LA Digs - Northeast LA Real Estate Blog

Today (Tuesday, December 16, 2008) is the day you get to see this killer deal at 4273 W Avenue 42, Los Angeles, 90065. That's just west of the 2 freeway in an area known as Sagamore Park, which is a charming little neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, tucked between Eagle Rock and Glendale. It has Eagle Rock schools and the most convenient location you can imagine for people who need to go downtown or to areas west of Glendale.

The homes were mostly built in the 1940s and many still feature the built-in bookcases, china cabinets, and crown moldings typical of that era. Sprinkled through the area are Spanish-styled homes with colorful tile and hardwood floors as well.

The commercial area along Verdugo Blvd is experiencing a slow movement into the cafe society we all seem to be attracted to these days. ButterTart at 4126 Verdugo Blvd is a coffee and pastries place open mornings only, and they just advertised that they have free WiFi. A wonderful neighborhood tradition is Polka (Polka Catering) at 4112 Verdugo Rd, a truly Polish restaurant that has earned favorable reviews from Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic extraordinaire as well as the discriminating masses on Yelp.

I will have my famous freshly baked cookies at the house, and I'll be there from 10 am til 2 pm. The house is listed for $435,000, and is such a great deal. Besides the 2 bedrooms, 1 bath the assessor's records show, there is a complete downstairs with ¾ bath, separate bedroom, living area and kitchenette. Both levels open out to decks that overlook the lush backyard. Although located very close to the freeway, the house is not affected by noise either in the house or in the backyard. Come check it out!

If you can't make it today, we will also be open Thursday, 10-2, and both Saturday and Sunday, 1-4 pm. See you soon!

I stumbled across the Twitter moniker for the official Blog of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Called Greenversations, you can check it out here.  Also, I saw on Yahoo that the EPA has a website for its 23 most wanted fugitives, www.epa.gov/fugitives.

The blog has information on what the government is doing regarding climate change, sources for funding for school projects, news releases, contact info. It's user friendly, fast, and interesting.

You can also use the mobile access, www.m.epa.gov and read the blog there, look up issues by your zip code, connect to other government websites on your phone.

Back to Greenversations, check out the Question of the Week. This week's was "What do you do with unused over-the-counter or prescription drugs?" Best answer: Discard in a Hazardous Household Waste event near you. Do not flush down the toilet as this can eventually affect drinking water and wildlife when the meds leach into the aquifer.

If there is no event near you, they suggest that you can discard in the trash, preferably by mixing the prescriptions with dirt, cat litter or some other substance to render the drugs unavailable to consumption. But there is quite a discussion about the eventual leaching into the aquifer through the landfill, so this is not the best solution.

For a list of Household Hazardous Waste Disposal events near you, go to http://www.lacsd.org/info/hhw_e_waste/default.asp.

If you are in my neighborhood, we have a permanent location at 4600 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Phone is 800-988-6942. They are open every Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 3 pm, and they take a whole list of waste from electronic to motor oil. It's a tricky place to find, so map it before you go.

Second Saturday December!

Saturday, Dec 13 - 7 to 10 pm
part of nelaart.org's Second Saturday Art Walk/Ride/Drive

"Hot & Delicious"
New Paintings by Stuart Rapeport

"Our gallery wasn't booked for a month, so I could create something special for our place. Something that reflected the historic nature of community; my interest in drawing and the relationship between line and shape; the tension between the relationships of multiple pieces; creating a narrative in the imagination of the viewer--something that spoke of the limits of our environment and the possibilities of art as a solution.

But I chose to create impressions of pizza."

Join us for pizza art, pizza snacks (from Follieros), and a birthday cake for NELA Art's 3rd anniversary!
Future Studio Gallery
5558 N Figueroa St
Los Angeles CA 90042

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Also Opening Dec 13 (7-10 pm) at Avenue 50 Studio:
Silent Testimonies Contemporary Ex-Votos, curated by the wonderful Raoul de la Sota

"A Little Piece of my Soul" by Paula Banqueiro

Artists and community members were asked to interpret the uniquely Mexican art form known as ex-votos with contemporary themes. The artists and community members are from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds: Artists Katrina Alexy, Paula Baquiero, Barbara Carrasco, Ana Flores, Frank Gutierrez, Lucy Hagopian, Amy Inouye/Stuart Rapeport, Pola Lopez, Isabel Martinez, CCH Pounder, Joseph Sims, Cindy Suriyani, Eloy Torrez, Richard Valdes, Sergio Vasquez, along with Board Members Vanessa Acosta, Raoul De la Sota, Ulises Diaz, Kathy Mas-Gallegos, Poli Marichal, Lara Medina, Ricardo Muñoz, David Stowe, and J. Michael Walker were chosen because they had no history of painting such forms.

Our piece is a contemporary saisenbako with ema and it wishes for peace, love, and understanding.

Avenue 50 Studio
131 N Ave 50
Los Angeles 90042
also part of the Second Saturday Art Walk/Ride/Drive

We will be participating in this year's Avenue 50 Studio Holiday Sale & Party, Saturday Dec 20 (7 to 10 pm) and Sunday, Dec 21 (11am to 4pm)--last minute gift items and splurges for yourself--here's who else will be there--
Lalo Alcaraz
Carmen Argote
Jack Fenn
Roberto Gutierrez
Cidne Hart
Kevin Hass
Amy Inouye/Stuart Rapeport (w/ Chicken Boy merch)
Los De Abajo Printmaking Collective
Margaret Garcia
Leo Limon
Leora Lutz
Juan Sigala
Herbert Siguenza
Ulises Ramirez with "Food Not Bombs"
Romero Family:Â Frank, Sharon, Nancy, Rosie and Sonia
J Michael Walker
and more!

Music, spiced eggnog, holiday refreshments and frivolity!
Festive Attire encouraged!

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Charles Phoenix's Moonlight Rollerway Holiday Jubilee!
Two performances only . . .
Saturday night, Dec. 13, 2008 - 8 pm
Sunday matinee, Dec. 14, 2008 - 3 pm

Charles Phoenix's hilarious retro holiday slide show followed by a roller skating revue spectacular starring sixty champion skaters in a variety of costumed musical acts celebrating all the holidays . . .
at Southern California's last classic Roller Rink!
- Live Hammond Organ stylings by the "World's Greatest Roller Rink Organist" Dominic Cangelosi!
- FREE snack bar treats will be served!
- After the show - All-Skate Party - FREE skate rental!
- FREE parking across the street at Home Depot!

Tickets $35 at www.charlesphoenix.com
Moonlight Rollerway
5110 San Fernando Rd (at Harvard)
Glendale 91204
818 241 3630

Here are the bullet points:

• There are 131 listings today, December 4, in zip code 90042, and 98 of them are asking less than $499,000.
• Highland Park has a long and honorable history in the development of Los Angeles.
• Highland Park has the first and largest HPOZ in Los Angeles with many contributing structures that could qualify for Mills Act Property Tax Relief and also help to ensure that your neighborhood doesn'tend up being ruined by unbridled development.
• There is a vibrant, unique, growing artistic element that adds style and character to the town.
• There are lots of shops, galleries, restaurants and bars within easy access.

1. As in many somewhat economically lower end neighborhoods, HP was hit hard by the recent downturn and experienced probably three times as many shortsales and foreclosures than its neighbor, Eagle Rock, which today has 56 total listings with 23 less than $500k. So you can now find decent 2-3 bedroom, 1-2 bath homes in decent neighborhoods for anywhere from $300,000 to $450,000. Many need work and therein lies even more opportunity. Read about FHA loan opportunities in a soon-to-be published blog of mine and come shopping with me!

2. Highland Park, one of the oldest suburbs in Los Angeles, began as a lushly verdant area studded with sycamores and oaks that attracted artists, writers, and academics. Large Victorian, then Arts and Crafts-style homes lined the main thoroughfares and hillsides. Several universities began in Highland Park including the Los Angeles College of Fine Arts and Architecture, USC, what is now Azusa Pacific University, Whittier, Loyola Marymount, and Occidental College.

4. A number of artists, writers and academics remained in Highland Park and are increasing in number as higher prices have driven them out of Echo Park, Silverlake and Los Feliz. The Arroyo Arts Collective just had its 16^th tour, featuring about 100 artists in studios and homes all over Northeast Los Angeles, but concentrated mostly in Highland Park. Many of these artists have lived in the area for decades, through all the changes, the economies going up and down, the concrete going in, the bars and fences going up. There is also an upward looking commercial environment including restaurants, bars, art studios, and a variety of all the regular businesses that serve a community. Also, NELAart sponsors the Second Saturday Gallery Night where you can wander through the various galleries and see what's happening or join the Bike Tour sponsored by BikeOven and "go green."

5. Check out Folliero's, a neighborhood Italian restaurant since 1968, serving great pizza with thin crust still made by the founder, Tony Folliero. His daughter, Titina, now runs the place and you will love the staff, the food, and the convenient location at 5566 Figueroa St. Another great restaurant just across the street is the more recently established Cinnamon Vegetarianat 5511 Figueroa. Hipsters priced out of Hollywood are edging into a growing club scene that includes hangouts like The Little Caveand Mr. T's on Figueroa. A York Blvd scene near Avenue 51 is growing with The York PubJohnny's, and Marty's Bar (with valet parking, no less) all within a block of each other. You can check all these out on my Restaurant Guide, which you can have emailed or mailed to you for free if you contact me and ask for it.

One of my favorite discoveries is the Future Studio, which is the home of "Chicken Boy," a great icon of the offbeat artistic vibe of Northeast Los Angeles. Art Fein nicknamed Chicken Boy the Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles. A 22 ft high statue of a man with the head of a chicken, Chicken Boy once stood above the Chicken Boy Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Constructed in 1969, saved from destruction in 1984, Future Studio acquired the fiberglass statue and began searching for a home for it. Several museums turned down the opportunity to house Chicken Boy in their sculpture gardens. Finally, in 2007, Future Studio installed the statue at 5558 N. Figueroa St. You can see the statue anytime since it's outside on the roof, but the Studio is open by appointment (323-254-4565 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.and on NELAArt.com's Second Saturday Art Walks. There is a room devoted to Chicken Boy including many actual items with Chicken Boy on them, and the profits go to the upkeep and preservation of Chicken Boy himself. For more info go to chickenboy.com. This Saturday, December 6, Future Studio has its Christmas sale from noon to 6 pm.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they are temporarily suspending foreclosures and evictions during the holiday season in an effort to keep people from losing their homes, said an article in the Washington Post by Zachary Goldfarb.

The companies said they are taking the step so they can include more people in a newly announced program to change the terms of troubled mortgages to make them more affordable.

The mortgage finance giants, seized by the government in early September, have been under pressure by lawmakers and housing advocates to take bolder steps to fight foreclosures. As the owners or backers of trillions of dollars of mortgages, the companies have an unrivaled ability to shape the home loan market and help people with distressed mortgages.

Last week, the companies said they would enact a program to restructure mortgages for borrowers who are falling behind in their payments. That effort would seek to help homeowners who haven't paid their loans for three months but whose homes had not been foreclosed upon yet. In a foreclosure, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac seizes control of a home and, usually, tries to sell it.

The foreclosure freeze announced November 21 will extend the mortgage modification program to those who have been declared in default and are at immediate risk of being forced from their homes. The companies said as many as 16,000 borrowers could benefit.

Foreclosures and evictions will be stopped from Nov. 26 to Jan. 9. Happy Holidays!