The outsiders on bicycles, mostly white, rode into the predominantly Latino immigrant neighborhood west of downtown L.A. on Friday, dropped quarters into a meter, laid artificial turf on the asphalt and declared the parking space at the corner of 8th and Alvarado streets a "park."
At least for an hour. It is a "One Hour Parking" tow-away zone, after all.
Martha Santos, 50, drove around the block to find another parking spot. "They must be filming," said the El Salvadoran immigrant, who owns a clothing store just feet away from where the group set up.
A passerby cheekily asked, "Is la migra (immigration authorities) going to come?"
One of the park builders, Ron Durgen, 43, of Beverly Hills asked a burly man wearing a black T-shirt to join the group, explaining enthusiastically that they had "commandeered this parking space and turned it into a park."
"This is a street, you know. It's not good to put that there," the man said brusquely.
"But wouldn't it be nice if this was really a park?" Durgen asked, no more than a block from MacArthur Park.
"OK, good, good for you. See you later, my friend," the man said. Walking away, he muttered that one of L.A.'s first parks is also often one of its most crime-ridden. "Might as well build a cantina."
Friday was Park(ing) Day Los Angeles. Dozens of people -- many of them artists and activists involved in issues ranging from affordable housing to creating urban farmland -- temporarily set up "parks" in scores of parking spaces from Long Beach to Westwood and beyond.
They brought sod, dirt, plants, potted trees, benches, beach chairs, umbrellas and even sofas to give the parking spaces an inviting feel. The activists then spent their hour -- with the parking meters ticking -- encouraging often wary passersby to take part in their vision of more open space in L.A.
The idea was to make a statement about what they consider a lack of parkland and recreation areas in Los Angeles and how much of the public landscape is dominated by automobiles.
But in L.A., where the car remains king and a good parking space is considered a prized possession, some passersby made some statements of their own.
In some parts of the city, the activists were cheered by like-minded residents who want more park space.
But in other neighborhoods, the reaction was more complex -- and perplexed.
