Los Angeles Metro Area Leafers

Lopton said:

Was browsing plugshare and noticed a new blink fast charger listed in Los Angeles, any have any more info on it yet?

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From the aerial photos it looks like a warehouse where it is stored. he-he.

"Off network" makes me suspicious of it actually being real...

Lopton said:

Was browsing plugshare and noticed a new blink fast charger listed in Los Angeles, any have any more info on it yet?
1 Fast charger - off network

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Lopton said:

Was browsing plugshare and noticed a new blink fast charger listed in Los Angeles, any have any more info on it yet?

Click to expand...

Supposed to be a Blink QC going in there according to the Blink guy who came (yet again) to service my home unit.
Maybe I'll go check it out tomorrow.

I did go to check out this QC. It is at 676 Mateo in the industrial area of eastern downtown Los Angeles. As I drove closer, I recognized where it was but I drove right past it. I looped back on Mateo to where there was a street level pay parking lot with an attendant. This lot is directly across the street from the Biscuit Company and Toy Factory condo lofts. There is also an eating place called Church and State. I asked him, hey are there electric car charging stations around here? And he said, yes in this lot! But he wanted me to pay to get in ($4 flat rate). I said, I just want to look at them. He still wanted me to pay. So I got out my wallet, prepared to pay. He then said, how long will you be? And I said 2 minutes! So he let me in without paying. Then he walked over to the back of the lot where the stations were and we had a very good chat about the stations, etc. There are 10 L2 Blinks along a back brick wall with good signage. Not sure if they are operational though I could see the logos were up. He thought they were not yet. The QC is a big Blink with 2 nozzles serving 2 parking places at the end of the row of L2s. It did not look operational and was cone-d off. It is a privately owned lot (a Mr. Ubaldi or something like that). It is basically open during the day, all days of the week but not sure about Sundays, during business hours. During the week, it closes at 3 pm and reopens at 5 pm and then on weekend nights it may stay open until 1-2 am. Night rates are $5 flat rate. The attendant did not think there would be a separate charge for use of the charging station.
All the stations looked very close to being operational to me. I plan to go back in a week or so, pay the $4 and take my sweet time checking it all out. As it was, I had said "2 minutes" so I did not want to press my luck with the attendant. We left each other on very good terms. He asked a lot of questions about the LEAF. I showed him the charging ports, etc. Nice guy.
Looks like another QC is going to be available in SoCal. Too bad it won't be 24/7.

Kataphn said:

I did go to check out this QC. It is at 676 Mateo in the industrial area of eastern downtown Los Angeles.

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Ooh, cool! I have a deal at Dodger Stadium on August 11th. It would be great to be able to refuel there for the journey home.

That is a very odd location for one.

Kataphn said:

I did go to check out this QC. It is at 676 Mateo in the industrial area of eastern downtown Los Angeles....It is a privately owned lot (a Mr. Ubaldi or something like that).

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Thanks Kat! You save me a trip tomorrow. I was told by the Blink guy that they are owned by Linear City, the developers that did the Biscuit Company Lofts and other stuff in that neighborhood. I also heard they were supposed to be open to the public. That's a lot of L2 stations. The QC is handy for me when I'm coming back from the West Side, combining an LAX run with other points. Looking forward to trying it out. Quite a few restaurants on 7th IIRC. Sure, it would be nicer if it was closer to the Harbor Freeway but I'm just happy to have one within 20 miles. Hope they can keep it running and accessible.
I'm fine with the $4 parking fee.

sparky said:

I'm fine with the $4 parking fee.

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With ideas about $15 per QC being acceptable thrown around this forum $4 sounds like a bargain to me. I doubt the QC will be free though, maybe just the L2s.

I need to go to Fullerton next week Saturday. My destination is 2 blocks from the Fullerton Metrolink station.

I don't see any J-Plugs nearby on either RECARGO.COM, ChargePoint.Net, or Maps.Google.Com. EVChargerNews.Com lists the Fullerton Metrolink station as having a dead AVCON and a marginally working LPI (Large Paddle Inductive). If it were an SPI we'd just take the RAV4-EV!

Any local knowledge on this site would be appreciated. Even access to a 110 plug would be useful.

Plugshare.com shows two locations nearby but no reviews-

1000 E Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton, California 92831, United States
Phone (888) 758-4389
Charger Type EV Plug (240v J1772)

Walgreens
1250 E Chapman Ave
Fullerton, California 92831, United States
Phone (888) 758-4389
About Walgreens @ 1250 E Chapman, Fullerton, CA 92831
Charger Type EV Plug (240v J1772)

I too checked out the newly installed row of charging stations in the lot on Mateo St. in what is referred to as downtown L.A.'s "Arts District" - or the old warehouse district east of downtown.

I decided to email Linear City Development, the owners of the property, to ask about their practices and policies regarding the EVSE. I got this reply from one of Linear City's principals, Yuval Bar-Zemer:

Hi Tim,
We have our 10 level II chargers up and running. they belong to the Blink network so you need a blink card to start charging.
at this point the charging is free and in a month or so it will be part of the typical blink rate system.
The parking lot is serving a number of restaurants in the area and will be attended by a parking attended every day from 11:00 to 3:00 and from 5:00 to midnight.
Parking fee is $5.00 at the evening and $4.00 at lunch time.
 
We hope to see you in the neighborhood.
 
Yuval
 
these are the restaurants in the area:
Church & State
Little Bear
The daily Dose café
Pour House - wine bar
Pizza Nista
and our newly opened bread lounge (the best bread in LA!)

Unfortunately, he doesn't mention the QC at all, but perhaps the reference to the "typical Blink rate system" is a clue to what we can expect. I have no idea what that means - does anyone else?

timhebb said:

Unfortunately, he doesn't mention the QC at all, but perhaps the reference to the "typical Blink rate system" is a clue to what we can expect. I have no idea what that means - does anyone else?

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Part time chargers that close midday plus "typical Blink" spells trouble. Throw in interesting neighborhood to hang out in, plus a parking fee and Blink fee...

"Interesting" is a fair description of the area. Actually, most of the restaurants and bars mentioned are quite upscale and their clientele are at least heeled, or even well-heeled - a mix of not-so-starving artists, lawyers and business people from the downtown area and other would-be bohemians, not a bad group at all. "Little Bear" is a spacious, open, bright tavern specializing in Belgian beers on draft. I dropped about $70 there one afternoon buying a few rounds with a friend - it's not cheap! You can Google the "Church and State" restaurant across the street and turn up some rather glowing reviews.

My sense of it is that if the EV community reaches out to Linear City's executives with a smooth blend of praise and suggestions, they will come to understand our needs better and, hopefully, make changes for the better, over time. I recommend contacting Yuval Bar-Zemer at [email protected]. He is a partner in the company, which is well-respected and has developed several admired and influential real estate projects in the area.

Let's keep monitoring and using this facility and patronize the businesses it serves - after all, Linear City has a clear linear logic in offering these stations as incentive to generate business - and let's stay in touch with Linear City, both encouraging and making recommendations with regard to their EVSE. As a group, we should have a cumulative influence over time that a few isolated contacts couldn't hope to. There is a trade off here: we want something, they want something. Let's try to meet them halfway to further our interest, and make sure they know we are stepping up.

Here is an email i just received (June 5th) from Yuval Bar-Zemer, referred to in the previous post.

Hi Tim,

The FCDC is the 2nd install in California and the first in Southern California. It will be commissioned this week and can be used their after.
Initially it will be free and later it will be charged according to the Blink charging rates. (I do not know what this rate will be yet).
We will certainly expand the hours of the parking lot as the demand will pick up.
I am planning few events to get the word out to the EV community.
I am also planning on acquiring another leaf and make it available as a shared car in the community.

Yuval
Yuval Bar-Zemer
Linear City Development LLC

Am going to go try it then next week :mrgreen:

The Blink website now shows the DC charger "available"

-Matt

Lopton said:

The Blink website now shows the DC charger "available"

-Matt

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Woo Hoo !!! I'll be there Wed, after Cypress.

I stopped by the lot tonight, the quick charger is a 2 plug unit, and is working great. The lot fee is $5. The security guard was very friendly and even convinced us to walk around the block which has a couple of trendy and fun little bars and restaurants.

-Matt

Lopton said:

The Blink website now shows the DC charger "available"

-Matt

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Booooyaaaah !
I DO love me some DC

I went by the QC today on Mateo St. in eastern downtown LA at about 9 am. The lot was closed (no attendant and rolling gate closed). Posted hours say the lot will open at 11:30 am. I thought I would need to come back then but then someone went in, opening the rolling gate and I went in behind her/him. I used the QC no problem. You need a Blink card to activate it. It asked first if you want 60% or 80% charge, then has "more options" where you have choices up to 100%. I went from 59% to 80% in 10 minutes of charging. No cost for charging as yet. There is a large box (about 5 feet tall) that contains I suppose all the electrical guts of the QC. It emits a low roaring sound when the QC is on.
I exited by means of the far rolling gate. As you approach it, it will open by itself. I checked the Blink ap on my Iphone and it showed "not available" while I was charging.

So now we have used all 3 QCs available in SoCal!