To people outside the Northeast San Fernando Valley, the handball court right next to Ritchie Valens Pool in Pacoima may not seem all that special. But to local long-time residents, the court carries a unique piece of history.
As a clean-up event was held the morning of Sept. 19 to pick up trash and repaint the handball court and the nearby playground and benches, Marleen Martinez Aparicio was there, along with members of her family and several other community members, to recount how the court originated through the efforts of her father, E. Lanny Martinez.
Born in 1928 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Lanny was a migrant worker, a Korean War veteran, an ex-convict and a former heroin addict. In 1968, he and three other addicts, a priest and a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteer went on a retreat to the Sierra Nevada to kick their drug habit. When they returned, the group came together to form El Proyecto del Barrio.
Today, it’s a large nonprofit organization that provides health, employment, behavioral health and child development services with several locations across Los Angeles.
But it was born from a grassroots program that operated out of a halfway house on Paxton Street and an office on Maclay Avenue, where they helped people struggling with addiction. The need was great, especially during a time when there weren’t resources and the stigma was even far worse than what people face today.
On El Proyecto del Barrio’s website, it states they’ve been helping underserved populations since 1971, which Marleen refutes. Instead, she said that’s when the group became a nonprofit and started to accept federal funds for drug programs. Her father was against using federal funds, as he felt it put more of an emphasis on numbers than people.
“My father did not have the education required … when dealing with federal funds, so he stepped down and became the assistant director,” Marleen said. “People don’t know how [El Proyecto del Barrio] got started, so that’s why it’s so important for us to let people know. It started with four drug addicts who kicked their habit.”
In 1972, Lanny went before the LA Park and Recreation Commission to get permission to build a handball court in Pacoima. Seeing that other ex-convicts in the neighborhood didn’t have the money to get to other parks with handball courts, he decided to build one locally. Once he got a permit, he raised $2,775, brought in workers from the community and completed the project by May 1973.
To this day, this handball court is the only one in LA that was built by residents rather than the city.
She shares this history not just so that community members can learn about her father’s contributions, but in the hope that other people who feel that they can’t make a difference due to the circumstances in their lives can take inspiration from his life.
“I came from a drug addict parent,” Marleen said. “I don’t want people to think that they can’t do this. … I want us to be proud. Look what we [managed to do].”
But over recent years, she just couldn’t ignore the wear and tear. Much of the concrete on the outer edges of the court has deteriorated, and large cracks on the wall can be easily seen.
Over the course of three years, Marleen has talked with both LA City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and Christina Conyers, senior recreation director at Ritchie Valens Recreation Center, about giving the court a much-needed makeover.
Marleen recalled bluntly telling Conyers, “You’re treating me like a stepchild because over on that side [with the rec center], it’s beautiful,” compared to the unkempt side with the court and the pool.
Then two weeks ago, she was informed that through Shine LA, a movement under Mayor Karen Bass to beautify LA neighborhoods, the handball court would be repainted. Around 60 volunteers showed up, including people from Kaiser Permanente.
“People use this park on a daily basis, and it’s really important to the people who live here to have space that is not only usable but beautiful,” Conyers said. “By having events like this, I think it really highlights and shows the people of Pacoima that yes, Richie Valens Park matters. … It just makes the space and your time here more enjoyable when it looks good.”
With the cleanup effort and early talks of painting a mural on the wall that will include Lanny’s portrait, Marleen hopes that more community members will be using the court.
“I would like to see tournaments because it’s hard for people who are low-income to afford baseball and football [gear] because it costs hundreds of dollars,” Marleen said.
“What [the volunteers] did was great, but we just need a little bit more construction on it.”