Gondola project at Dodger Stadium sparks gentrification and privacy fears from Chinatown residents

Chinatown residents in Los Angeles are expressing gentrification and privacy concerns regarding the upcoming mile-long gondola project at Dodger Stadium.

The gondola project, backed by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, is a planned mile-long ride that would stretch from Union Station to the Dodgers Stadium. Climate Resolve, an environmental nonprofit organization, is currently overseeing the project.

The ride would be free for anyone with a current Dodgers ticket and could carry approximately 5,000 people per hour. It is expected to keep around 3,000 vehicles out of the parking lot on game days.

“We’re hoping there will be about 50 of these that will whisk people up from Union Station to Dodger Stadium in about seven minutes,” Jonathan Parfey, Climate Resolve’s executive director, told ABC.

The nearby Chinatown residents, however, are not thrilled with the upcoming project and have expressed concerns regarding potential gentrification and major privacy issues.

“It would hurt our neighborhoods. It would put a gondola just 40 feet above my house,” resident Phyllis Ling told ABC. “It would be really difficult to live with this, that invasion of privacy.”

Ling added that she and her neighbors were not initially informed of the project until the environmental review took place. She also said she believes that the gondola ride will increase traffic around her neighborhood.

“We think most people will actually drive to the gondola station,” Ling told CBS News. “It would actually bring more traffic and pollution directly into our neighborhood where the gondola stations are.”

A group called StopTheGondola is trying to prevent the building of the project, arguing that it is a waste of money as the Metro already offers free bus services from Union Station to all Dodger home games.

The nonprofit California Endowment has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Metro in hopes of stopping the project.

The Metro is currently reviewing the project, and environmental inspections still need to be completed. Climate Resolve estimated that the project will be completed sometime in 2027 at the earliest.

“Perhaps it’s something that they should think about the benefits for the entire city rather than the inconvenience to perhaps their backyard enjoyment,” Metro chairperson Ara Najarian told CBS News. “That’s a tough one to sell but it’s something you have to balance a little.”

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