the perspectives are slightly different?) Doesn't the second photograph almost seem naked compared to the first?

What happened to the little table/benches outside of Abbots pizza and Abbot's Habit? There were only a few of them, but they allowed people to eat, hang out, chat about the inconsistencies of recent LA weather, and create a community vibe that many say is "so Venice."

Such a small change, but such a monumental sign of Venice gentrification.

I sat down with long-time Venice local, 65-year old Jack (pseudonym), to talk about the latest sadness that has hit the streets of Venice.

"The City took them away." Jack says. "They took them away because it was causing congestion on the corners. But it's more than that. I know it's because of the people that hang out on those corners. Sometimes it's people that others would consider to be of a lower class. So when someone rich complained, POOF, no more benches."

Traffic. Congenstion on the street. Really? People were forced to slow down and step over a little dog paw, or say hello or excuse me as they walked by? What's wrong with that? Have we really gotten to a point where we have to have "crowd control" on one tiny little corner? We need spaces to sit down and talk to neighbors--it's the only way that it is going to happen in an individualistic dream-go-getter place like Los Angeles. We need all the stoops, public tables, and conversation share-ers that we can get. Okay. I understand. Perhaps there were too many non-patrons using the space. I can understand that this scenario is not wonderful for business owners. Still, there seemed to be more behind this sudden disappearance.

"But look down the street from Abbot's Habit," Jack tells me. "Look at the other places where there is always a crowd of people hanging out on the corner, blocking foot traffic. Djelina, for example. Hals. These are places where there is big spending happening. The Mexican restaurant has benches, but it is owned by Hals. Are people going to say anything about these crowds? Of course not. Because they are wealthy people without guitars, without trailors parked in the back, with money."

Jack is an opinionated ex-Vietnam liberal who wholeheartedly loves to educated young people about the difficulties of being an African American man in a place like Venice. Although his words are strong, one-sided, and laced with beliefs in government conspiracy, he speaks from years of experience and calm honesty. As I listen eagerly and openly, I start to agree based on some of my own observations. I admit that I don't work at Abbot's Habit, and I have not seen rent contracts or observed any local government town-hall procedures. However, it's obvious that Venice is changing. Abbot Kinney has already changed in the five years I have been a resident (which I admit is relatively new compared to people like Jack.) I have changed my "regular" coffee shop locations over six times when each one closed due to skyrocketting rent prices. Sure, we boycotted the Pinkberry yogurt store, responding to the little sign in Abbot Habbit's window because Pinkberry represented the "big chain" businesses that would chase out the cool hip local vibe of Venice. But is yet another expensive boutique that looks exactly like four others down the street any better? Jack was hired to help remodel this boutique. It cost a quarter-of-a million dollars to remodel. And if a crowd was to form outside of this boutique, blocking up the local foot traffic, would anyone care? It depends on the people hanging outside, of course. Is this little boutique any better than Pinkberry? Is it representative of the hip, community-based, artistic, "go local," town that represents the imagined community of Venice? Ahem. i dunno. I'm just a naive liberal grad student who likes to learn from the stories of x-veterans.

But what else can we do? Sure, I actually don't love the coffee at Abbot's Habit, and I don't always love it when members of the outdoor crowd appear to be rowdy or on drugs. But I always knew it was, as Jack says, "Salt and Pepper" atmosphere, with people from many class systems, races (if that is possible on the westside) and ages. Abbots Habit was one of the last attempted representations (I emphasize representations) of the beatnick bohemian era, and now that desperate landlords are continuing to increase their rent (now over 8,000 a month for example), I can understand why Jack thinks that the increases are to "get rid of the riff raff."

He continued, "All these other places are just working for the landlords now, and not for the community. And that little clothing store? The new one? That is not Abbot Kinney. That is Rodeo Drive. And if a people or a culture is not 'up to par' with the mentalities of the land lords, then they are kicked out. And this time it is in the form of the benches. There is an element that people don't want. they don't want the trailors, the artists, guys in the rvs that hang out. they want abbot kinney to be like montana."

So where to the rest of us come in? Are we at fault in some way? I didn't vote to kick the rv's off my street, even though one wakes me up at 5am every single morning. I recognize the importance of a diverse coffee shop--with "hipsters (don't even get me started on that word), bums, yuppies and whatever other hilarious phrases I could say. And I honestly believe that everone has an important story to share, and so I talk to people openly. still, I'm a part of this.

The "City" may have removed the benches, and maybe there was "some rich lady" that tattle-tailed on that corner. But somehow we are all simultaneously a part of those benches and a part of their removal. I buy coffee from intelligencia once in a while. I cannot help it. I love the dog-hangout nook, and the sheer work procrastination that is standing in a ridiculously long line. Shameful masochism. But I also supported Abbots Habit. So where does that leave us middle-grounders who care? Throwing out all of your plastic bags won't make you "green." You don't have to be ashamed that you are not giving money at whole foods to the next nonprofit company. The point is to be aware of the issues happening around you and do your best to open your eyes. Be present. Be honest. Be aware of how you fit into your community.

Maybe Andrew Deener was right when he wrote his PHD Dissetation in 2005 on the gentrification of Venice and predicted that Venice would be another uppity Montana Ave street in a few years. Or maybe, just through our own awareness, we can redirect the boulder of inevitable gentrification towards something "Venice" that works for everyone.

i hope so. I do like coffee, hopping over dogs, and talking to Vietnam vets with incredible stories.

The Webs we Weave

There is nothing like a misty rain. Just enough to make your skin feel alive and not too much so that you are wishing that you had little window wipers on your glasses. but the best part about a misty hike are the spider webs. Little jeweled clusters decorating the trail, as if some royal queen had gotten drunk and trampled through the grass, tossing her jewelry into the air carelessly. Some got stuck on tall corners of branches, others perectly placed in the thick grass... little perfect twinkles hanging, just waiting to be noticed.