MacArthur Park Gentrification (Los Angeles, Glendale, Atwater: homes, tenants, to live in)

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

That's actually Venice where there's the boardwalk with very high crime and also still a large active gang.

And yeah, let's ignore stats. Far less accurate than empirical evidence.

Well it really doesn't look there is any more crime than in adjacent Koreatown or my neighborhood of Hollywood. Perhaps it has something to do with their very high population densities?

I'm looking at Santa Monica, not Venice, and I see lots of little crime "icons".

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by edmcrocker

C'mon dude, really?

Instead of looking at an online map, try living in the area. I lived in Westlake and IT'S NOT THAT BAD. Don't go looking for trouble and it won't find you. Simple. This is a trend on city data, no matter what forum you're in. Posters tend to really exaggerate how dangerous an area is. Not a very good comparison to the Westside with that crime mapping map either. If you drag it over to Santa Monica, there is so much crime it's overlapping!!

Even if I think the online maps might offer at least another angle about the safety of a particular area, I agree that actually living in the neighborhood is the most realistic way. But some people because of racial bias and just fear, wont likely see it that way. And sometimes they may unwittingly embellish the faults of other areas to feel secure and superior.

[jm1982]

If you got rid of rent control the area would gentrify practically overnight as would many areas. It would be interesting indeed.

I've lived in L.A my whole life but haven't really spent much time in MacArthur park/Westlake area. I'm noticing more dive bars and places coming up on yelp ...so that might be a sign of gentrification! I'm pretty sure most of these places were there before but people that just moved to L.A are "discovering" them.

[git45]

Originally Posted by munchitup

I believe you since you live pretty close to this neighborhood, but according to Mapping LA, it's actually safer than Hollywood, where I live (actually, much safer).

Is the big danger being mugged?

MacArthur Park is junkieville, to be honest. They won't be able to catch you, maybe even get up. Not dangerous in that context.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

Cmon, dude, really? REALLY?

This is one week.......

CrimeMapping.com - National Map


Compare that to the Westside and you'll see a VERY drastic difference. Even if you compare it to downtown right next to it, you'll see the majority of downtown crime confined to a few small areas vs Westlake where the crime is basically everywhere.

I think you're trying to convince me of something, but I can't really tell what. I said the caveats were given there is a high population density (much greater chance of some incident happening, but not necessarily an increase to you personally) as well as that most crime happens to people who are involved in something. What about that does that sound wrong to you?

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by git45

MacArthur Park is junkieville, to be honest. They won't be able to catch you, maybe even get up. Not dangerous in that context.

Haha so true. A couple times in Hollywood I've realized I was being chased, just by a very slow moving zombie.

[Carlite]

From a strictly geographic standpoint, Macarthur Park seems very likely to continue gentrifying. It is one subway stop away from Downtown LA. One of these years that subway will go to Beverly Hills and Westwood. Macarthur Park's got some apartment buildings that are badly constructed, but many that are historic and will be nice if renovated. Now that ordinary people are willing to go into the park (at least in the daytime), the park itself is a huge asset that a lot of LA neighborhoods don't have. The neighborhood is poor now, but it's walkable and has lots of businesses, unlike some parts of LA. I just hope that as the area changes it can retain something of an income/cultural mix.

[astroia 34567]

Westlake from my readings about the area has all the ingredients to be gentrified. I live in New York and have not visited it BUT what I know about its location, transit access, walkability (unlike parts of the western areas of LA where there are NO sidewalks in large areas), and as I have seen on Google some buildings with good bones and a theater that renovated and used LESS as a swapmeet (though still used for that just less often) and for more activities and possibly for renovated to its old glory should make it an easy candidate. And in fact I read one rabbi recently bought and is renovating one of the old synagogues in Westlake I believe. Add in MacArthur park in the middle of the neighborhood and near a train stop along with its ethnic history, and you have the ingredients for gentrification.

I am not for traditional gentrification though - just improving it so that it has a good mix of incomes and still retain ethnic diversity and low crime. For example, keeping some of the murals in the southern edges of Westlake heading to Pico Union I saw on Google looked quite nice enough to preserve.

Again, I am just stating from a New Yorkers standpoint Westlake has a ton of potential that should not be wasted.

Living in NYC for years and seeing how neighborhoods once considered ghettos like Westlake improve greatly, I would invest in the area WISELY. Recall in NYC Bushwick all the way until 10 years ago was considered an unsafe ghetto and now it has become one of the safer more affordable areas to live. Unlike Westlake, though, it lacks some of the architectural interest.

Here is a street shot of Bushwick - https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=...59de11db1f496f

A 3 bedroom on this block can cost $2200 per month which is cheap and I have seen 2 bdrms renting for $3000/monoth.

[munchitup]

Originally Posted by astroia 34567

Westlake from my readings about the area has all the ingredients to be gentrified. I live in New York and have not visited it BUT what I know about its location, transit access, walkability (unlike parts of the western areas of LA where there are NO sidewalks in large areas), and as I have seen on Google some buildings with good bones and a theater that renovated and used LESS as a swapmeet (though still used for that just less often) and for more activities and possibly for renovated to its old glory should make it an easy candidate. And in fact I read one rabbi recently bought and is renovating one of the old synagogues in Westlake I believe. Add in MacArthur park in the middle of the neighborhood and near a train stop along with its ethnic history, and you have the ingredients for gentrification.

I am not for traditional gentrification though - just improving it so that it has a good mix of incomes and still retain ethnic diversity and low crime. For example, keeping some of the murals in the southern edges of Westlake heading to Pico Union I saw on Google looked quite nice enough to preserve.

Again, I am just stating from a New Yorkers standpoint Westlake has a ton of potential that should not be wasted.

Living in NYC for years and seeing how neighborhoods once considered ghettos like Westlake improve greatly, I would invest in the area WISELY. Recall in NYC Bushwick all the way until 10 years ago was considered an unsafe ghetto and now it has become one of the safer more affordable areas to live. Unlike Westlake, though, it lacks some of the architectural interest.

Here is a street shot of Bushwick - https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=...59de11db1f496f

A 3 bedroom on this block can cost $2200 per month which is cheap and I have seen 2 bdrms renting for $3000/monoth.

I think that is the wrong link

[astroia 34567]

Sorry. No matter what I di when I copy the google street view of Bushwick Brooklyn I get that place in Los Angeles! Check Google maps and enter Bushwick Brooklyn, go to street view Wilson, Jefferson, or Bushwick Aves.