Filming Downtown

The First Meeting: Geoffrey Smith, Director of Community Relations for FilmLA, takes notes at a community meeting held at the Little Tokyo Public Library. The meeting was requested by gallery owner Bert Green (left) and led by the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC) to answer growing complaints on filming Downtown. Residents and business owners in the Historic Core and Gallery Row voiced concerns that included loss of parking, misuse of permits, and street closures by film crews–– with the most discussed item was the lack of notification. One of the more interesting facts came from Smith who reported that the Historic Core is still on the books by the City of LA, as far as filming is concerned, as "commercial" allowing fewer restrictions than a residential area.