Wave Staff Report
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Helping South Los Angeles merge into the green energy future, PVJOBS celebrated the area’s first electric vehicle charging station Oct. 21 on the corner of Main and East 41st streets, along with City Councilman Curren Price.
“Here in District 9, we are frequently overlooked,” Price said. “And that’s why these types of programs are so important, so vital and so critical.”
The councilman took advantage of the new charging station, parking his Mustang electric vehicle in the PVJOBS lot and noting he was glad to have another station closer than the ones at the Newton Community Police Station or at City Hall.
“These electrical vehicle stations are going to improve our fight against harmful effects of climate change and pollution that as you and I know disproportionally affect communities of color,” Price added. “Having universal charging stations in our neighborhood is going to be a game changer.”
Price thanked PVJOBS for hosting the station and noted that his district is making strides to create more green spaces to improve the local air quality, pointing to the greenway being created along Slauson Avenue and the Sen. Bill Greene Memorial Park on the corner of Figueroa Street and Slauson Avenue.
“You remember that corner’s been vacant 40 years,” he said. “Truth is, our neighborhoods deserve to be prioritized and these groundbreaking efforts, including these parks and now this latest partnership with PVJOBS and Tesla is just what we need.”
The chargers at the PVJOBS station are universally adaptable and will take three hours to fully charge most vehicles. An L.A. Department of Water and Power rebate program, together with engineers at VanZwieten Electric made it all possible for PVJOBS to host the chargers, according to the organization’s Executive Director Mary Taylor.
“It was truly a labor of love,” Taylor said of the project. ““PVJOBS is proud to offer this affordable EV station to our community. As a Tesla owner, I know ‘charge anxiety’ is real. No one wants to feel like they might not make it home because their battery is low.”
She noted that there are too few charging stations located east of the Harbor (110) freeway and south of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.
“These newly installed Tesla universal charging stations will become a valuable, reliable resource to the community, right here in the PVJOBS parking lot,” said James “Roc” Farmer, PVJOBS OSHA trainer and gang interventionist.
“We have always been future-oriented at PVJOBS, helping to build green buildings on community college campuses 20 years ago and now I’m proud that we can host this charger station in our community,” Taylor said.
PVJOBS (formerly Playa Vista Job Opportunities and Business Services) was formed in 1998 to provide at-risk residents with construction job opportunities at the Playa Vista development site. Since then, the nonprofit organization has become a national leader in job programs serving at-risk individuals.
