Community Corner

Block Party Rocks and Revitalizes Monte Vista Today

The Monte Vista Street Block Party is scheduled for Saturday, June 4 on Monte Vista between Avenues 52 and 53.

After months of planning, Monte Vista St. residents and business owners will hold their second annual block party on Saturday, June 4 on Monte Vista between Avenues 52 and 53.

The five hour event begins at 10 a.m., however, beautification activities will precede the event beginning at 8 a.m.

“One of the components of the block party is to do landscaping or beautification. We’ve already begun to do that with some vine installations at specific locations and certain intersections that have chronically been plagued with graffiti,” said Lynelle Scaduto, a field deputy for Councilman Ed Reyes' office.

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According to Scaduto, vine installations are a way to enhance and beautify the Monte Vista corridor. They have already been installed at La Tropicana Market, Richard Riordan Primary Center and Highland Park Skilled Nursing and Wellness Center.

“As an extension of that, we’re also going to do landscaping on all of the parkways, wherever there are damaged trees along Monte Vista corridor and place trees in empty tree wells,” Scaduto said.

Rana Redfield, owner of La Tropicana Market, is one of the local business owners who helped establish the party last year. She said the purpose of the party is to help build civic pride among area residents and to spark a neighborhood revitalization.

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“We felt there was a lot of improvement in our neighborhood and we felt the need to celebrate that,” Redfield said. “That’s sort of how it started last year and we want to keep it going and make it a tradition.”

“This event is extremely important for the community. In a way it serves as a reminder to everyone of what a beautiful neighborhood we have, and what beautiful people we have that surround us in our community.”

The party is set to feature food vendors, art, workshops, live entertainment and a petting zoo.

Further, Scaduto  estimates approximately 30 community organizations will have resource booths.

The block party is considered a community action project and the budget for the event will be paid for through a combination of city general fund accounts.

“Given the fact that the predominant sponsor is the city, we do have a limited budget, so we have to scramble to find sponsors and sponsorships for this event,” Scaduto said.

She added, “it’s a centralized location of city services, city resources and local community organizations giving out information to the community about anything and everything that is great about Highland Park.”


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