On Monday, September 20, 2010 from 5-7 pm, at the northwest corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Rose Avenue in Venice there will be a “Santa Monica Airport Peace and Quiet Vigil”.
The public vigil is being held to coincide with the temporary closure of Santa Monica Airport (SMO) for runway maintenance, when all aircraft operations will cease for four full days starting 9:00 PM, Sunday, September 19 through 7:00 AM, Friday, September 23.
Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes Venice and other West Los Angeles SMO-impacted neighborhoods, will join residents from both Los Angeles and Santa Monica at the public gathering. Neighborhoods which are being affected by noise, air pollution and safety concerns from SMO, including Sunset Park, Ocean Park, Mar Vista, West LA, Cheviot Hills, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Venice, are being invited to attend.
The event is being sponsored by Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution (CRAAP). CRAAP Co-founder and Director, Martin Rubin says, “We want to give residents in the neighborhoods surrounding Santa Monica Airport the opportunity to celebrate the peace that is possible when we’re free of airport pollution and noise. We want residents to imagine a future for the Westside where peace, quiet and cleaner air is possible, not just for a few days, but permanently.”
Rubin says that SMO has impacted the lives of Westside residents for decades, and that residents surrounding the airport have for years complained about noise the airport generates, and more recently about safety hazards, toxic jet pollution and lead pollution from piston aircraft.
Laura Silagi, Co-Chair of the Venice Neighborhood Council’s Santa Monica Airport Committee, says, “The location for the peace and quiet vigil at Rose Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard in Venice was selected because the area is heavily impacted by jet and piston aircraft departures from Santa Monica Airport. But this event is for everyone on both sides of the Santa Monica border to come together and enjoy the peace, health and quiet of having this airport out of our lives.”
