\u201cDodger Stadium gondola plan about to hit heavy turbulence as state park defenders play hardball,\u201d<\/a> Aug. 1).<\/p>\nIt ignores the many residents, small business owners and community organizations who have spent years advocating for the project because they see it as an opportunity to invest in Chinatown\u2019s future. For many of us, this is about more than a gondola. It is about investing in a neighborhood that has too often been overlooked, supporting small business, connecting spaces and a rare opportunity for Chinatown to shape its future rather than be displaced by it.<\/p>\n
The public deserves to hear from all sides of the debate, not just those who oppose it. It\u2019s maddening to see our voices silenced. By failing to acknowledge the coalition of Chinatown voices that have supported this project and worked to secure meaningful community benefits, Steve Lopez\u2019s column presents an incomplete narrative that does a disservice to Los Angeles Times readers and the community itself.<\/p>\n
Enrique Pineda, Los Angeles<\/p>\n
..<\/p>\n
To the editor: I read Lopez\u2019s column and thought, \u201chere we go again.\u201d As a lifelong San Fernando Valley resident, access to parks isn\u2019t something we take for granted. The Valley has some of the worst park deficits in the Los Angeles area. In neighborhoods like Van Nuys and Panorama City, families have access to only a fraction of the parkland that experts recommend.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I don\u2019t understand why leaders are being urged to treat a great downtown park as if making it accessible is a bad thing. Public parks should serve all Angelenos. A family from the Valley should feel just as welcome spending an afternoon there as anyone else \u2014 whether they\u2019re heading to a Dodgers game or simply looking for a place where their kids can run and play.<\/p>\n
With so little green space across our city, every great park should be shared. Is L.A. not for all?<\/p>\n
Steve Martinez, Panorama City<\/p>\n
..<\/p>\n
To the editor: I live just a short distance from Los Angeles State Historic Park. Despite living so close, getting to the park has never been as easy as it should be.<\/p>\n
Lopez\u2019s column focused almost exclusively on those who oppose the project. I wish he had also spoken with residents like me who see this as an investment in our neighborhood and an opportunity to make the park more welcoming and accessible for the people that live beside it every day.<\/p>\n
Heidi Rodriguez, Los Angeles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aug. 4, 2026 6 AM PT To the editor: As someone who has spent years working together with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[4329,13005,48641,117797,37900,2072,48,52,51,47,50,49,63,290,1424,25647,1833,1506,288,169030,10605],"class_list":["post-423584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-access","tag-chinatown","tag-column","tag-community-organization","tag-dodger-stadium-gondola","tag-editor","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-neighborhood","tag-opportunity","tag-panorama-city","tag-park","tag-project","tag-resident","tag-steve-lopez","tag-voice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}