The LA2050 competition recently awarded 10 winners $100,000 to help remake their neighborhood. One of the many deserving applicants who sadly didn't take home a prize was Yancey Quinones, a Cypress Park local and current owner of the Antigua Coffee House on Figueroa and Loreta. Quinones managed to make much of his proposal--opening up a fenced-off pedestrian tunnel and turning it into an underground art gallery--come true on his own, reports Eastsider LA. As a child, Quinones saw the tunnel, which traverses Figueroa right outside his coffee house, boarded up to keep out gang activity. As the area blossomed with new businesses, residents, and street art, Quinones braved the bureaucracy to open up the tunnel. Late last year, he finally got the go-ahead from Councilmember Ed Reyes's office and was awarded a $9,000 grant from the Cypress Park Neighborhood Council to make his subterranean dreams come true. The tunnel opens to the public tomorrow, featuring pieces from local artist Jose Ramirez and a musical performance by Ramirez's band--Quinones hopes to have fresh shows in the tunnel every month.
· Underground Art Scene: An new vision for a Cypress Park tunnel [Eastsider LA]
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