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news
Wall divides city
By Ben Dimapindan
On-line Forty-Niner
The proposed construction
of a massive 20-foot-high, three-quarter-mile-long concrete
wall in Wilmington has divided the public sentiment of the
community's residents, as well as Cal State Long Beach students
from that area.
The wall, which
was originally requested by the Wilmington Truck Taskforce
and Wilmington residents in 1988, would run along C Street
from Neptune to Figueroa, according to Port of Los Angeles
spokesman Dennis McCarbery. It is intended to serve as a buffer
against the noise and pollution from the nearby expansion
of the port's diesel tracks and Bridges Boulevard, which is
constantly used by trucks.
"The cause
for concern is both noise and air quality," McCarbery
said. "The wall would keep both from coming over. That
is what's trying to be accomplished."
However, the Communities
for a Better Environment, an environmental activist group,
held a recent candlelight vigil in protest of the wall, which
they feel is environmental racism — a plan that deliberately
places toxic facilities in minority communities.
The CBE and CSULB's
La Raza Student Association, whose officers and several members
either work or live in Wilmington, collaborated in the vigil.
Both groups agreed the wall would only attract graffiti, cut
off the coastal breezes that diminish pollution and block
the residents' view of the harbor and the bridge.
"This wouldn't
be happening in any other community," CBE Organizer Agustin
Romero said. "The only reason this is happening is because
Wilmington is a primarily Latino, monolingual, low-income
community.
"It is a dense
population surrounded with industry. Why is a wall needed?
Instead, there should be a park. A park with trees will alleviate
some of the pollution and bring in more oxygen. There are
two major parks in Wilmington but five refineries."
Wall advocates
of the wall argue that negative effects to the community will
be minimal.
"A wall 20
feet high will still get wind," McCarbery said. "The
proposal would have a bike path with trees and clinging vine,
which would eliminate some graffiti."
Several hundred
students who attend CSULB are from the Wilmington area, said
Sandra Hague, an Institutional Research analyst.
One of those students,
sophomore Jenae Tufts finds the proposition of the wall a
favorable one for her community.
"I think it's
good because it can get noisy down there," Tufts said.
"I think it'll affect the community in a good way. I'm
a little biased, I guess, because my mom is a longshoreman
and she doesn't have a problem with it."
As for La Raza
and the CBE, another protest is not the next item on their
itinerary.
The groups are
"trying to organize a meeting with oil refinery officials
to reach a compromise," La Raza historian Jorge Reyes
said.
Before any plans are finalized regarding the wall, Port of
Los Angeles officials want to receive as much feedback from
the community as possible to try to settle the conflicting
viewpoints.
"We want to
hear what the community wants to do," McCarbery said.
"We're trying to find out if there are mitigations or
ways to meet the concerns of the residents. The people who
live with it should have the most to say about it. Everyone
in America has the right to express their own opinions.
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