Rebecca Goodman

[Matt Deckard]

And to you all,

I have been defeated on so many fronts lately that when I was approached about the save the Derby campaign I felt as though joining in the efforts would be like reaching to catch another falling knife. My attitude toward the derby was indifferent. The building in my mind has seen its lifespan and is ready to be replaced. The Derby has been altered and changed so many times that it to me was just another swing dance club heading toward the chopping block. Rebecca Goodman asked for my help and what help I gave was bare bones if any. She single handedly created the fervor for the save The Derby campaign. She stepped up to the rank of general and those that were ready to take on the challenge followed her into the battlefield with guns blazing.

On the tenth of November I attended and town meeting where the future of the land where The Derby sits was openly discussed. For me it put things in perspective. The crowd was overflowing the auditorium and the passion of the locals and those that believe in preserving history could literally be felt in the air. I admit I do not know all the details, and before now saving the Derby came in third to anything for which I had a minor passion.

Seeing the locals in person staring down the new landowners they had a sense of mystification toward the new landowners ideas to tear down the Derby and replace it with an apartment complex, this is what stirred me. The landowners appeared to have no inkling of what they were going to confront when they attended the meeting. The crowd had a clear picture. To the crowd, taking down the Derby to put in apartments was; yes?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ sure to cause traffic problems from parking, yes going to change the whole dynamic of the neighborhood, and yes going to generate a construction nightmare that could last a long long time, though most importantly what I felt wafting off the crowd was the feeling that these new landowners were carpetbaggers who bought a part of the town which has on it the local church.

I can debate in my head over and over again the merit of saving an old building, though the merit of saving a piece of Hollywood history is priceless. This is not an old building?¢‚Ǩ¬¶ this is Hollywood, and Hollywood needs all the old history it can spare. The Derby is the place where movie stars dine and you can too. I was resoundingly bland and indifferent about the place and for that I am ashamed. To tear down Grauman?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s Chinese theater would be sacrilege. To tear down Musso and Franks would be sacrilege. To pull the stars off the walk of fame would be sacrilege, and to tear down the derby would be sacrilege. The derby is Hollywood?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s roots.

I am ashamed Rebecca. I am ashamed of how I put this cause in the pile of the lost. I am ashamed that I didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t see the importance.

I admire you and your tenacity and your unbending will to make this cause work. On the tenth of November Rebecca Goodman filled that auditorium and spread the word that the Derby is not an old building that has seen its day. It is Hollywood?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s history.

You are a good soul Rebecca. I am on your side.

Save the Derby!
www.savethederby.com

Matt Deckard

 

[jamespowers]

Very good! Save that building and make sure it stays that way. We are not talking about a faceless and nameless building that was just a place where people went. This is hollywood history. If it is gone then the only place we will be able to see it is in cartoons of the era and pictures. Nothing like having the real thing there.

Regards,

J

 

[Veronica Parra]

Putting it all in perspective:

I live in Los Feliz, right across the street from the Derby. A development company quietly purchased the site from Tony Gower (the Derby's co-founder) soon after the death of his partner, Tammy. They have since leased it to another owner, who (he says) would like to be able to revive it. However, everything depends on whether or not the developers will be able to get the property re-zoned for mixed use. If they can (and it will take years to find out), they plan to demolish the Derby building/parking lot and build an enormous condominium complex in its place. This complex would have shops on the ground floor, and perhaps a Whole Foods-type supermarket as well:

-- 80 condo units rising fifty feet from the sidewalk at Avocado St.
-- 40,000 sq. ft. supermarket
-- 7,441 sq. ft. retail space
-- 390 parking spaces


The problems with this plan are manifold. In addition to the demolition of the Derby, the condo's size (one entire block!) would be completely out of synch with the rest of the neighborhood, which is small and village-like. Traffic, already horrendous there, would get worse. On-street parking -- what little there is of it -- would all but disappear. No new supermarket is necessary: we already have a large Albertson's (and a health food store) a block and a half south of the Derby. Furthermore, this massive condo building would be plunked down on narrow Avocado St., a quiet residential block with small bungalow homes and small '30s apartments. The value of those homes would plummit, as traffic would make a mess of the street.

The developer's first design for the condo was awful: a cheap postmodern pastiche of boxes atop boxes. Protest forced it to go back to the drawing board. The new design, supposedly "Spanish colonial", is in fact an imitation of the Victorian "Green Apartments" building on Raymond Street in old town Pasadena: a weird mix of Venetian, Turkish and Queen Anne Gingerbread, with a bit of Spanish thrown in.

The Los Feliz Homeowner's Association is the oldest and most powerful in Los Angeles. They may not oppose the demolition of the Derby per se, but they will certainly fight to the death against the construction of a behemoth.

I'll let you in on a little secret: this development company is known for buying property cheap, doing the work of getting it re-zoned, and then selling it to the highest bidder. In other words, it doesn't even end up "developing" what it buys. All those "Spanish Colonial" designs and promises mean nothing: whoever buys the re-zoned property from the developers will have an open door to build whatever crappy-looking building it wants, and neighbors won't be able to do anything about it.

 

[Gray Ghost]

Matt,

It is always better being a little late than never doing what needs to be done. Keep up the fight and keep up the faith. Everything should come out okay.

GG

 

[Matt Deckard]

If you feel compelled, Sign the petition.

I have some townhall meeting pics to show later... the place was truly packed to the gills. Public outcry only works if the outcry is really really loud and signatures is one way to make your support known. The more signatures the louder the sound.

I'm signed.
Petition\/

http://www.ethical-business.com/?sect=detail&pet=2096

 

[jamespowers]

If you feel compelled, Sign the petition.

I have some townhall meeting pics to show later... the place was truly packed to the gills. Public outcry only works if the outcry is really really loud and signatures is one way to make your support known. The more signatures the louder the sound.

I'm signed.
Petition\/

http://www.ethical-business.com/?sect=detail&pet=2096

It is also good to get a hold of the council members phone numbers as well. They are usually posted on the city webpages. You want to get their home numbers if you can. There is nothing quite so effective as a personal call to their home to tell them what you think. That shows them how organized and strong the opposition is as well as attending the townhall meetings. They can get away from you at a townhall meeting but you have them stuck in a corner on the phone.
Works nearly every time. It has for me anyway. Take it from someone who has done this a few times.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Gray Ghost]

Petition

Matt,

Thanks for the petition site. I have just signed it.

GG

 

[Matt Deckard]

And now it stands yet has no life. An empty shell.. Thankfully it's still there... but I wish it had a nightlife again!