Past Updates from the Coalition

Community Meeting Held on Nov. 17th (11/01)

Do or Die for Rec Center... (07/01)

On July 10, nearly 200 Rec Center supporters attended the City Council meeting to voice their concerns about a motion introduced by former City Councilperson Rita Walters that would effectively kill plans for a recreation center on First Street North. The City Council continued the motion to the following week. Supporters responded to the news of the postponement by unfurling two handprint petition banners spanning 70' and chanting: "What do we want?" "A recreation center!" "When do we want it?" "Now!"

Rec Center supporters will return to the L.A. City Council on Tuesday, July 17th with the goal of claiming a space on First Street North. read July 17th LA Times article by Connie Kang –>

The last month brought a sense of urgency to the efforts to build a recreation center in Little Tokyo. Former City Councilperson, Rita Walters, whose term ended June 30th, continued her efforts to exclude the project from the First Street North Block in her final days in office. Rec Center supporters asked the L.A. City Council for 30 days to work out an alternative plan. On July 10, Rec Center supporters will return to the City Council meeting with the goal of claiming a space on First Street North. The more supporters, the better, so please join us at the City Council meeting. more —>

On Friday, June 8, a motion came before the Los Angeles City Council that called for moving the planned site for the Children's Museum from the corner of Temple and Alameda streets to the corner of Temple and Judge John Aiso streets. Though this is the location that the Little Tokyo Recreation Center has sought for years, and the block itself is the historic center of Little Tokyo, the community was not notified of the motion nor was any input requested. —> more

Rec Center supporters have been building a strong relationship with the incoming Council member since January when the Rec Center co-sponsored a Candidates' Forum at which all candidates pledged support for our project. In May the two run-off candidates, Jan Perry and Carl Washington, attended the San Tai San and met with supporters of the Rec Center. Additionally, Coalition members volunteered for both campaigns, keeping the Rec Center project visible.

On June 5, Jan Perry was elected the 9th District's Council member. Perry will take office on July 1. We're confident that the Rec Center's situation will improve.

The 3rd Annual San Tai San: 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament was held on May 12. This year a record-high 50 teams participated, bringing 200 8-13 year olds plus their parents, siblings and grandparents to Little Tokyo. more—>

The San-tai-San 3-on-3 basketball tournament is an event organized by the LTRC with the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. The tournament is part of the JACCC's annual Family FunFest Children's Day Celebration. The Children's Day Celebration also includes the Chibi-K: Kids for Kids Fun Run and the Asian Pacific Arts and Crafts Fair.

This year, the San-tai-San tournament is on Saturday, May 12th. It is open to kids 8-13 years old. more –>

City Council District 9 (CD9), which includes Little Tokyo, is among the council districts that will be voting for a new councilperson in the Los Angeles City elections on April 10th. The Little Tokyo Residents Association, along with several community groups including the LTRC sponsored a forum on Saturday, January 20th at Centenary United Methodist. Little Tokyo is making sure that the voice of the community will be heard by making itself visible to the candidates.

More than 500 youth, parents, seniors and supporters of all kinds attended the Rally on Saturday, October 28th to show their support for the Little Tokyo Recreation Center. The highlights of the Rally included a giant handprint petition, words of encouragement from Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a spoken piece about the need for a Rec Center by community members, and a march around the block.

The big question still remains... "What do we need to do next to make this dream into a reality?" more –>