Skip to main content

Liska Mendoza: Director, Oakwood Recreation Center

Support Provided By
venice_01main_LiskaMendoza

The only public green space in the highly dense neighborhood of Oakwood is the Oakwood Recreation Center. A decade or so ago, before curfews and injunctions were put in place, the park was a haven for drug peddlers and prostitutes. Today, the center is turning its face back to the community, providing services and creating a neutral zone for residents, dog handlers and RV's alike.

Liska Mendoza - The Center

The Center
"About 90 per cent of my staff is from the community - they work here and grew up here. That's very unique."

Liska Mendoza - Build Community

Building Community
"The respect that you give is the respect that you receive."

Liska Mendoza - For the Children

For the Children
"I take pride in making sure that teens, and the children of the community, always have something to do and a place to go; that it's actually a functioning place that's consistent."

Liska Mendoza- Teena Marie

Teena Marie
"We actually had the same piano that she used to play as a child... She can come back and say, I was here and I played the piano here."

Support Provided By
Read More
Ed Fuentes, artwork Colette Miller (preview)

In Remembrance of Arts Journalist and Advocate Ed Fuentes

Collaborator and friend James Daichendt remembers Ed Fuentes, a longtime advocate of the arts, who passed away this week.
mount_baldy_photo_by_daniel_medina

The San Gabriels: The Remarkable History of L.A.'s Threatened National Monument

An exploration of the rich history and culture of the San Gabriel Mountains and its eponymous river.
Boyle Heights Street Vending. Credits: Feng Yuan

Is Los Angeles Finally Legalizing Street Vending?

Trend-setting entrepreneurs versus “illegal” street vendors is a confusing dichotomy that has become the center of many conversations.