By CHRIS KOMAI
When I first heard that a developer was proposing to construct a massive project at the corner of 4th Street and Central Avenue on the edge of Little Tokyo, I instinctively shuddered.
As someone who has spent over 50 years working first for my family’s business, The Rafu Shimpo, and then for the Japanese American National Museum, and now volunteering for the Little Tokyo Community Council (LTCC), the word “developer” is not a synonym for “friend.” In fact, for most of Little Tokyo’s 140-year history, our historic neighborhood has had few friends.
Over 100 years ago, my grandfather Toyosaku became the publisher of The Rafu Shimpo with its printing plant near the corner of Los Angeles Street and First. Little Tokyo was the center of his life and he was a community leader who urged Japanese Americans to cooperate with authorities as relations between the U.S. and Japan worsened in the late 1930s.
When World War II began, the U.S. government rewarded his efforts by sending the FBI to his house. They took him away from our family so that they could unfairly imprison him until 1946.
After Toyosaku’s imprisonment, his eldest Nisei son Akira (my uncle) was thrust into the role of publisher. In the face of the imminent illegal mass removal and incarceration of all persons of Japanese ancestry in 1942, Akira knew his duty as the eldest son was to figure out how he would restart the family business when the war was over.
While in camp, Uncle Aki wrote letters to former employees, urging them to return to Little Tokyo so that The Rafu Shimpo could resume its work. That the first postwar edition of the newspaper was printed on Jan. 1, 1946, is a tribute to my uncle’s determination.
It also represented the perseverance of Japanese Americans in reviving our historic neighborhood, despite the government’s efforts to break up our community forever.
But things were still fraught for Little Tokyo in the postwar when the City of Los Angeles used eminent domain in the 1950s to take over a huge section of our neighborhood. The Rafu Shimpo and many community businesses were displaced so that the city could build a new police headquarters.
In all my years spent in Little Tokyo, I have witnessed its erosion by government agencies and private developers, who have demonstrated a cold indifference to the welfare of our historic enclave.
As with previous developments, the proposed 4th and Central project has all the characteristics of an enterprise that will undermine the adjacent neighborhoods, including Little Tokyo, the Arts District and Skid Row. As a mega-development, this project includes several large buildings completely out of character with this part of Downtown.
It will intensify the density of people and cars for an area whose infrastructure cannot handle the increase. It will barely contribute to the pressing need for more affordable housing, a priority for Los Angeles.
Worse for Little Tokyo, the original developer, Continuum Partners, had expressed no interest in engaging with the local stakeholders about the negative impacts that the lengthy construction period would have on their businesses and their lives. While Continuum has withdrawn from the project, it is illuminating to see how it positions itself as a company that believes in “smart growth.”
It describes its mission as follows: “to create human habitats of extraordinary character and enduring value.” One would think if that was really a goal in their projects, the company would want to engage with the existing local neighborhoods with respect for their history and culture and not want to overwhelm the adjacent areas with oversized skyscrapers with their high rents and traffic snarls.
With Continuum no longer in the picture, some might feel this is a step forward. But again, history concerning Little Tokyo and private developers is not reassuring.
Some years ago, a private developer acquired the giant parking lot between San Pedro and Los Angeles streets, which was used for the Nisei Week Festival carnival and later the Tofu Festival. In proposing to build several mixed-use complexes, the developer promised to allot space for public parking. But the developer kept reducing the number of parking spaces and finally sold off the property, so their commitments vanished with the developer.
If I seem pessimistic about future development in Little Tokyo, I have hope as well. Interestingly, it came from the recently completed Regional Connector project that Metro constructed. When Metro first proposed the light-rail line in 2008, the plans were awful. The trains ran at street level, Little Tokyo only would get half a station and there was no mitigation for the negative impact of the lengthy construction period on our small business community.
Faced with a proposed project that would have major negative consequences on our community, organizations like LTCC, the Little Tokyo Business Association (LTBA) and other concerned individuals spent countless hours in meetings with Metro, making them aware of our issues.
But truthfully, Metro officials were not going to alter their vision until our community’s ace in the hole intervened: U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. Sen. Inouye was the chair of the Appropriations Committee and he wrote a letter to the Metro officials, making it clear that he would be watching how the Regional Connector project affected Little Tokyo.
Needing federal funds to build their light-rail project, Metro’s attitude changed completely. Our community’s concerns were suddenly priorities. More than just making concessions, Metro actually instituted different mitigations that they had previously told us were impossible.
A business interruption fund was created and Metro money was allocated to help market the small businesses during the construction period. LTCC used those funds to develop Go Little Tokyo, which promotes community events and businesses today.
The Regional Connector project, which included the construction of the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station across from the Japanese American National Museum, had other breakthroughs and benefits. But for me, its greatest achievement might be as a model for future collaborations between public projects and our community.
I hope it showed Metro that it doesn’t have to be an adversary in these developments and we as Little Tokyo stakeholders demonstrated that we could be fair and we also support public transportation.
It is likely that a new developer will have similar attitudes as Continuum and will not feel obligated to engage the local stakeholders in their concerns. But if the lessons from my Uncle Aki’s story along with our families’ return from camp to Little Tokyo have taught us anything, it is that giving up is not an option.
If our Issei and Nisei ancestors had everything taken away from them and still rebuilt Little Tokyo, we must do our part to defend their legacy and our community today. When the time comes, we as a community should all work together for what is right, no matter how great a challenge.
Stay tuned.