In 2004 BC was hard at work restoring a 1920s apartment building on Kenmore Street, in the heart of Koreatown, near downtown Los Angeles. This neighborhood is the most densely populated neighborhood in Los Angeles and second only to Manhattan in the United States. At the time in which we began the project it was a street with bare parkways, dirt yards and littered with broken glass and trash with no nearby parks. In the summer the sun beat down heavily on the families who sat outside in the sparse shade of their buildings to escape the heat.
One of the first priorities we made was to plant out our own building’s yard and parkway, to create a personal ‘pocket park’ for ourselves and our neighbors. With our expert training in determining which trees are best suited for various environments to maximize shade and energy benefits, we selected the appropriate trees for the space. The outcome was fantastic. Neighbors would convene on the grass, having lunch or just taking a break from their walk to the bus stop at the end of the street. The response was overwhelming – expand the vision.
BC teamed with the Catalina Neighborhood Association to engage Councilmember Garcetti and the Hollywood Beautification Team in donating 75 Sycamore trees and assisting with the planting efforts. Collectively we organized the residents of Kenmore to receive, plant and care for the trees, which were to be planted along the parkway. On the day of planting we organized a neighborhood celebration, with Councilmember Garcetti officiating and planting an honorary tree. Today, walking down Kenmore you’ll see an umbrella of healthy, tall trees arching over the sidewalks.
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