The real estate slowdown hasn’t hit the 500 block of Broadway, and that’s good news for workers such as Alejandro Barboza, an electrician who’s working on a project to renovate one of the old buildings on the block. Barboza says he studied at a vocational school for three years in his hometown of Mexicali, Mexico, before arriving in Los Angeles 14 years ago. He then worked as an apprentice at several large companies in the area, he says, adding to his knowledge and working his way up the ladder of his trade. These days Barboza commutes from his home in South Los Angeles to the Downtown worksite each day. He says he’s happy to be busy on Broadway because he enjoys the work and is earning money to take care of his wife, Maria, and the couple’s son, Alejandro, Jr. We hope that the real estate market begins showing signs of an upswing soon, creating plenty more projects in need of skilled workers after the job on Broadway and others in the Downtown area are completed.
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The Los Angeles Garment & Citizen is the community newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods, including the Arts District, Chinatown, Echo Park, Little Tokyo, Pico-Union, Silver Lake and Westlake.The Garment & Citizen reaches more than 20,000 readers weekly, an audience that spans the demographic makeup of the city and serves as the leading edge of statewide and national trends.
