LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Los Angeles held five Tom LaBonge Day of Service cleanups across town on Saturday in honor of a former city councilor known as Mr. Los Angeles, who died on January 7th.
City officials spoke at 8:45 a.m. at each event, and the clean-up began at 9:20 a.m.
The cleaning locations included:
- Silver Lake Meadows, 2300 Silver Lake Blvd., where Mayor Eric Garcetti, Alderman Mitch O’Farrell, LaBonge’s widow Brigid LaBonge, and Nelson Mejia of the Department of Water and Power initiated the cleanup
- Griffith Park Trails Cafe, 2333 Fern Dell Drive, where City Attorney Mike Feuer, Controller Ron Galperin, Councilor Nithya Raman, and Board of Public Works President Greg Good spoke to initiate the cleanup
- The Watts Towers, 1765 E. 107th St., where Councilor Monica Rodriguez and Board of Public Works President Pro Tempore Mike Davis spoke to begin the cleanup
- Algin Sutton Park, Vermont Vista, 8800 S. Hoover St., where Councilor Marqueece Harris-Dawson, LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox, and Recreation and Parks General Manager Mike Shull spoke at the start of the purge
- Victory Outreach Church in North Hollywood, where Councilor Paul Krekorian and Pastor Raymond Solorzano spoke to initiate the cleanup
The event celebrates LaBonge’s 68th birthday on Wednesday. LaBonge died on January 7th at his Silver Lake home at the age of 67.
He represented the Council’s Fourth District from 2001-15, overseeing an area that included Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, the Miracle Mile, the Fairfax District, and much of Hollywood, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Griffith Park.
Known for his love of the trails and hills of Griffith Park, he was often spotted hiking the park and taking it upon himself to clear up trash and debris in the community.
During his tenure, he expanded the park by 500 acres and was involved in the restoration and expansion of the Griffith Observatory.
After his death, Los Angeles rushed to honor him in various ways. The LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority dedicated the future Wilshire / La Brea station to the extension of the Purple Line. The city’s 311 information line added an audio clip from LaBonge to their system
LA has also renamed Mount Hollywood Summit in Griffith Park, which LaBonge hiked frequently, to “Tom LaBonge Summit”.
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