LADOT recommends more meters 12-13 DEVELOPMENT Projects in progress
A holiday theaters tradition
Cover: Diana Yanez onstage performing Latina Xmas Special.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT
ANITA SIRAKI OCCIDENTAL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
MIGUEL PADILLA CIM GROUP
VICE PRESIDENT
JEFFREY LUSTER LA KRETZ CROSSROADS PROPERTIES
VICE PRESIDENT
STEPHEN BURN LOS ANGELES LGBTQ CENTER
SECRETARY
KAYLA SARGENT AVA HOLLYWOOD
TREASURER
DAVID M. BASS 7000 ROMAINE HOLDINGS
COMMUNITY RELATIONS OFFICER DANNY LEE CALICO
BOARD MEMBERS
MARTHA DEMSON BROADWATER THEATRE
ASHLEE GARDNER CAT N’ FIDDLE
RON GROEPER MCCADDENSPACE
ETHAN HIGUERA HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE
CHRIS KAPOV RALPH PUCCI
ALEX KING BARDAS INVESTMENT GROUP
THOR LEE SCHNEIDER FAMILY TRUST
JACQUES MASSACHI RADIO CITY, LLC
MICHAEL NAMBA NAMBA GROUP
BRIAN O’SHEA THE EXCHANGE
STEVE RICOTTA IRON MOUNTAIN
BRIAN RIORDAN LEVELS AUDIO POST, INC.
BRIAN SCANE PALADIN GROUP, INC.
DUNCAN WLODARCZAK ONNI GROUP
FERRIS WEHBE HOLLYWOOD SCHOOL HOUSE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dianna Eisenberg, dianna@mediadistrict.org
DISTRICT SAFETY
Calls For Service
Thanks to our ongoing efforts, the number of calls to our public safety assistance line decreased in Q3.
Public Assists
We provided more safety escorts and answered more general information requests to residents and visitors of the district
Unhoused Contacts
As our unhoused population has decreased, so has the number of unhoused contacts made by our Safety Team.
Incident Reports
Public disturbance and property damage incidents fell by 30% thanks to ongoing street patrols and the improved homeless situation.
Safety Officers are the eyes and ears of the Hollywood Media District, helping us deliver services wherever they are needed. Whether patrolling the district, assisting businesses and residents or engaging with the unhoused population, their presence adds a layer of security and comfort in the district while acting as the community’s firsts responders — trained and equipped to assist in in non-emergency circumstances.
Business Contacts
Improvements in the homeless situation has freed up our Safety Team to increase contact with businesses in the district.
Vandalism Reports
Our team was able to find and report 4x the amount of graffiti and stickers, making the district more beautiful.
Service Requests
Requests for cleaning and repair submitted by the Safety Team increased, equaling more maintinance getting accomplished.
Hot Spot Patrols
The reduction in homelessness has decreased the number of designated hot spots in the district, and thus the need for such patrols.
SCHOOLHOUSE SAFETY
The Media District mission doesn’t stop at our borders, especially when the terrific toddlers from Hollywood Schoolhouse are involved. That’s why our BID bicycle officers helped escort these little ones from their school on Seward to the nearby pumpkin patch at Enrique Noguera Educational Garden on the corner of Fountain and June St., controlling traffic to make sure our communitiy’s most precious residents stay safe.
CLEAN & BEAUTIFUL
The Cleaning Team works 7 days a week, transforming the Hollywood Media District into a spotless and sanitary destination. Whether conducting scheduled tasks like emptying public trash bins (3x week), sweeping residential and commercial sidewalks (2x week) and pressure washing (daily) or responding to service request like collecting bulky items and removing graffiti, our goal is make the district welcoming for all.
13 TONS CLEANED ENCAMPMENTS
11 TONS REMOVED BY STREET SWEEEPERS
47 TONS COLLECTED IN TRASH BINS
1911 GRAFFITI & STICKERS REMOVED
590 BULKY ITEMS REMOVED
RESULTS YOU CAN SEE
New For 2025
As the Hollywood Media District keep growing, so does our committment to keep the community clean. To deliver on this promise, an order has been placed for 44 new trash bins to be installed throughout 2025, along with the additional manpower needed to keep them maintained.
Made from recycled solid steel bar, these sturdy and stylish titanium recepticals will also add to the Districts curbside appeal.
CLEAN & BEAUTIFUL
Our efforts to make the Hollywood Media District green and inviting continue with ongoing upkeep of existing landscaping as well as new trees and shrubbery being planted every month. Having completed our $100,000+ landscape and lighting upgrade for the Gateway To Hollywood medians on Highland Ave., our investments in improvement will continue in the coming year with a new welcome sign at Highland and Melrose Ave. and additional municiple art projects to be announced soon.
Tree Replacement
Following vandalism and a fire in August that destroyed two trees on North McCadden Place, the District Maintinence Team has completed cleanup and rejuvination of the block by replacing the burnt trees with new healthy saplings that will grow for years to come.
Median Maintenance
We conduct weekly inspections to keep the community blossoming.
WEEDING
IRRIGATION
WATER LEAKS
TREE WELLS
TRASH PICKUP
MEDIAN REPAIR
PARKING
LADOT RECOMMENDS MORE METERS
As the Media District grows in popularity, parking has become a greater concern. A new study by LADOT’s Parking Meter Division found an average weekday occupancy rate of 85% (up from 65% in 2022). To help accomodate this increase in visitors to the District, LADOT is proposing to add 350 metered spots on commercial blocks to increase turnover. It also recommends extending time limits on all meters from one to two hours in order to be better atuned with visitor who want to spend more time enjoying the area.
The report recommends that meters be added to the commercial segmments of:
• SYCAMORE AV
• ORANGE DR
• CITRUS AV
• MANSFIELD AV
• ROMAINE ST
• WILLOUGHBY ST (NORTH SIDE)
• existing parking meters
• proposed parking meters
DEVELOPMENT
1 1000 N. LA BREA (ECHELON)
• 34 STORIES
• 514 APARTMENTS
• 30,000 SQ. FT. COMMERCIAL SPACE
2
TESLA DINER (ECHELON)
• 30 SUPERCHARGERS
• 24/7 DINER
• 7001 W. SANTA MONICA BLVD.
3 1151 LAS PALMAS (ECHELON)
• 154,000 SQ. FT. CREATIVE SPACE
• GROUNDBREAKING Q1 2024
• DELIVERY Q2 2026
4 1360 N. VINE (ONNI GROUP)
• APPROVED FOR MIXED USE HIGHRISE
• 33 STORY RESIDENTIAL OR 17 STORY OFFICE (TBD)
2
3
1
Pardon our dust, but the Hollywood Media District is a hotbed of development that is transforming the area into one of LA’s most exciting new communities. With over 1,000,000 sq. ft. of premium commercial, creative and residential properties already in the works, there’s no limit to the potential for the neighborhood to thrive.
5 1200 N. CAHUENGA (ECHELON)
• 115,000 SQ. FT. CREATIVE SPACE
• 3 BUILDINGS
• 154 PARKING SPACES
6 ECHELON STUDIOS AT TELEVISION CENTER
• 700,000 SQ. FT. STUDIO LOT
• 4X 18,000 SF SOUND STAGES
• 4X CYCLORAMAS
• 60,000 SQ. FT. CREATIVE SPACE 4 5 6 7 8
• 150 PERSON THEATER
7 956 SEWARD (BARANOF)
• TRUNK SPACE STORAGE
• AIR CONDITIONED UNITS
• DROUGHT RESISTANT LANDSCAPING
8 717 SEWARD (ECHELON)
• 4 STORIES
• 4,000 SQ. FT. ROOFTOP DECK
UNA LATINA XMAS
Photo: Blossom Spa, 1350 N. Highland Ave.
Diana Yanez puts new spin on a holiday tradition at the LGBTQ+ Center.
Some holiday traditions go back generations. Others are more recent. Over the past decade, seeing The Latina Xmas Special has become an annual tradition for thousands of Los Angeles theatergoers.
The brainchild of Miami-born Cuban-American Diana Yanez, the production debuted in 2013 at the Elephant Asylum Theatre on Theatre Row inside the Hollywood Media District. Along with Yanez, it starred Texas-born Mexican-America Sandra Valls and LA native Maria Russell (whose mother is Mexican and father Lithuanian) as three first-generation immigrants who come together to share their family Christmas tales.
The show became a local sensation, earning a Critics Choice Award from the Los Angeles Times in 2015 for its humorous and heartfelt take on the traditional holiday special. From Theatre Row, it moved to larger venues, first the Latino Theater Company in DTLA and then A Noise Within in Pasadena, while also being stages off-Broadway in NYC. At the same time, Yanez, Valls and Russell further evolved their roles, giving fans a reason to return year after year.
“It’s like watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Yanez says as an explanation for the show’s ongoing appeal. “You see it over and over again. Yes, you know the jokes, but you still enjoy it.”
That comforting feeling of familiarity is important when it comes to holiday traditions — but some change is inevitable. This year, both Valls and Russell had conflicts that left them unable to commit to the show.
“It’s like watching Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer. You see it over and over again. Yes, you know the jokes, but you still enjoy it.”
Just when it seemed like there might not be any performaces in 2024, a storybook twist came along to keep the spirit of Latina Xmas Special alive. Yanez was approached by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx, the artistic director of the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Center, with the idea of turning the ensemble piece into a one-person show. And the Una Latin Xmas Special was born.
“I realized that our show was essentially three mini-monologues embraced lovingly by the overall play,” says Yanez. “And I had all of these stories that I had taken out because they didn’t fit time-wise in the three-person show.”
“I never talked about my sexuality,” she continues, “because I thought that it was good that it wasn’t a ‘gay show’ and it wasn’t a ‘straight show.’ But now that we’re doing it at the LGBTQ+ Center, I get to talk about how both my brother and I are gay. I’m enjoying writing about that.”
In addition to having the time to address more personal topics, the solo format also allows Yanez to tap into some other inspirations, particularly one-person performances like Whoopi Goldberg’s first HBO Special from the 1980s and John Leguizamo’s run of shows in the 1990s, as well as Lily Tomlin’s restaging of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life from 2000.
And this is far from Yanez’s first time unaccompanied onstage. Her 2010 show, Viva La Evolución, won an “Excellence in Solo Show” award at the New York Fringe Festival. She’s also an experienced stand-up comic.
“The rhythm of standup comedy, it’s like, ‘little joke, little joke, big joke, little joke, little joke, big joke,’” Yanez says. “The difference when doing a one-person show is that you can tell the whole story.”
As opening night draws near, Yanez is hard at work perfecting her hour onstage. Rehearsals are taking place in New York, where Yanez moved with her wife in 2022 after 30 years of living in the same apartment on Fountain Avenue in Hollywood. She’s excited to get back to LA and also returning to the Hollywood Media District where her Latina Xmas adventures began. Yanez might be returning as an “Una,” but she still delights in the way audiences continue to relate to her immigrant holiday history.
“These are universal themes,” she explains. “All of us are descendants of immigrants (unless you’re indiginous peoples). And there is a gigantic part of the population that is first generation that has that unique experience of growing up in two cultures. It’s very identifiable.
FOOLISH KIDS WINTER THEATER WORKSHOP
Performance is embedded in the DNA of the Hollywood Media District. The Sacred Fools Theater Company at the Broadwater understands how helpful acting can be for teaching young people life skills like teamwork, empathy and communication. That’s why their offering the first Foolish Kids Winter Theater Workshop for students age 8-18 running from December 16th to the 20th.
During the week-long workshop, kids and teens will learn theater games, improv techniques and acting methods, all culminating in a showcase at the end of the week. It’s a great way for area students to stay busy during the extended winter school break. And who knows, maybe it will set a future EGOT winner on the path to artistic fulfillment and acclaim. This is Hollywood, afterall!
