GENAI, LITTLE TOKYO

"Amy Inouye is notorious for her historical preservation in Highland park. Most significantly, the giant22-foot tall Chicken Boy statue on North Figueroa. It lies as a residence in HLP near the Highland ParkTheater, a grievance in the community after a century of operation. Amy has been a community activist for the past few decades and works as an active member in the LA Conservatory. Although Chicken Boy is beloved, it wasn't an easy process to establish his place. There was an extraneous, tedious process of paperwork and authorization by the city to find it a new home after its previous owner of Chicken Boy Fried Chicken Boy Restaurant passed away. Since 2007 it has been relocated. Amy said, “It’s as if he's always been here... people accepted him.”But there have been plenty of other changes in the community, including other businesses shutting down and new ones reinventing Highland Park. It’s notable that there have been “lots of changes” that's been implementing an economic divide between businesses that have remained family friendly community spaces and new, retro bars and/or vintage stores that pop up in flocks. Though, it's important to recognize the generation of older business owners dying out because of the money and maintenance needed to keep a business flourishing. It's been a grueling process of businesses shutting down and people seeing the opportunity to open up places that bring an abundance of revenue, along with a new crowd."