For the past three months, Echo Park Lake had become a refuge for Zachary Coughlin and Karissa DeAngelis. After sleeping on cold, unyielding sidewalks, the couple had experienced relatively peaceful nights here among a community of about 100 people who had pitched tents on the grass along the park paths, sharing their mornings with joggers making loops around the water, street vendors prepping ingredients under rainbow umbrellas, and toddlers ambling towards the playground. But on Thursday morning, they had the park virtually to themselves. A militarized police occupation of the quiet...…For the past three months, Echo Park Lake had become a refuge for Zachary Coughlin and Karissa DeAngelis. After sleeping on cold, unyielding sidewalks, the couple had experienced relatively peaceful nights here among a community of about 100 people who had pitched tents on the grass along the park paths, sharing their mornings with joggers making loops around the water, street vendors prepping ingredients under rainbow umbrellas, and toddlers ambling towards the playground. But on Thursday morning, they had the park virtually to themselves. A militarized police occupation of the quiet...WW…

The biggest Los Angeles secret outsiders don’t know is that the Oscars are . Every year, millions of viewers around the world watch as celebrities walk down the middle of a street and into a standard-issue shopping center, past a Hard Rock Cafe and a M.A.C Cosmetics store, to their seats. It’s a lot of work to de-street and de-mall the entire environment just to erect a red carpet, which is why, every year, the Oscars fence off a protective orb around Hollywood and Highland, where the Dolby Theatre (formerly Kodak Theatre) has held the awards ceremony for nearly two decades. In the early...…The biggest Los Angeles secret outsiders don’t know is that the Oscars are . Every year, millions of viewers around the world watch as celebrities walk down the middle of a street and into a standard-issue shopping center, past a Hard Rock Cafe and a M.A.C Cosmetics store, to their seats. It’s a lot of work to de-street and de-mall the entire environment just to erect a red carpet, which is why, every year, the Oscars fence off a protective orb around Hollywood and Highland, where the Dolby Theatre (formerly Kodak Theatre) has held the awards ceremony for nearly two decades. In the early...WW…

President Joe Biden has the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the third pandemic-era stimulus and, potentially, one of the most consequential economic packages in U.S. history. Passed by Congress last night — without a single vote from a Republican — the plan includes including direct payments to most Americans, new financial support for families, and enough money to supercharge vaccine delivery to every corner of the country. And it also includes billions of dollars that will go directly to New York City.“Take stock of this moment, everyone, because it’s extraordinary,” said Mayor Bill...…President Joe Biden has the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the third pandemic-era stimulus and, potentially, one of the most consequential economic packages in U.S. history. Passed by Congress last night — without a single vote from a Republican — the plan includes including direct payments to most Americans, new financial support for families, and enough money to supercharge vaccine delivery to every corner of the country. And it also includes billions of dollars that will go directly to New York City.“Take stock of this moment, everyone, because it’s extraordinary,” said Mayor Bill...WW…

Shabazz Stuart has done the math. New York City might be in the midst of a pandemic-fed bike boom — cyclist counts over the East River were in November 2020 than one year before — but there’s barely anywhere to park those bikes. That creates huge barriers in a city where reports having had a bike stolen. “If we want to achieve 30 percent mode-share on bikes and scooters, we have to take parking seriously,” Stuart tells Curbed. “There are three million free parking spaces for cars; if you took just 5 percent of them for secure bike parking and charging, you’d have spaces for one million...…Shabazz Stuart has done the math. New York City might be in the midst of a pandemic-fed bike boom — cyclist counts over the East River were in November 2020 than one year before — but there’s barely anywhere to park those bikes. That creates huge barriers in a city where reports having had a bike stolen. “If we want to achieve 30 percent mode-share on bikes and scooters, we have to take parking seriously,” Stuart tells Curbed. “There are three million free parking spaces for cars; if you took just 5 percent of them for secure bike parking and charging, you’d have spaces for one million...WW…

A 911 dispatch looks about the same no matter where you are in the U.S.: sirens, strobe lights atop police cruisers, and first responders armed with guns and pepper spray, the reason for the call notwithstanding. But if you dial 911 in Denver, you might be greeted instead by a mental-health clinician and a paramedic driving a customized van equipped with food, water, and blankets. For the past six months, the city’s Support Team Assisted Response program, known as STAR, has been dispatching social workers instead of cops on nonemergency calls, with astoundingly good outcomes. According to a...…A 911 dispatch looks about the same no matter where you are in the U.S.: sirens, strobe lights atop police cruisers, and first responders armed with guns and pepper spray, the reason for the call notwithstanding. But if you dial 911 in Denver, you might be greeted instead by a mental-health clinician and a paramedic driving a customized van equipped with food, water, and blankets. For the past six months, the city’s Support Team Assisted Response program, known as STAR, has been dispatching social workers instead of cops on nonemergency calls, with astoundingly good outcomes. According to a...WW…

As Sunset Boulevard curves towards downtown Los Angeles, Taix French Restaurant sticks out like an anomaly amid the strip malls, a single-story green-and-cream French chateau festooned with gabled roofs, half-timbering, and clinker bricks. At a meeting of L.A.’s cultural-heritage commission last month, two historians dramatically recounted these Francophone flourishes in great detail, emphasizing French pronunciations like porte-cochère, and noting that, in addition to this convincing Normandy-esque façade, Taix’s architects had designed an entire fake Danish town 120 miles to the north. It...…As Sunset Boulevard curves towards downtown Los Angeles, Taix French Restaurant sticks out like an anomaly amid the strip malls, a single-story green-and-cream French chateau festooned with gabled roofs, half-timbering, and clinker bricks. At a meeting of L.A.’s cultural-heritage commission last month, two historians dramatically recounted these Francophone flourishes in great detail, emphasizing French pronunciations like porte-cochère, and noting that, in addition to this convincing Normandy-esque façade, Taix’s architects had designed an entire fake Danish town 120 miles to the north. It...WW…

Nithya Raman hasn’t even been sworn in as a Los Angeles city councilmember, but her election earlier this month has already had ripple effects. L.A.’s council districts are gargantuan — just 15 people represent almost 4 million residents — and Raman’s Fourth District splays back and forth over the Hollywood Hills, a series of irregular polygons delineating a handful of L.A.’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Winning the district has traditionally meant pandering to some of the city’s most vocal NIMBYs, who have the construction of homeless shelters, apartment buildings, and transit projects. And...…Nithya Raman hasn’t even been sworn in as a Los Angeles city councilmember, but her election earlier this month has already had ripple effects. L.A.’s council districts are gargantuan — just 15 people represent almost 4 million residents — and Raman’s Fourth District splays back and forth over the Hollywood Hills, a series of irregular polygons delineating a handful of L.A.’s wealthiest neighborhoods. Winning the district has traditionally meant pandering to some of the city’s most vocal NIMBYs, who have the construction of homeless shelters, apartment buildings, and transit projects. And...WW…

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our . Please also read our and , which became effective December 20, 2019.By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.I Accept☰×Nothing says health and safety like heavily armed city employees notorious for not wearing masks.For the past few months, New York City has permitted diners to spill out of restaurants...…We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our . Please also read our and , which became effective December 20, 2019.By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies.I Accept☰×Nothing says health and safety like heavily armed city employees notorious for not wearing masks.For the past few months, New York City has permitted diners to spill out of restaurants...WW…

I don’t know for sure, but I’m fairly certain that I was the only person who traveled via public transit to the opening of .Using LA’s extant tunnels and trains to get to the Boring Company event seemed like the only appropriate way to compare what exists today to an idea being touted to end “soul-crushing traffic” sometime in the near future.The main entrance to the 1.14-mile test tunnel is located at SpaceX’s headquarters, a mere third of a mile from Metro’s Green Line.Google Maps says it’s a six-minute walk to the tunnel from the Crenshaw Station; it took me closer to ten. Crenshaw...…I don’t know for sure, but I’m fairly certain that I was the only person who traveled via public transit to the opening of .Using LA’s extant tunnels and trains to get to the Boring Company event seemed like the only appropriate way to compare what exists today to an idea being touted to end “soul-crushing traffic” sometime in the near future.The main entrance to the 1.14-mile test tunnel is located at SpaceX’s headquarters, a mere third of a mile from Metro’s Green Line.Google Maps says it’s a six-minute walk to the tunnel from the Crenshaw Station; it took me closer to ten. Crenshaw...WW…