Save Little Tokyo!
October 2, 2007
‘This is A New Era: It’s Not Little Tokyo Equals Japanese Any Longer,’ Declares Former New Otani Hotel-Weller Court Exec Takashi Ito
Click here for panoramic QuickTime views of Little Tokyo
Japanese Americans are mobilizing to help save their century-old Little Tokyo district in the face of a series of secretive real estate deals they fear may change the downtown enclave’s historical and cultural significance forever.
For some J-Town business owners displaced by wartime internment in the ’40s, eminent domain property seizures in the ’50s and city-imposed redevelopment in the ’70s, it’s like déjà vu all over again. A summary of Little Tokyo’s history.
Now, a group calling itself J-Town Voice is urging members of the community to attend, make their views known and demand answers at a public meeting of the Little Tokyo Community Council Thursday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m., at the Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. First St., Little Tokyo. The same organization also has mounted a nationwide petition drive aimed at demonstrating Japanese America’s resolve. Read/sign the petition here.
At the heart of the community’s worries are the recent sales of two major commercial developments in the 67-acre Little Tokyo district to a pair of real estate development firms.
