What do concerned citizens of the inner-city do when they feel that the mainstream press has let the community down as a watchdog over a major redevelopment projects?
They watch out for themselves.
Move over citizen journalism — make room for collaborative journalism, a new effort online. Its purveyors hope it will grow into a sort of synthesis of bloggers and journalists with press passes. The members of the joint effort want to take a hard look at one of the many stories that doesn't make the mainstream media but remains of great concern to a neighborhood in South Los Angeles.
The collaborators in this case hope draw on the community's human resources to tell the story as comprehensively as possible. The idea is for the professional journalists to tap into the local knowledge of neighborhood folks, drawing a wealth of perspective that might escape a reporter on a standard assignment and aiming to get the facts quickly before getting on to other stories.
Any reports that come from the collaborative effort will go straight to the Internet, where participants hope to bolster the story with links to supporting evidence, photos, and video. They say they believe such a combination can give a stronger sense of the overall picture of the whole story.
The five members of the Leimert Park community in South Los Angeles are setting their sights on combining their diverse skills to uncover information about Marlton Square, a dilapidated retail mall in the nearby Crenshaw district — a main retail center for South Los Angeles.
Each member of the team has some personal reason for participating in the investigative effort.
Eddie North-Hager, professional journalist and creator of the social website known as Leimert Park Beat, initiated the assignment in partnership with South Los Angeles Report, a hyper-local news website.
"One of my big curiosities after moving into town was why Marlton Square continued to die and deteriorate when it was next to a really nice neighborhood and a really great mall and Leimert Park Village," North-Hager says. "So, I wanted to find out why."
Emily Henry, managing editor of South Los Angeles Report, shares a professional curiosity.
"One of the reasons I wanted to get involved as a journalist is that it's a very intriguing project," Henry says. "It is under-covered by the mainstream media, and I think it is extremely important to the community — and that we can really make a difference."
Longtime community resident Mel Taylor is another member of the team. He brings no professional experience in journalism, but he knows the neighborhood. Taylor cites as sense of frustration as a key motivating factor.
"I am upset and here to investigate," says Taylor, whose skills as a photographer dovetail well with the project.
Taylor joined the team after he responded to an ad in the Leimert Park Beat. The ad sought anyone who "wanted to get involved," and Taylor had the desire.
"I am upset with that area being vacant with nothing going on," he says. "I really think that those that have the authority to make something happen there are not making it happen, and I want it to change so we can have something there of substance."
Curiosity and a personal connection to the sit drove Jaymeson Jiles to sign up with the collaboration.
"I have lived here all of my life, so this is near and dear to my heart," Jiles says. "I remember Marlton Square as kid, and what it means to me. I also wonder what has been going on, hearing the stories that it is going to be redeveloped. Nothing has happened. So I want to know."
Marlton Square used to be known as Santa Barbara Plaza, and it's been a cornerstone of the neighborhood's history, contributing much to those who live nearby. Its neighbor, the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, is undergoing a $30 million facelift, the second within 25 years. Yet Marlton Square, sits vacant, despite the fact that the land is arguably one of the most attractive parcels available for development in South Los Angeles.
The main hurdle appears to be a tangle of legal troubles. A developer with the backing of the city appears to own approximately two thirds of the development site. The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) owns approximately 30 percent of the parcel but is not moving forward on any development, apparently because the remaining land parcels are in litigation. Storefronts are boarded up, and the place has become a magnet for various activities. "In the early years of the stalled project, the property became a gathering spot for the homeless. They were squatting in the empty buildings." Says Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Southwest Division Senior Lead Officer Sunny Sasajima, who patrols the area. "In recent years the parcel has become an unofficial dumping ground for construction crews. We would patrol the area and out of nowhere we would see a new pile of construction materials; sinks, toilets, wood. One night we entered the parking lot just as a construction crew was dumping stuff."
Other concerns center on Chris Hammond, the developer who reportedly has been awarded federal community development funds to do the project.
Hammond achieved success as an affordable housing developer through his company, Capital Vision Equities, and also partnered with former USC and NFL football star Keyshawn Johnson to develop Chesterfield Square, another retail center in South Los Angeles. Though he's had share of accomplishments, controversy has surrounded Hammond. His wife, Ayahlushim Hammond, is a former high ranking staffer at CRA/LA. Chris Hammond also has a history of bouncing checks to the City of Los Angeles as well as to elected city officials to whom he donated money for their reelection campaigns.
The stagnation of the Marlton Square development and the dents in Hammond's reputation has raised questions among community members about the decision-making process leading up to the funding of the project. Members of the community want to know the rationale behind the city's choice of Hammond as its partner? What other developers did city officials consider? What has happened to money the city has allocated — thought to be millions of dollars so far — for the project? What strides is the city finally making to move forward in restoring this neighborhood treasure?
The Leimert Park collaborators hope to find answers to those questions. They also hope to develop a new and powerful tool to increase awareness and effect change in the community.
I will keep you posted on their progress.
Related articles:
• Bringing business back to Marlton Square
• Redevelopment Hell
Walter Melton is a contributing writer to LA Beez.
Photo by Walter Melton.
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