Falcon supports local community groups by hosting pop-up park in honor of Earth Day on April 25
LOS ANGELES – April 22, 2015 – Falcon Waterfree Technologies is pleased to announce it is sponsoring an upcoming Free Lots Angeles pop-up park, through the work of Kounkuey Design Initiative, a core member of Free Lots Angeles. The group will transform a vacant lot located on Central Avenue and 41st Street into a thriving community hub. The one-day only pop-up park will be hosted a few days after Earth Day on April 25, 2015 and will feature adult and kids workshops, art installations, a Zumba class, live music and more from 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
“As a Los Angeles based company, we are focused on giving back locally and hope that this one-day park has a chance to become a permanent fixture for the community,” said Falcon Waterfree Technologies CEO Simon Davis. “Free Lots Angeles and KDI’s mission to improve underserved communities is commendable and we are honored to be part of it.”
Low-income communities in the City of Los Angeles lack access to green space amenities while hosting a vast network (over 7,500 miles) of streets and a surplus of city-owned, vacant parcels of land. Such spaces attract illegal dumping and other criminal activity, are blemishes on a neighborhood’s appearance, and deplete the positive self-image of communities.
Free Lots Angeles, made up of six Los Angeles based non-profit organizations in partnership with The 9th,Council District, The Mayor’s Great Streets Initiative and its primary funder, CA Endowment: Building Healthy Communities, noticed the excess of vacant land and the community’s desire to do something about it. By working hand-in-hand with the local community, this collaborative is helping to build a permanent space that fits the needs of the local residents and shows that parks do not have to be costly. Each Free Lots Angeles activation is the first step in a vacant lot’s permanent transformation process. The ultimate goals of Free Lots Angeles are to enable long-term transformation of vacant lots for community benefit, in the most resource-poor parts of Los Angeles, and to advocate for the policy change needed to make the transformation process feasible and more efficient.
The Central Avenue Free Lots Angeles activation will provide recreation, performances, art-making, learning, and civic engagement activities throughout the day in a transformed and beautiful environment. The one-day park is located on Central Avenue and 41st Street in Los Angeles and will be available 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. The park and its activities are free to attend and guests can RSVP on Free Lots Angeles Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1036967489663858/.
ABOUT FREE LOTS ANGELES
Free Lots Angeles is a coalition of 6 Los-Angeles-based organizations working together to help communities transform vacant lots in low-income neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles into neighborhood resources. Free Lots Angeles serves as a connector between residents and decision-makers for better utilization of vacant lots in a community, leads a community-driven planning process and acts as a production team for “pop-up” vacant lot transformations that reflect the vision of the local community, and enables long-term transformation of vacant lots for community benefit via policy change, guidance to implementers, and support to FLA members’ permanent projects. Its members include Community Health Councils, T.R.U.S.T. South LA, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, LURNetwork, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, and Kounkuey Design Initiative.
ABOUT KOUNKEY DESIGN INITIATIVE
Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) – a non-profit design and community developments firm that partners with people living in extreme poverty to permanently transform their communities and improve their quality of life. KDI partners with underserved communities in Africa, Latin America, and the United States to design and implement projects that improve the physical environment and simultaneously introduce new economic activity and social development opportunities. www.kounkuey.org
ABOUT FALCON WATERFREE TECHNOLOGIES
Founded in 2000, Los Angeles-based Falcon Waterfree Technologies is the market leader in the waterless urinal market. Falcon has offices in 6 countries and distribution affiliates in more than 50 nations, including marketing partnerships with some of the world’s best known urinal and washroom products manufacturers such as Sloan Valve Company, Bobrick Washroom Equipment, Corona, Ideal Standard and many others. Falcon urinals are in use worldwide in entertainment venues, educational facilities, airports, restaurants, office buildings, and many other types of commercial and governmental facilities. Falcon urinals use a patented cartridge system that can save an annual average of up to 40,000 gallons / 151,000 liters or more of fresh water per urinal. Falcon urinals eliminate most related sewage costs, reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the energy needed to transport water and sewage, and are up to five times more hygienic than flush urinals. Falcon is privately owned by entities of Mapleton Investments and Capricorn Investment Group. For more information visit www.falconwaterfree.com.
