No news is……?  According to our sleuths, several meetings with the bankruptcy judge have yielded little further news on the Oceanwide debacle – except to confirm that the lawyers are continuing to get paid.  Nice work if you can get it.

The 2023 154-unit residential building Emerald, one block south of Pico at 215 W. 14th Street, was sold for $50 million to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). HACLA plans to designate 24% of the units (roughly 37 units) for middle-income residents in households earning 30%-60% of the area median income (AMI).

  Following up on the public safety and economic recovery survey and letter to Mayor Karen Bass and Council Member Ysabel Jurado, the DTLA RA (Downtown Los Angeles Residents Association) hosted an online resident town hall meeting with Mayor Bass on October 15. With 250 downtown residents registering to participate in the townhall meeting, Mayor Bass answered questions posed by DTLA RA and residents.

This is a question I hear a lot in the neighborhood lately.  Truth is, there are thousands of streetlights out in Los Angeles, and it is not due to LA City falling down on its maintenance responsibilities.  The main problem is an astounding increase in vandalism and copper wire theft throughout os Angeles. 

Downtown L.A. Proper’s rooftop gem embraces wellness, community, and California flavor. This month, The Scene caught up with Bruno Vergeynst, Managing Director of the Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel and its signature rooftop restaurant, Cara Cara. Since arriving in spring 2025, Bruno has infused the celebrated space with new energy and a continued commitment to mindful hospitality.

Throw Clay Pottery Studio on Olive at Olympic is a space offering a continuum of opportunities for people interested in “throwing a pot.” Options include a one-time potter’s wheel class,  a six-week introductory course or six-week continuing course, and hosting a private hands-on event. But also, there is a membership level at Throw Clay.

This will just take a minute! Thanks for your valuable input!

South Park Winter Craft Market, a European-style Holiday Market, returns for a second year on Friday, December 6 from 5-10 pm at Audio Graph Beer Co’s outdoor space on Olive and 12th Streets. Admission is free. All are welcome!

‍ ‍First Draft Taproom and Kitchen in South Park was the site of the 5th Annual Howl-O-Ween event – one of South Park’s favorite yearly celebrations.  This year, over 150 dogs and their proud owners signed up with Eventbrite to parade their very best Halloween attire.

Most of us in South Park know Derrick McMillon as the affable and cheerful “gatekeeper” at the Prank Bar on 11th and Hope.  Anyone walking by his post at the entry to the popular patio bar receives a quick smile and a friendly greeting.  He has become so popular that during his recent lengthy absence the local conversation often turned to, “I wonder where Darrick is?  I hope he’s OK.”

As a result of an unprecedented rise in traffic and pedestrian accidents in 2023 the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority (SFMTA) initiated a test program installing fifteen speed cameras at major intersections throughout the city in March of this year.  The results of the first few months of the test project are stunning. Maybe it is time for Los Angeles to consider safety cameras in South Park.

  A downtown Broadway treasure built in 1913 has reopened in 2025. I met at the newly remodeled and reopened Globe Theatre at 744 S. Broadway with Houman Sarshar, CEO of the Globe Theatre organization. 

This past Saturday, on September 27, in a small corner lot on 11th and Grand an intimate group of about 800 people from the South Park Community were brought together. It's called A Taste of South Park, as the sounds, the visuals, the food samplings, and the people represent all that is good about living and working in this neighborhood.   

For the second year, A Taste of South Park held a competition for the BEST Restaurant/Bar Experience, with attendees casting votes.

This year, all 16 restaurants and bars received votes, and….. drumroll….

What would you like to see more of in South Park? A Taste of South Park attendees were provided 3 dots to vote for their top 3 desires for South Park.

Mayor Karen Bass announced the city’s actions to revitalize Downtown LA as she signed the Los Angeles Convention Center expansion resolution into law on September 24 at the Convention Center.

In a recent Downtown Los Angeles CRE Market Update Event hosted by Bisnow, Erewhon Chief Development officer Yuval Chiprut confirmed that, after a long search for a new Los Angeles location, they have purchased a property in South Park at 940 South Hill Street, directly across Olympic from the recently completed Olympic and Hill apartment property. 

The Downtown Alliance Business Improvement District and Biznow Publications hosted a four-hour event to discuss downtown’s current and future state-of-affairs.  As one wag put it during a panel discussion: “Things are never as bad as ‘they’ say nor as good as ‘they’ say.”  This pretty well sums up the current condition of our city following the COVID debacle. 

Downtown Los Angeles — the city’s true urban core — has weathered more than its share of ups and downs since the loft renaissance of the early 2000s. This year, however, has been one of the toughest sales seasons in recent memory. What is usually a busy spring and summer simply didn’t materialize. Condo sales across DTLA dropped nearly 20%, listings spiked by 30%, and units sat on the market three times longer than average. For both agents and sellers, it’s been a head-scratcher.

Across the country, headlines tell the same story: people feel more divided, less neighborly, and more isolated than ever before. Civility feels fragile. Empathy feels scarce. Yet one truth remains — community is still where hope lives.