LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Councilman Kevin de León announced Monday the Upper Los Angeles River Watershed Area Steering Committee has recommended $25.1 million for the Hollenbeck Park Lake Rehabilitation Project, which would restore one of the city's oldest and most iconic parks.
"This project, a clean, safe water funded program, will improve the water quality, and enhance safety within the park and the community," de León said Monday morning at a news conference.
The councilman said the project is key to undoing environmental injustices that have plagued the Boyle Heights community for generations. It will address the park's needs through dredging, reconstruction of the lake, mitigating flood risks, enhancing recreational opportunities at the park and within the neighborhood, improve air quality, reduce head island effects and increase carbon sequestration, according to his office.
De León said the $25.1 million will be augmented by nearly $17 million he already secured from Proposition O — the clean water bond which voters passed in 2004 authorizing $500 million for projects that protect public health and the environment — the Clean California Grant and additional state funding to improve the park and the surrounding streets.