Aliso Village was a housing project in Los Angeles, California. It was built in in 1942 and demolished 1999. The 29-acre parcel was replaced by Pueblo del Sol.
The complex was owned and managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.
Location Boyle Heights Los Angeles California 1st Mission Road
Aliso Village Projects Was one of the most impoverished areas of the city, and by the 1930s was considered one of the last remaining slums in the United States. Reformer Jacob Riis had visited The Flats in the early 1910s and declared them worse than anything in New York; a survey conducted by the city in the 1937 deemed 20% of the city's dwellings "unfit for human habitation," including most of The Flats. During World War II, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) razed The Flats and built Aliso Village projects in their place. Like most of HACLA's 1940s projects, Aliso Village were hailed at the time of their construction as some of the finest examples of the principles espoused by the garden city movement, and were racially integrated to boot.
Soon after the end the war, Aliso Village lost most of their non-Latino populations, and were increasingly populated by Mexican immigrants. With the river on one side and a massive rail yard on another, the construction of the East Los Angeles Interchange further isolated them from the rest of the city, and the closure of the Pacific Electric Railway dramatically reduced the mobility of many of the projects' residents. By the 1970s, overcrowding had eliminated much of Aliso Village's once-vaunted green spaces, physical deterioration had become rampant, and gangs were an increasing problem. In the 1980s the residents of Aliso Village began to organize with the support of Dolores Mission Church and its community Organization UNO and began to address these problems. By the late eighties the residents of the two housing projects had developed a network of community groups that pushed for better services and began negotiating truces between the different gangs, thus reducing the level of violence. In 1996, HACLA wrote off the projects, against the residents desires; Aliso Village was demolished and replaced with the New Urbanist, Pueblo del Sol "workforce housing" project. In the process two thirds of the residents of the housing projects were displaced in a situation reminiscing of the Chavez Ravine incident. Crime
Aliso Village, which combine to form the largest public housing complex west of the Mississippi. Aliso is the poorest parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. According to statistics compiled by the Los Angeles Police Department, Aliso village is also one of the city's most violent neighborhoods. Last year, the highest concentration of gang activity in Los Angeles occurred in the Hollenbeck division--and the highest concentration of gang activity in Hollenbeck was in the mile-square-plus Aliso housing projects. If life in Los Angeles is harsh and scary, it's scariest inAliso village
ELA 13 Dukes was one of the strongest and oldest gangs in the Aliso Village Housing Projects. Having incorporated two smaller gangs, known as "AV Fellas" and "AV Rockers" plus some members of a small gang known as "Alcapone" the gang grew stronger and expanded their territory.
Back in the day(1980's), gang attire included jerseys to show gang pride and affiliation. Football games were the norm whenever 2 or more gangs had to settle a dispute. The games were furious but they allowed gang members to take out their frustrations and small rumbles or fights after the games were the main event. However, no guns or knives were brought to these fights.
Schools Utah street Elementary school WAS LOCATED AT THE CENTER OF ALISO VILLAGE PROJECTS. Utah street school was mainly attended by Aliso Village residents. Pico Aliso and Pico residents had to walk up the hill to 2nd Street Elementary SchoolTHERE WAS ALSO THE FOURTH STREET FLATS GANG
Note There was two extension to Aliso Village. Pico Aliso and Pico Gardens. Even though they were so close, the residents of these communities rarely knew of the other. Cause of Gang warfare, Pico and Pico Aliso residents was rarely seen in Aliso Village. Gang Segregation.
I was allowed and accepted by the fellas by one guy carlos hernandes whom i considered our leader ; his life was taken by a gang named thirseda, brooklyn and sota area gang i missed him then and i miss him now ; iguess it has some truth to the saying "only the good die young" i have a life time of stories of my home in the village for 32 years before i had the confidence to get a job , i never seen my dad go to work or my mom as i went to school at utah we were on wel-fare as we grew out of wel-fare they my parents went on ssi and those of us stragglers in my family went on the same afraid to fly so i guess wel-fare was'nt so fare after all huh...my dad was one of the kids growing up in the flats before aliso was born...anyways thanks for your ear from someone who was thier...
Guest
2. 06-12-2010 20:56
My family was born and raised in aliso and in pico.. myself was born and raised there along with 6 other siblings. everyone knew my family the ortiz's. my uncles and my aunts.. it hurts to see that the projects are gone! and we had so many good memories and bad but mostly good ones! we left the projects in 1986 but when we would go visit all our old and dearest friends still around.. god bless the projects! am proud to say that am a aliso baby! born and raised! you can take the girl out the hood but cant take the hood out of the girl! i have my memories
Guest
3. 02-01-2011 14:54
Aliso Village
Tears well up
when I think back
I grew up there
Had my first beer there
My first real crush there
-first kiss
first love there
green lodgings with noisy tenants
-welfare tenants with noisy children
sweatshop mothers paving the way
latch-key children learning to play
Saturday night parties,
-Sunday morning crudas
-Menudo te lo cura
Bullets flying across the schoolyard
babies crying tugging at their mother's dress
always trying to take away the stress (smokin' weed oh yes!)
hanging on to hope......
wanting out, the enemy is near
black & white soldiers, handcuffs, guns, and shoes of steel
Helicopters covered my moonshine, falling stars, poetic nights
death a reality
addiction a necessity
teens knocked up a formality
A Jesuit hero....a miracle
a drive-by massacre
a mother's anguish
guardian angels floating uncontrollably
a full scholarship, a dream come true
red-stained sidewalks
chalk outlines....
-a poet
-a poem
-a life
I close my eyes
and it all comes back to me
my life
my past
my reality
my barrio
Aliso Village
Rest in Peace.
Guest
4. 19-01-2011 02:45
project child. any reunions coming up? would like to know. thanks never be ashamed becuse you grew up in the getto
Guest
5. 17-05-2011 06:01
Hello Family & Friends: I am a member of the Stuarts family. And lived on Paseo El Cornel Street. My mother is Mrs. Annie Jean Walker-Stuart, the daughter of Mary (Mae) Francis Walker who lived in New Aliso-Pico. My two uncle's were Roy Rodgers Walker who was the baby. Then their was Johnathan Wesley Walker, a lot of you know him as Blackboy, father of Johnathan Jr. (John John or Flap as we called him). Blackboy, oldes child was Daliah Walker. Anyway, I am 47 years of age. Their was so much left out here of our Village history that escaped someone's reality of truth. Not once was there any mention here about my African heritage there, I would like to call that mind bottling and lack of information not only to that writer, but to those who seeks the truth and knowledge... My eldest brother Lenzy Stuart played basketball for Rooselvelt High. He was the best in Los Angeles back in 1967 and 68 and made pre all American. He wasn't mentioned among a few others. Their was black fang there too in the 70's and up to the 90's, in which wasn't noted. I am not proud of any of it, but it is the truth (Bloods- Aliso Village Bloods =AVB; then in the mid 70's came 1st Neighborhood Crips, which later turned 1st ECC (East Coast Crips). So, when you talk about Aliso, Pico please don't forget about the African Americans there. Every year collectively we have a reunion with one another, theirs no color lines so please let's keep it this way.
Guest
6. 07-06-2011 21:16
i live and was raised n aliso village at 6 years old i made money opening the helms dougnut trucks door and all my friends we used to have pickle fights my brother bill save his friends life when he was hit by a train ,rough life but dam good times there still talk to familys from back then the pablo rodriguesfam hardwel fam frazier john joh and carls miss webb gloria dee dee henry i ca go and lot of mmorys there utah elementaanndof course the infamous big lawn wow i had fun
