ANGELINO HEIGHTS, Calif. — The streets around Bellevue Avenue in Angelino Heights are marked with rubber. Whether it’s from burnouts, stoppies or donuts, the asphalt near some of the most iconic LA landmarks in the "Fast and Furious" movies bears witness to its status as a mecca for amateur racers.
But on Friday, the neighborhood will be the scene of a major protest. During a shoot day for the tenth installment of the blockbuster film franchise, community members and safety advocates will join forces to demand the studio hit the brakes.
“The community has been requesting help and nothing has been done,” said protest organizer and Streets Are For Everyone executive director, Damian Kevitt.
SAFE is one of a handful of safety groups that responded to requests for help from Angelino Heights residents, who have long complained to city officials that their streets are a playground for "Fast and Furious" copycats, endangering their safety by speeding through residential streets and keeping people awake with noisy exhaust.
Over the course of two decades and nine "Fast and Furious" films so far, the Vin Diesel character Dom Toretto lives in a pale blue craftsman on Kensington Road, where he keeps the prized 1970 Dodge Charger he often races. In real life, that house was being prepped by the "Fast 10" film crew Wednesday, with staff unloading gear from a box truck out front and police officers standing watch on the street.
Around the corner, in front of Bob’s Market, tourists bought snacks and posed in front of the movie landmark, which, on Friday, will be the meeting spot for the Angelino Heights Street Racing Protest while "Fast 10" is being filmed around the corner. The protest will take place in two parts: from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and again from 5 to 10 p.m. at Marion Park, a sliver of grass outside the classic LA bodega.
“We’re here to uplift the health of the community and to call attention to the fact that NBCUniversal is making billions on these movies, yet there is no social responsibility for the results of those movies, not only in Angelino Heights but across all of Southern California,” Kevitt said.
"We have asks from this protest," said Kevitt, whose group recently helped sway the city to close a section of road in Griffith Park to cars.
SAFE would like the Department of Public Works to re-engineer some streets in Angelino Heights to prevent burnouts. It would also like the Los Angeles Police Department to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for street racing and for the California legislature to adopt legislation that allows automated speed enforcement to slow reckless drivers.
Perhaps most of all, it would like NBCUniversal to invest some of the profits it's made from the "Fast and Furious" franchise back into the community.
"The glorification of street racing in the movies and in Hollywood is resulting in an increase in illegal street racing and sideshows," he said. "This phenomenon has got to change."
NBCUniversal did not respond to a request for comment.
The protest comes as the city struggles to reign in illegal street takeovers, sideshows and street races. In the last year, street racing increased 27%, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The city also saw a 21% increase in serious injuries and a 30% increase in traffic fatalities. Excessive speed is often a contributing factor, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.