LOS ANGLES NEIGHBORHOOD LAND TRUST MOVES LAUSD ONE STEP CLOSER TO JOINT USE OF SCHOOLS AT AMBASSADOR HOTEL FIELD

In an unprecedented move, LAUSD allows the non-profit organization, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, to provide soccer programming at the Ambassador Hotel fields during the construction of new schools

( Los Angeles) In park-starved Koreatown, a large field sat empty and unused, cut-off from the community by construction fencing and political uncertainty. This was the former entryway to the historic Ambassador Hotel fronting Wilshire Boulevard. The plans for this area were to plant and maintain a ground cover during the period of construction before the field area was needed. Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust’s (LANLT’s) vision was to plant grass and use the field to create programming opportunities for area youth in a dense community with no open space. With the help of Jose Huizar, then LAUSD Board Member, and Glenn Gritzner, Special Assistant to Superintendent Roy Romer, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust was able to negotiate a license to use the field for soccer programming.

Now on Saturdays and Sundays, youth of all ages are playing soccer on the north field. Daniel Morales, head of Youth-Empowered-Scholastic-Sports Service ---Y.E.S.S.S --- which runs the soccer league at the Ambassador, as well as at MacArthur Park, said “It is very exciting for us to expand our program and provide more youth in the central part of Los Angeles with the opportunity to play soccer.” The program now serves over 1,000 youth.

Tsilah Burman, LANLT Executive Director, said “I was encouraged by LAUSD’s willingness to work with us to provide community use at the Ambassador site. With many new schools being built in underserved communities, it is my hope that this is the beginning of a trend to allow joint use of schools, providing the community with a resource for open space and programming in the afternoons and on weekends.”

Jose Huizar, now City Councilmember for the 14 th District, said “This is a win-win situation for LAUSD and the community. As City Councilmember, I look forward to working closely with LANLT to provide more joint use opportunities in our most underserved neighborhoods.”