LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Aditi Mahmud and her family moved from Bangladesh to Los Angeles more than a decade ago, they landed in a gritty neighborhood that has long been a haven for Korean immigrants.
Now, the graduate student and other Bangladeshis want to carve out a special district in Koreatown and name it for their own homeland.
The proposal has shocked and angered Korean-American leaders who have worked for years to turn Koreatown into a Southern California cultural destination.
"There is a pride in calling this Koreatown," said Chang Lee, chairman of the Korean-American Federation of Los Angeles. "The residents and businesspeople, when they heard the news, they were appalled."
As first proposed last year, the district would have cut a half-mile swath through the heart of the nation's largest Korean enclave, a bustling area of Buddhist temples, restaurants and businesses a few miles west of downtown.
Since then, both sides have agreed to create Little Bangladesh on the fringe of Koreatown instead of within its core. But the actual boundaries are still being debated, and a final agreement has yet to be reached.
The turf fight is unusual for Los Angeles, where roughly 40 percent of residents were born abroad.
Over the years, the City Council has granted special district designations to a number of areas, including Chinatown, Thai Town and Little Ethiopia after residents filed petitions seeking the status.
There are no direct financial benefits, but neighborhoods can raise their profiles and perhaps their economic fortunes by being noted on maps and streets signs and getting mentions in the media.
"It's how the rest of the world sees that area," said Paul Ong, a professor of urban planning, social welfare and Asian-American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. "It gives people a sort of mental map."
Some communities have gone a step further and created assessment districts where merchants agree to tax themselves to fund cleanups, security and cultural events.
Koreatown is already one of the most high-profile areas in the city, but it didn't seek an official designation from the city until February — after the proposed creation of Little Bangladesh.
"I think it is ridiculous for us not to be recognized by the city when everyone de facto does," said Grace Yoo, executive director of the Korean American Coalition.
Immigrants from the nation now known as Bangladesh began arriving in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, with the Koreatown neighborhood becoming a first-stop for many who needed help getting a start in the U.S.
In recent years, more Bangladeshis have left the poor nation with the help of a U.S. government green card lottery, said Preeti Sharma, a community advocate with the nonprofit South Asian Network.
The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the number of Bangladeshis in Los Angeles County at 3,000. Consulate officials say the figure is actually closer to 50,000.
An estimated 200,000 Koreans live in Los Angeles County.
Mohammed Miah said he wrote the proposal to create Little Bangladesh to increase understanding of his country and his culture. Others see it as a way to lure visitors from outside the neighborhood to its shops, restaurants and events.
"It will bring more crowds," said Majib Siddiquee, chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the Bangladesh Association of California. "The thing we agreed with the Korean community is, this should be an example to see how beautiful the communities can coexist in one little area."
Mahmud believes Little Bangladesh would be a source of pride for immigrants, including her parents.
"They came here for education, for me, for their only child," said Mahmud, whose parents still live in the two-bedroom apartment they rented when they arrived. "They need some sort of recognition that they can still be Bangladeshi here and lift their head up high."
Han Dong-yeop, a Korean sushi chef, just shrugged his shoulders at the prospect of a new name for the neighborhood where he has worked for nearly a decade.
"Why not?" he said. "We live together anyway."
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