South Central Farmers Return to City Hall!
Friday, June 12, 9:00 a.m. Press Conference at City Hall
Saturday, June 13, 6:00-11:30 p.m. Reunion at the Farm

TAKING BACK THE FARM
SAVE THE FARM
SAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD

LOS ANGELES--On Friday June 12, at 8:00 a.m. the South Central Farmers and their supporters will return to City Hall to demand fair and equitable treatment for South Central residents and Farmers in the face of continuing City privileges for developer Ralph Horowitz. The following day, Farmers and Farm supporters will hold a reunion on the third anniversary of the destruction of the Farm for all interested in restoring the South Central Farm.

Demanding Justice
The South Central Farmers will demand at Friday's City Council meeting that the City Council restore the famous South Central Farm at 41st and Alameda in order to provide healthy food to South Central residents, using $137M collected by the City from development for open spaces and parks, and set aside in the City's Quimby account.

The City Planning Department has notified the Farmers that developer Ralph Horowitz has been granted an unlimited period to file an Environmental Impact Report for constructing a massive distribution warehouse on the Farm, after first requiring the EIR no later than June 1. In June of 2007, the South Central Farmers demanded and won the EIR before Horowitz could begin construction of a massive distribution center for clothing manufacturer and retailer Forever 21 on the land that is the South Central Farm. Mr. Horowitz has not met that deadline and the land remains vacant, but the City is determined to impose the Forever 21 warehouse on the land and the people, a megalith to the City's conquest of the people and the destruction of the planet. The proposed shipping center would mean 2500 truck trips daily through the neighborhood. There will be an enormous increase of cancer causing particulate matter.

With the economic depression spreading across South Central, in the past year warehouse space has become available throughout the Alameda Corridor, and Port traffic is down by 40%, making development of new shipping facilities unfeasible. Rather than return the land to the people, to whom it was mitigated by Mayor Tom Bradley, the City is determined to continue its policy of privileging Horowitz and Forever 21, which, according to the Los Angeles Time, (August 18, 2008), has made multi-million dollar contributions to Mayor Villaraigosa's pet projects and has appointed Christopher D. Lee as a Commissioner.

Reuniting To Take Back the Farm
On Saturday from 6:00 p.m., the Farmers and those committed to restoring the green oasis will renew their commitment to a major Farm campaign, on the third anniversary of the destruction of the South Central Farm. The reunion marks the beginning of an intensive citywide campaign to promote the ongoing work of the Farmers to bring healthy food to Los Angeles's "food deserts," areas redlined by major grocery chains for poorer quality food or no food distribution at all, and to restore the original South Central Farm.

Farmers will caravan from their current farm to talk with supporters, before heading to the Sunday morning Farmers' Markets. Music and teatro will be interspersed with discussions about the Farmers' Collective, currently bringing tons of fresh, organically grown food to Los Angeles annually, and plans for restoration. Since learning of the proposed distribution center, the South Central Farmers have been organizing a boycott of Forever 21 with community and national groups, which has elicited a counter-campaign from the industrial giant extolling warehouse labor over local food production. The Academy Award® nominated documentary The Garden, about the demolition of the Farm, has told the Farm story to hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. On Saturday evening, Farmers and Farm supporters will commit to reclaiming the Farm for the people.
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