NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS

NEIGHBORHOODS--From the Middle East conflicts to an incredibly divided America, religion plays a most important part in our politics and our lives … and prompts me to tell you about Venice’s Open Temple. 

I was raised until I was 10 years old in the Beverly-Fairfax area of Los Angeles. We affectionately referred to it as The Borscht Belt due to the Eastern European origins of the vast majority of its inhabitants. At 10, my upwardly mobile parents decided to move to Northridge in the northwest end of the San Fernando Valley. It was only then that I found out the rest of the world was not Jewish. 

My family wasn't religious. In fact, I wasn't even bar mitzvahed, when I turned 13. But the pervasive secular liberal Jewish culture that surrounded me, my family, and most of our friends exposed me to a unique way of looking at life- whether expressed in humor, politics or fundamental ideas of fairness- that has continued to manifest itself throughout my life with its roots in the ancient Jewish religion. 

But the dilemma that has always faced the Jews and other ethnicities that value their cultural identities of origin- be it religious or secular- is how can we maintain these religions and cultures and yet integrate ourselves into the dominant amalgamated American culture that up until recently has continued to make America great- again and again- by incorporating that which is best in its component peoples? 

If the key for our or any specie's continued viability is to continue to evolve, this unique American heterogeneous cultural integration mechanism that takes the best of what all our tribes have brought to America seems to have served our survival rather well. So, why have our religions remained so segregated? 

Up until I recently experienced going to Open Temple in Venice, I found that organized religion in general pretty much saw itself as right and other religions or atheists and agnostics as being wrong- even if the G-d of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims is historically the same G-d. 

Open Temple in Venice, CA, is a nascent example of a community that responds to these concerns. An engagement model for "the Jew-ishly curious and those who love us," Open Temple utilizes the mosaic of Los Angeles to breathe life into the Moses of the Bible. In recent services, Muslims and LAPD officers played the roles of G-d, Abraham, and Sarah during the Torah service. A local homeless man "disrupted" the performance artist "playing homeless" as a chastening of the Torah reading's view on expulsion (both men were hired by the rabbi for this interaction). And words from Hamilton's "My Shot" were re-written for the Yom Kippur confessional prayer. 

The community is spearheaded by its founding rabbi Lori Schneide Shapiro who also serves as the community's artistic director. She views Judaism through the lens of a pragmatic spiritual aesthetic designing her approach to melding traditional Jewish ideas with how they now can be applied to making sense in the 21st century. 

Like me, Rabbi Lori grew up with no Jewish identity or upbringing, until as a young adult she traveled around the States and the Middle East in search of meaning and found her Jewish light.

Open Temple is the realization of the constant dream she has had since that discovery of what she calls her Jewish light. She wanted to create a place where people could explore their spirituality through creativity. Rabbi Lori believes that Torah is the blueprint for us to do so. When she moved into Venice, it was clear that there was no community with which to share this vision, so she has created it with Open Temple. 

Rabbi Lori met with community organizers, like One Voice L.A. to learn how to organize. She began a grass roots effort collecting names at the Abbot Kinney Festival and meeting people in house talks and coffee dates. Today Open Temple has over 2000 people on its mailing list and has had over 1000 active participants since September 2016.

As Rabbi Lori points out, "Venice is going through a time of exciting and extreme change. Open Temple seeks to be a forum curating spiritual conversation, where people on all sides can feel safe and enter into the conversation. WE are holding space for community engagement and pluralsim; we will never discriminate based on point of view and seek to unify 'old' and 'new' Venice as we go through this adaptive change." 

Coincidentally with being taken to Open Temple by a friend, I just happened to finish reading an excellent book entitled A History of the Jews in the Modern World by Howard M. Sachar. One of the many many ideas that Sachar deals with in the book is that of Mordecai Kaplan, who developed Judaism not as a theology or legal system, but rather as a "civilization." 

Was it just a coincidence that Rabbi Lori is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College founded by Mordecai Kaplan disciples, whose work is foundational to Rabbi Lori's perspective, mission, and thought? 

Check out Open Temple if at least part of you is Jewishly inclined. Who knows, you might just find your bashert- spiritual or incarnate ... or maybe even both. 

Open Temple House 

1422 Electric Ave.

Venice, CA

(310) 821-1414

(Leonard Isenberg is a Los Angeles observer and a contributor to CityWatch. He was a second generation teacher at LAUSD and blogs at perdaily.com. Leonard can be reached at [email protected])

-cw

DENSITY DEBACLE-Over the last three years, the residents of the Miracle Mile have been fighting to obtain an Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) to preserve the charm and scale of their historic neighborhood. The Miracle Mile emerged in the 1920s and 1930s as the nation’s first linear downtown – a commercial shopping district stretched along Wilshire Boulevard between La Brea and Fairfax – bounded by block after block of multi-family apartment buildings and single family homes. 

The historical continuity of the Miracle Mile was one of the key reasons why, in Autumn 2016, the Miracle Mile HPOZ was approved by the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission. 

Then on December 8, 2016 the City Planning Commission weighed in. The Commission endorsed the HPOZ with one hand and gutted it with the other, cutting out historic properties along Olympic Boulevard, on South Orange Grove Avenue, and between 8th Street and Wilshire Boulevard (see map below.) Suddenly, 79 historic buildings and 500 rent-stabilized apartments were placed in jeopardy – and big-box development was given a green light. 

It is neither a coincidence nor a surprise that soon after the Commission excluded these properties from the pending Miracle Mile HPOZ, an application to demolish 744 South Ridgeley Drive was submitted to the city. Nor that, on February 20, 2017, the tenants received eviction notices. 744 South Ridgeley has the misfortune of sitting right where the Commission drew its pro-development boundaries. 

Yet, 744 S. Ridgeley epitomizes the historic character of the Miracle Mile. The six-unit apartment building was built in 1937 – during one of the city’s biggest growth spurs in which “period revival” was the rage. The apartment house was designed to resemble a French Chateau by Edith Northman (photo below,) the only licensed female architect in Los Angeles at the time. Northman designed five other residences in the Miracle Mile: 1044 S. Cloverdale Avenue (1927), 1024 S. Dunsmuir Avenue (1929), 749 S. Burnside Avenue (1931), 1031 S. Burnside Avenue (1932), 1000 S. Dunsmuir Avenue (1942) -- all of which were deemed “full contributors” to the Miracle Mile HPOZ. Now, three of Northman’s Miracle Mile buildings have been put on the chopping block by the City Planning Commission – 744 quite literally.  

With its turret and dormers and finials and steel casement windows – and elegant courtyard – 744 S. Ridgeley Drive is an apt example of what makes the Miracle Mile so livable, desirable, and culturally significant. Step inside the apartments and this judgment is only further confirmed: light, spacious, airy rooms detailed with finely crafted moldings, hardwood floors, and bronze hardware. (Photo left: Architect Edith Northman) 

What’s more, like most of the multi-family buildings in the neighborhood, 744 S. Ridgeley is rent-controlled. Long-time tenants have been able to put down roots in the neighborhood because their homes remain affordable, by law. Should this building fall to the bulldozers, six more rent stabilized (RSO) apartments will disappear forever. And, as irreplaceable as the architecture is, these apartments themselves are even more irreplaceable amidst the city’s severe, and deepening, affordability crisis (nearly sixty percent of renters pay more than 30% of their monthly income in rent.) Of course, the Miracle Mile HPOZ would have preserved the building, while protecting its rent stabilized units – and occupants. 

But the city Planning Commission decision to exclude Ridgeley north of 8^th Street, along with the other redlined streets, means this historic apartment building faces imminent destruction. Why? Planning Commission chair David Ambroz – who in an appointee of Mayor Eric Garcetti – argued that the Wilshire corridor needs increased residential density. That was his justification for ignoring the recommendations of his own Cultural Commission and Planning staff. Yet, not only has the boulevard experienced unabated densification in the last decade, there is still room to grow up without tearing down the small-scale, historic buildings that are the essential fabric of the Miracle Mile. 

Wilshire Boulevard has no height limits; Wilshire Boulevard has many undistinguished buildings; Wilshire Boulevard has three enormous parcels between Fairfax and La Brea, which the subway builders will convert to mega-structures when tunneling is completed. There is, in other words, ample space to accommodate new residents – without sacrificing a single rent stabilized or historic structure. 

The Miracle Mile Residential Association has made a short video to introduce the real people whose lives are about to be upended by the demolition of 744 South Ridgeley. Ultimately, it is the residents who are being asked to sacrifice their homes to David Ambroz’s and Eric Garcetti’s vision. It is time we let their voices be heard. 

Over 1000 people have signed a petition or sent messages demanding that City Hall reinstate historic properties, like this one on Ridgeley, into the Miracle Mile HPOZ. To add your support click on: Support.MiracleMileLA.com 

(Greg Goldin is the coauthor of Never Built Los Angeles and a curator at the A+D Museum. From 1999 to 2012, he was the architecture critic at Los Angeles Magazine. He is a longtime resident of the Miracle Mile and was featured in the MMRA Channel's YouTube presentation: "The Miracle Mile in Three Tenses: Past, Present, and Future."   This piece was posted first in the excellent Miracle Mile Residential Association Newsletter.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams. 

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--Westside JCC gets second bomb threat in two weeks.

For the second time in two weeks, the Westside Jewish Community Center on Olympic Blvd near Fairfax Avenue received an e-mail yesterday containing a bomb threat.

After receiving the threat, which came in around noon, “We contacted the Los Angeles Police Department and followed our emergency protocols to evacuate the building. Within an hour the police had very thoroughly checked our building and gave us the “all clear” to re-enter and return to our normal day,” wrote Brian Greene, WJCC’s Executive Director, in an e-mail to WJCC families and friends later in the day.  (Read the rest.) 

-cw

ELECTION WATCH--Monday evening, February 27 four Neighborhood Councils (NC): Atwater Village, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Rampart Village hosted the last candidate forum for City Council District 13 at Mayberry Street Elementary School. Council District 13 includes all or parts of Echo Park, Silver Lake, Elysian Heights, Elysian Valley, Atwater Village, and Hollywood. 

300 attendees packed the auditorium, lining its walls. Silver Lake NC Co-Chair Anne-Marie Johnson and Vice Chair Jerome Courshon facilitated the event. Allison Cohen publisher of the Los Feliz Ledger and Kirk Hawkins from KTLA 5 News served as moderators. 

Candidates for the March 7^th election Doug Haines, Sylvie Shain, Bill Zide, Jessica Salans, and David De La Torre attended. Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell (incumbent) missed the event. Council District 13 Senior Policy Advisor, Christine Peters declined a press interview.

The moderators asked questions of the candidates followed by questions from the audience. 

Why do you think Councilman O’Farrell is unresponsive to constituents? 

Doug Haines, President of several neighborhood associations in District 13 for over 12 years, said O’Farrell is not being responsive to his constituents in many ways. The City Review Committee meetings have been effectively opened to the public for 30 years where the public can gain knowledge of all city developments. Yet, O’Farrell has shut its doors to the public including NC representatives and neighborhood associations while doors have remained open to lobbyists and developers. 

Sylvie Chain related her eviction from her Villa Carlotta apartment in Hollywood where 17 renters were displaced and two became homeless. The owner benefited from relocation waiver, stating he would build condos but instead now plans to build a hotel. 

“I contacted the Council’s Office; they told me they’d look into the issues. I appealed the matter through a nine-month period, while continuing to call Mitch’s Office for a meeting,” He never met with us saying there was nothing he could do. As a Councilperson, you need to be thinking always of what you can do for your constituents, not what you cannot do, Shain countered.   There’s lack of response and responsible planning across the board with a multitude of issues across District 13, Shain continued. 

Bill Zide, former chair of the Hollywood NC, said that Councilman O’Farrell is making choices and he’s not involving stakeholders. He doesn’t follow the law. Instead he looks to Mayor Garcetti who said the Target Project could be built bigger, yet he did not add affordable housing to get the extra height. “If you break the [zoning] law, just change the [zoning] law. It’s soft corruption which is endemic in City Hall.”  

Jessica Salans, board member of the Atwater Village NC, said she doesn’t know why O’Farrell does not respond to the District’s needs. Salans provided statistics about the growth of homelessness in district 13 and mentioned the topic of “environmental justice.” 

David De La Torre is the founder of the Elysian Valley NC. De La Torre said that it’s beyond him why Mitch O’Farrell is not responsive to Elysian Valley and the rest of CD 13 as he is supposed to be. He should provide attention to community’s needs. “It’s clear to me that the job has gotten to him. … It’s about getting what our communities need,” he said.            

(Photo left: Candidates from left to right are Doug Haines, Sylvie Shain, moderator, Jessica Salans, and David De La Torre) 

How would you contribute to making LA a Sanctuary City? 

All candidates are in favor of working to make Los Angeles a sanctuary city. Haines said his immigrant neighbors look to him for protection and vice versa. Shain would coordinate with community organizations that protect the undocumented “especially youths who were raised here as infants and now are being shipped to a country that they do not know.” Zide said, “I will protect immigrants since they make up a lot of the work force and make it clear that ICE is not the police.”

Salans said her team will reach out to Latino immigrants and provide resources to the most vulnerable. Similarly, De La Torre will bring information that protect the immigrant community and will “work for and with them to help them stay in this city.” 

Position on Measure S 

Most candidates support Measure S, except for Salans. Haines, Shain, Zide, and De La Torre emphasized that Measure S will not impact affordable housing. 

Shain explained that Measure S stops the rampant abuse by developers that goes along with building luxury developments. These then cause collateral damage in existing, surrounding buildings that had been renting far below market rate. She adds “spot zoning is incredibly irresponsible on so many levels.” Salans added that whether Measure S passes or not, team will work for affordable housing. 

What would you do differently if elected? 

Haines explained that daily, he sweeps streets and paints over graffiti in his neighborhood; and, weekly goes to City Hall meetings to participate by expressing the peoples’ voice. He said, “Nothing will change.” Then he emphasizes he would change the way the city operates. Shain said she is running because “There is a lack of leadership in CD13. It’s a responsibility to serve the constituents.” She supports campaign finance reform at the local level. 

Zide will meet with people who complain about developments at the particular development sites. “I will have a housing deputy and small business deputy.” Salans will dedicate 50% of her salary for a progressive community fund. “I will pull in workers from inside District 13 to represent the people of CD13.” Lastly, De La Torre will use an open door policy. “I will be response to you and your needs. If an issue cannot be solved because it’s out of my control, I will tell you so,” he said. 

How would you improve and handle the disputes regarding the Silver Lake Reservoir? Not every candidate was asked this question. 

Both Zide and De La Torre acknowledged that the reservoir is a pubic city park and the land should be accessible and useable by everyone. Zide said that it’s important to strike a balance with the people who live in the area and with the people who live closest and around the lake. Similarly, De La Torre said that one group would like to turn reservoir into the next central park “and the other appreciates the passive recreational component and the nature that comes with it. I’d like to work with both sides where both get some of what they want but not all of what they want.” 

Salans described her vision of turning Silver Lake Reservoir to be like Echo Park Lake: “Walkable, bikeable, and usable for kids to play. I’d plant fruit trees and take down that fence,” she said. 

How will you contribute to “Sustainability” in the City? 

Haines would have respect for the existing zoning laws that are devised by the community over time. “A community should be a better place not a worse place as you live there longer,” he emphasized. Shain would negotiate for public benefits when there are investments to be considered like outside capital coming into the city. She will use funds from big developers for people in the community. 

Zide would simply represent his constituents and be responsive to their needs and address environmental issues. “It all starts with supporting the people, if you’re not responding to them you’re not sustaining anything,” 

Salans would support protected bike lanes, electric public transportation, walking, geo-thermal development, solar panels in every home and business, and capturing rain water. While, De La Torre will represent the people of CD13 and will improve upon services so you feel safe and have a relationship with the LAPD as well as provide youth opportunities for higher learning.” 

Small Lots Subdivisions 

All candidates find that Small Lot Subdivisions are luxury houses that surpass the affordability of the people in Los Angeles. Shain observed that Small Lots are imposing excessive stress in our infrastructure by developers building 3 toilets in each unit. ”They should be held responsible to upgrade our present worn down infrastructure,” she said. 

Zide argued that Environmental Impact Reports (EIR) need to be done independently, other than the developer. 

Haines made clear that 26% of all the City’s Small Lot Subdivisions are in Echo Park and Silver Lake with a consequence of ruining the historic quality of these communities; ”this needs to stop”. 

Homelessness 

Shain acknowledged the many vacant units in luxury, high rise buildings and suggested finding rooms for the homeless there. Zide said that homelessness has to be part of a comprehensive plan and thinking ahead. “It requires a balance. We have to take into account all the constituencies involved. It’s connected with the lack of affordable housing.” 

Salans expressed that we need to move forward with compassion. De La Torre said, “Planning has to be done carefully to also protect homeowners and businesses. Let’s prioritize our funding in the city with what matters to us. He asks “there are billions of dollars to develop the LA River when we have homelessness and infrastructure issues?” 

Affordable Housing 

Shain clarified that we’re not in a housing crisis; we’re in an affordability crisis. She would cancel the Costa-Hawkins Law. Zide would protect Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) units, our main stock of affordable housing. “We are losing them and are not being replaced. Building new luxury-units will not lower the price of affordable housing; it will push rent up,” Zide assured the audience. Salans expressed that her team will search to find a way to create socialized housing as a solution to the affordable crises. Lastly, De La Torre said that his office will facilitate information so renters will know what their rights are for protection in case of displacement.

(Connie Acosta participates in the neighborhood council system and frequently reports on Neighborhood Council matters. She is an occasional contributor to CityWatch.)

-cw

ELECTION WATCH--I first met Doug Haines about ten years ago when my wife and I and a group of neighbors got together to set up the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council. After establishing the by-laws and getting certified by the City, we held an election. Doug Haines ran for one of the seats against an affable guy from the neighborhood. Let's call him Steve. At the candidate forum before the election, Doug stood out for his intensity verging on obsession. I wasn't quite sure what to make of him. 

After the election, as the votes were being counted, my wife turned to me and said, "You know, I voted for that Doug Haines guy."  

"What?" I said. "What about Steve?" Steve lost by one vote.  

And so changed the trajectory of my life.  

Doug Haines brought to the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council a passion, commitment, and knowledge that I had never seen in anything I had ever done before. Doug researched every item on the agenda, reached out to the people affected, walked the streets handing out Notices, and brought his neighbors into the process.  

To describe Doug Haines to a person who has never met him is almost impossible without sounding a little over the top. If I were to say to you that the person in history who Doug reminds me of most is ... Gandhi, you would probably think I was off my rocker. But, if you know him, you might chuckle at the idea and then nod your head in agreement.  

Doug first got into local politics when he was working as an editor for his old college buddy Sam Raimi. I don't know much about editing, but I'm told he could have done quite well for himself. Then he found out the old Cinerama Dome was slated for demolition and he got to work. He saved the Cinerama Dome, then started looking around the neighborhood for other things to save.  

What he saw were his neighbors: mostly immigrants and low-income families who didn't know how to navigate the system and who felt intimidated by a coming wave of gentrification that threatened to push them out of their homes. Doug started going down to City Hall everyday. And he started cleaning up his neighborhood by picking up trash, painting over graffiti, getting to know the homeless people camped under the freeways and helping them get the services they needed. Doug's no pushover. If you want to smoke crack in the alley behind the elementary school, he's going to get LAPD involved. But, if you want help, Doug will find a way for you to get it.  

Everyone -- the gang members, the drug addicts, the cops, the developers, and the people who sit on the City Council -- respects Doug Haines. They may not agree with him, but they respect him. And they probably also like him a little bit.  

One story from just last week illustrates my point. I called Doug to ask how the campaign was going. He was busy, he said, down at City Hall everyday, working on a dozen things affecting his neighborhood. And still getting up everyday at 4 a.m. to pick up trash and paint over graffiti. "Yesterday," he told me, "I saw my 86-year-old neighbor out on the streets in his pajamas." Doug asked the man what was happening, but he wasn't very coherent. So Doug found out. Turns out the man was evicted from his long-time apartment, given $19,000 in relocation fees, and set off on his own. That was 30 days ago, and the man's been living in a hotel ever since. He's about to run out of money.  

Doug lives in a small rent-controlled apartment himself. He doesn't have a car and usually pays his rent doing jobs for people like painting or rehabbing old houses. Doug opened his home to his 86-year-old neighbor until he can find him a more permanent place to live. And Doug will find a place for this man. He won't rest until he does.  

Doug Haines. Google him and you're bound to find some bit of slander put out by some shill for the developers Doug has fought so successfully against on behalf of his neighborhood and his neighbors. They'll say he's in it for the money. But there is no money. I know. I've been working with him for ten years. And even the people he's fought against so hard -- if they really know Doug -- will say the same. Every single thing Doug Haines has goes back into the neighborhood.  

Many of us have not recovered from the presidential election. The overwhelming theme that has arisen from this moment in history is that elections matter. And they matter starting right now. Turnout in local elections in Los Angeles usually muddles in around 8%. Eight percent! Every crisis facing this City has grown out of the corruption fueled by this virulent apathy. Don't let that happen. The revolution starts now, on March 7th!  

This election has aroused a lot of passion – which I hope translates into voter turnout. The hot issue, obviously, is Measure S. Whichever way you vote on that issue, please consider that it’s the status quo that has brought us to the crisis we face today. I like Doug Haines – but any one of the candidates in CD 13 will be better than Mitch O’Farrell.

(David Bell is a writer, attorney, former president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and writes for CityWatch.)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--As a City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee hearing approaches on the proposed Miracle Mile Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, tensions are still running high between neighborhood stakeholders who favor the HPOZ and those who don’t.  To help combat rumors and misinformation, and to try to find some common ground among the divided neighbors, City Council Member David Ryu held a town hall meeting last night, to provide facts about HPOZs, and to give stakeholders both pro and con a forum to voice their opinions. (Photo above: Forum participants stand in line to voice their views.) 

About 150 people attended the meeting, held at John Burroughs Middle School, and it was obvious from the beginning that the organizers were expecting what might politely be referred to as a “lively” discussion:  the meeting opened with a welcome and coaching on rules of decorous behavior by Kiara Nagel, a consultant hired by CD4, who specializes in “services to foster collaboration, grow healthy organizations, and support equitable community development,” according to her website. Local LAPD Senior Lead Officers were also present, unusual for a discussion of zoning and housing issues. 

After Nagel’s introduction, Council Member Ryu expressed his desire to help “restore trust” among the divided neighbors, as well as his goal of helping them find common ground.  (Read the rest.)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--Maybe there really is no there here -- not now – and maybe there never was. Did we just all fall in love with the irascible Venice of our dreams? We imagine ourselves as the unique ones, the interesting doers, basking in the idea that we are the vibrant happening town overflowing with artists, one-of-a-kind, seriously intent on cultivating the feeling of being in a real place. 

We smugly look at the “others” with sad eyes. They, who hold urgent meetings to deal with a cracked sidewalk. We, the noble ones, superior human beings determined not to be swallowed up in that “good life.” No utopia for us here! We’re Venetians! We thrive on the internecine development fights occurring on a near daily basis. We live for the latest outrage inflicted on us by the city. We beat our chests to get the LAPD to take a report about a mugging on “the coolest street in America.” 

And, we remind you, some schmo just paid eight million bucks for a tear-down. We can only guess that he thought it was worth the price of admission to drink the best wine, eat the best sushi, crow about the endless new restaurants selling one kind of faux food or another -- and who gives a damn if he has to wait a couple of days for the LAPD to get an officer out here to take a police report? 

Over there, where the sidewalks don’t have a crack, three cop cars respond at once to the most minor crime and the biggest story is the guy with his RV parked on the driveway for months. Who knows, maybe they Airbnb there too. But us unique ones, we’re tough! We’re tolerant and patient and loyal and we take all comers. One moment we grouse about the kid sleeping on a shop’s front porch, the next, we are trying to figure out if his puppy is getting its shots. 

Maybe that’s our secret. We are not a myth. You can throw anything at us and we deal with it all like conquering soldiers. We don’t quit, but just don’t make us live where all the houses are white and the roofs are red. We reject their architecture police. We crave the distinct place, the big idea! Where else will you find impromptu cocktail hours forming on a Sunday afternoon where regulars migrate like they’ve been magnetized -- all living the idea that this place is real? 

In this topsy-turvy world our craziness is almost charming. No matter how Aspen-like we are becoming, the kernel of uniqueness is alive. But we sure have to put up with a lot of **** to live this vibrant madness. We don’t want a groomed HOA-controlled neighborhood here. Please don’t clean or polish us! 

Corner lots sell for eight million, lofts rent for 40K. One creative marketing company is even renting two of them on the street now. Hot dog trucks are parked illegally for days and the line is around the block for $5 ice cream scoops and $4 donuts. And yet, they come. They come because they feel alive and that’s why we are not a myth. Where else can you say that? 

We old Venice denizens just want the cops to show up when we call them… and the Rooster truck to take a hike.

(Marian Crostic and Elaine Spierer are Co-founders of ImagineVenice.) Photo by Elaine Spierer. Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.)

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--Images of soccer fans waving Korean flags in the summer wind could be replaced with images of residents and shoppers snarling into parking lots at the site of one of the very few parks availble to Koreatown residents. If Jamison Properties moves forward with a skyline-altering project, a new glass tower would rise above 3700 Wilshire where Liberty Park stands today. The park was designed 50 years ago to address the scarcity of green space in Koreatown and this shortage rings truer than ever today. 

Councilmember Jose Huizar highlighted neighborhood’s desperate need for parks in his message announcing the approval for increased funding for parks. The $8 million annual funding increase for parks projects would come from a hike to the fees developers pay under the Quimby Act. These “Quimby fees” on residential projects allow developers to pay a fee in lieu of creating sufficient park space for the community where they are building. How much of this funding would go to Koreatown parks remains to be seen. 

“Green space is really important to the community,” recognizes Jamie Hwang, a deputy representing the north west region of Herb Wesson’s Council District 10. 

KOREATOWN NEEDS PARKS--Koreatown has been identified as one of the most park-poor areas in the city. It has 0.1 acres of park space available for every 1,000 people, according to a countywide ‘park needs’ assessment. The region houses 170,000 residents. The report estimates 94 percent of residents have a “Very High” need for parks. 

HISTORY TO BE BULLDOZED AWAY?--The sites historic value prompted residents to reach out to the Los Angeles Conservancy. While the park has served as a soccer viewing venue for fans of South Korea’s team, the space’s true historic value dates back to its conception. 

Beneficial Insurance Group, the original developer of the property, built an 11-story building and included the green space intentionally to address the lack of open space in a growing Koreatown 50 years ago. Since the park was (and still is) a privately owned property, the LA Times called it the nation’s “deepest setback” between city street and private office building at the time, according to the Conservancy. 

Beneficial hired award-winning landscape architect Peter Walker, who is now recognized for his work on the National September 11 Memorial in New York City, among many accolades in his extensive career. 

In addition to adding 2.5 acres of green space to the bustling Wilshire Boulevard, the park‘s design offered a futuristic, post war optimism theme. 

The objects included a replica of the Mercury, the first U.S. space capsule; a full-scale model of the Apollo space capsule; and an exact replica of Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell, made by the same London company as the original. This bell remains onsite to this day. 

WHAT WOULD THE DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE?--Jamison’s 36-story glass tower would contain 506 residential units ranging from one bedroom to three-bedroom penthouses, more than 40,000 square feet of retail space, and nearly 22,000 square feet of restaurant space, ranging from fast food to quality dining. Four liquor licenses are in the works. The more than 530,000-square-foot building would replace the 46,000-square-foot lawn and plaza (i.e. Liberty Park) that lies next to to the 11-story Radio Korea building today. 

WHAT DOES THE OPPOSITION SAY?--Members of the community are concerned about the removal of green space, loss of historic value, and Jamison Properties dismal reputation as a property owner. 

As one of the largest commercial property owners in Koreatown, Solair resident Anne Kim says Jamison has a reputation in the neighborhood of running its properties to the ground, with poor maintenance and high vacancies. “The community doesn’t need more retail,” she said, noting there is a large area of empty commercial space in her building. 

“We saw that this historically significant site was not properly evaluated by the City as part of the project review,” said Marcello Vavala, preservation associate at the Conservancy. 

In a letter addressed to the planning department, local urban designer Mia Lehrer hails the park’s design as a “classic example” of Walker’s “minimalist, reductive style.” 

“Liberty Park was originally intended by Beneficial Insurance Group as a monument to the nation’s heritage and an outdoor museum of patriotic objects heralding great moments in American history,” Vavala said. 

Vavalo said the Conservancy submitted comments to also alert the planning department of Jamison’s flawed historic analysis on its proposal. City Planning representative Yeghig L. Keshishian said these historic assessments are completed by third party consultants, which are approved by the Office of Historic Resources. The original assessment determined the site is not a historic resource based on a 2009 report from the now-defunct Community Redevelopment Agency. Vavalo claims this survey is irrelevant, however, because it only analyzed buildings built prior to 1962, while 3700 WIlshire was completed in 1967. 

“The historic resources survey involved the visual examination of a total of 1,911 properties constructed before 1962,” states the Community Redevelopment Agency report. Therefore, the decision that the site lacks sufficient historic value was based on a report that never reviewed the property to begin with. 

AN ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THE ZONING--The city honored Beneficial’s president and CEO in 1966 for contributing open space to the community. The Conservancy says a city 1968 planning case zoned the green space under a “P,” or parking designation, which essentially precludes the space from commercial use. This designation is the closest thing the city can do to protect a property, short of purchasing land for public open space, the Conservancy says, citing key language from the case: “The interests of good zoning practices and relevant considerations of public necessity, convenience and general welfare would best be served by retaining this open space asset to the community and preclude further intensification of land use in this block.” 

In contradiction of this protection, Jamison has requested for the city to change the “P” zone on the park portion of the property to allow commercial development. 

DONATIONS TO THE CITY--Since Jamison is a large development company and owns a lot of projects in the district, the council office meets with the company to evaluate the impact of each project on the community, as it does with any other developer, she said. The company has more than $106,000 in contributions to all city candidates and officeholders on the record since 2001. In the past 13 years, more than $13,000 have gone to Council District 10 office and candidates, with more than $11,000 of that going to Wesson’s campaigns since 2005. These Ethics Commission disclosures, however, do not include possible contributions to programs promoted by the Council office or Wesson as an individual. In response to resident claims that Jamison has bribed the Council District office to usher their projects through approvals quickly, Hwang said the office has no special relationship with the company. 

CD 10's PLAN--The district has proposed to convert the parking lot at a nearby library into a park, potentially with underground parking. In an opposition letter to 3700 Wilshire, resident Keith Kresge argued the proposed park is much smaller than Liberty Park and it could be a potential illegal gift of a public asset if it is being offered as a replacement. He recommended a City Attorney investigation. 

CD 10 Deputy Hwang denies claims this park was a concession project. While the library is in close proximity to Liberty Park, she said this project has been in the works for years before Jamison submitted its proposal and is not related to the potential loss of Liberty Park. The project’s timing and proximity are “just a coincidence”. 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?--The planning department confirmed the proposal is currently on hold. A Feb. 9 planning department hearing for the project has been suspended. Jamison is currently reevaluating the site’s historic value, according to Hwang. This process could take about a month. 

The Conservancy recommends that residents interested in saving the park learn more about what they can do at savelibertypark.org, a website organized by Kim and other opponents. Vavalo also suggests contacting Councilmember Wesson’s office to express concerns. 

THANK YOU to resident Mark Lawrence for alerting TNN to this story.

(Carla Pineda is a staff reporter for The Neighborhood News … where this piece was first posted … and currently the site editor for Link TV Digital, after serving as associate international news editor and social media manager for other KCETLink properties. The Neighborhood News is a ‘get engaged’ partner of CityWatch)

-cw

BUDGET ADVOCATES--This Saturday, February 25, from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates will host the annual Regional Budget Day. Come out and Make your voice heard!  

The purpose of this 3 hour session is to hear your concerns about your neighborhood, and how you believe the City can better spend its funds for an improved quality of life in Los Angeles.  

Get involved by asking questions during open Q & A and enjoy informed presentations from special guest speakers and many more. Come meet some of your local City Officials, Budget Advocates and Neighborhood Counsel Members. Get involved! 

The Budget Day forum is free to the public. 

Also, after your regional Budget Day Forum you and your family can enjoy the zoo at a discounted rate with this special coupon code NBHDFEB25 for free parking, with discounted zoo entry at $12 per Child and $16 per adult. 

Budget Day Locations 

Region 1-4: 

Braude Center

6262 Van Nuys Blvd,

Van Nuys, CA 91401

Register here 

Region 5-6: 

Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens

Griffith Park Dr,

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Register here 

Region 7-8: 

Glassell Park Community Center

3650 Verdugo Rd,

Glassell Park, CA 90065

Register here 

Region 9-10: 

Ridley Thomas Constituent Center

8475 S. Vermont Ave,

Los Angeles, CA 90044

Register here: 

Region 11: 

West LA Municipal Building

1645 Corinth Ave,

Los Angeles, CA 90049

Register here 

Region 12: 

Croatian Cultural Center

510 W. 7th Street,

San Pedro, CA 90731

Register here

(Adrienne Nicole Edwards is a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. She can be reached at: [email protected].) 

-cw

NEIGHBORHOODS LA--Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is running for re-election against 10 challengers, skipped a pair of candidate forums held Wednesday night in Northridge and the Hollywood Hills … hosted by the Northridge East and the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Councils.

The mayor’s absence at the events was not surprising. Many believe Garcetti will easily win re-election in a contest in which he faces challengers who are at times colorful, thoughtful and spirited, but who are nevertheless doing poorly in the polls and mostly lacking in governing and political experience.

Some challengers took advantage of Garcetti’s absence Wednesday night, accusing him of being more preoccupied with running for higher office, letting the crime rate go up under his watch and spending more time at ribbon-cuttings than putting in the necessary hours to fix the city’s homelessness crisis.

David Saltsburg, a gadfly better known as Zuma Dogg, delivered some of the night’s harshest salvos, including this one:

“Everybody says Eric Garcetti is such a nice guy — no, he’s not!” Saltsburg informed an audience of a couple dozen people gathered at the Northridge Women’s Club on Lassen Street, where the Northridge East Neighborhood Council was hosting its forum.

“He’s a psychopath, politically, who has higher aspirations to be president,” Saltsburg continued, adding that Garcetti “doesn’t care about the side effects to this city at all.”

Garcetti, it turns out, did take a campaign-funded trip to Sacramento earlier in the day in which he managed to fit in a fundraiser and meetings with Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and state Sen. Jim Beall.

According to his campaign spokesman Yusef Robb, that trip was not what kept Garcetti from taking part in the Northridge forum and an event right before at the American Legion Hall that was put on by the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council.

Anastasia Mann, president of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council, said many attendees at their event were upset that Garcetti’s representative, who had been scheduled to come in the mayor’s stead, canceled. The reason given was that Garcetti’s campaign decided they did not need to be part of an event “with candidates who didn’t have at least 15 percent in the polls,” Mann said, adding that the decision was “very disappointing.”

Robb did not disclose what Garcetti was doing Wednesday night, saying only that the mayor was “unavailable.”

With Garcetti not in the picture, the eight challengers who took part in the Northridge forum were given the spotlight when sharing their ideas.

Homelessness was the big issue at the Northridge forum, with two people in the audience querying the candidates on it. The responses ranged from concrete ideas to more vague concepts about changing society’s attitudes toward homeless individuals.

Mitchell Schwartz, one of the better funded and more politically experienced of the candidates, said he wants to help homeless veterans and will work to increase the number of affordable housing units in Los Angeles. 

Diane “Pinky” Harman, an actress and former teacher, said that she feels more needs to be done to understand the different reasons people become homeless, before prescribing solutions.

Dennis Richter, a member of the Socialist Workers Party, said that he wants to “launch a public works program” that will provide jobs to anyone who wants one, including the homeless.

Saltsburg said there needs to be an “all hands on deck approach,” that includes converting storage space into residences for the homeless. He also criticized Proposition HHH, saying the homeless housing bond measure passed by voters in November will be a “drip in the bucket” that will likely be mired in delays and increasing costs.

Paul E. Amori, who says his campaign is about making “love” a “core value when deciding policies,” says he wants more people to “come together” to help the homeless and to acknowledge “certain people just simply need our love.”

Eric Preven, a City Council critic and board member of the Studio City Neighborhood Council, said homeless service facilities should resemble the communal atmosphere of a “kibbutz.”

“We don’t need a hammer on a guy if he falls off the wagon and starts drinking again,” he said. “It’s a part of life, and other cultures and societies do a better job of taking care of their population.”

The conversation moved on to crime after one audience member asked the candidates what they would do about a local strip club where several people were killed.

None of the candidates seemed aware of the circumstances at that club, but Preven said the city has some land use tools to put pressure on the strip-club business, while Saltsburg said the issue should be referred to the city attorney.

Others like Schwartz and David Hernandez took a wider angle, saying the city is “underpoliced” and needs more officers.

Richter diverged from the others in answering that “more police is not going to help.”

Those involved in criminal activity need jobs, which will keep them out of trouble, he said.

There did not seem to be a clear winner at the Northridge forum, with one 70-year-old Northridge resident, who declined to give her name, saying that the only thing she is certain about is that she will not be voting for Garcetti.

She said she did not vote for him last time because she felt he was not qualified. This time, “he really has abandoned us, the fact that he isn’t even campaigning,” she said.

And by the end of the night, the long-shot idea of Garcetti losing his re-election bid no longer seemed so unreasonable for some.

Glen Wilson, the treasurer of a nearby neighborhood council, said he is leaning toward Hernandez.

Anything could happen, he added, noting that Donald Trump, who many had discounted, won the presidential election because voters “wanted change.”

The night’s moderator, Nick Beer, who is a board member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, was also open to the idea of an unexpected outcome.

Beer kept his own pick a secret while saying that based on media coverage, Garcetti “is probably going to get re-elected.”

“But I also know elections can be very surprising,” he added. “I was personally quite surprised at the outcome of the presidential election, so I know that sometimes, there are ... things that you just don’t see coming.”

(Elizabeth Chou writes for the Los Angeles Daily News … where this report was first posted.) Photo credit: Gene Blevin

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--A displacement study conducted on the impact of The Reef, a proposed development in historic South Central with 1,440 luxury housing units priced well above the level affordable to the surrounding residents, found that the project would put 43,756 residents at a very high to moderate risk of being  displaced. That is the impact of having just ONE mega development with so many "market-rate" units imposed on a South LA community. 

This is not academic for us. And we've seen it before locally and in other parts of the country. What we are witnessing is a form of economic violence, and no corner in South LA is safe. 

The Reef project, the proposed 30-story Cumulus skyscraper at La Cienega/Jefferson with 1,200 luxury apartments, and the nearly 1,000 all-luxury housing element of the Crenshaw Mall redevelopment in Leimert Park all break the same zoning law so that they can be built in areas that they don't belong: General Plan Amendments.  

Measure S is one solution to stop these massive traffic-causing projects from wiping out all that we have built - our community, our institutions, our relationships with our neighbors. 

RSVP now for a critical community action forum on Tuesday the 21st about Measure S, encouraging development not displacement, and addressing some of the biggest lies said by the Downtown establishment about the measure.  

On March 7th, literally our neighborhood is on the ballot.

(Provided by the Crenshaw Subway Coalition.)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--In an extraordinary video posted here by the MMRA, Julia Duncan attempts to rally support for the HPOZ among renters. One of them says, “The single family owners can eat it,” and gets something close to agreement from Julia Duncan. Is that really David Ryu’s attitude to single family owners in the Miracle Mile? 

Meanwhile, James O’Sullivan, embattled President of the MMRA, writes in a bizarre article in CityWatchLA.com here that rejection of the Miracle Mile HPOZ will result in the loss of 500 rent controlled apartments, with homelessness thrown in for good measure, and seems to blame Mayor Garcetti for it all! The MMRA has clearly lost all credibility with homeowners in the Miracle Mile and is now morphing into a tenant advocacy organization. 

Finally, a flyer has popped up dated February 2nd here from Councilmember Ryu's Senior Planning Deputy, Julia Duncan, asking the neighborhood to weigh in on the Miracle Mile HPOZ by Tuesday, February 14, 2017. Problem is, nobody, not even the MMRA, seems to have received it.  For the record, write and/or call Julia at [email protected], (213) 473-2346, to tell her what you think of the HPOZ.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

I M P O R T A N T     D A T E

M I R A C L E     M I L E    T O W N     H A L L     M E E T I N G

When: Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 7:00pm (show up at 6:30p).

Where: John Burrows Middle School located at 600 S McCadden Place in Los Angeles.

What:  David Ryu is hosting a town hall meeting specifically on the HPOZ. The purpose presumably is to try to rally support for the HPOZ.

PLEASE ARRIVE AT 6:30PM  WE WILL BE THERE

TO DEMONSTRATE THE OPPOSITE!

JOIN US SHOW COUNCILMEMBER DAVID RYU THAT PROPERTY OWNERS

IN MIRACLE MILE DON'T WANT THIS!

(SayNoHPOZ is a group of Miracle Mile residents who oppose an effort to create a restrictive HPOZ for the community. They can be reached at [email protected] or saynohpoz.com) 

-cw

LA’S NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS … CELEBRATING 15 YEARS--To our 40,000 residents, West Hills is “here,” a scenic corner of the San Fernando Valley with wonderful schools, relatively little crime and pleasant parks. But to a lot of folks who live in the interior of the city of Los Angeles, we are “somewhere out there,” lodged on a distant precipice on the edge of the world. (Photo above: West Hills NC had largest contingent at Congress of Neighborhoods.) 

Except for coverage Chaminade Prep’s sports team, the Los Angeles Times only bothers to come out for the most sensational stories, like when a naked porn star with a samurai sword jumped off one of our spectacular cliffs. (Yes, this actually happened.)   

Thirty years after we split off from Canoga Park and became recognized as a distinct neighborhood by the city of Los Angeles, we still endure daily insults to our civic pride. For example, our California Chicken Café insists it’s in Chatsworth and our junk mail is still incorrectly addressed to residents of “Canoga Park.” 

One of our tasks as a Neighborhood Council is to overcome these slights and build a citywide reputation as a strong community. We still have a way to go, but at the risk of sounding immodest, I think we are making good progress. 

Oh, to hell with modesty. In its 15 years, the West Hills Neighborhood Council has led our community through a fundamental change in self-perception. Where we once had no particular idea of who we were, we have built a sense of West Hills-ness to the point where anything seems possible. 

The seeds of this change were planted 15 years ago on Jan. 22, 2002, when a group of intrepid pioneers incorporated as the first Neighborhood Council in the Valley and the ?th in the city. 

Chuck Gremer, leader of the West Hills Property Owners Association, became the first president of the West Hills Neighborhood Council. Four of the original 25 board members still serve. 

I appeared on the scene almost two years later, joining the board in November of 2013. There were 13 candidates for 13 positions and about 30 people voted, so my election was never in doubt. 

Chuck and the others in leadership had their challenges. They did their best, but I had the sense that the entire Neighborhood Council system was in chaos. 

Few were even aware of the Ralph M. Brown “Open Government” Act, and fewer still were knowledgeable of its arcane and sometimes nonsensical interpretations. Committees met in the homes of board members with no public notice. Several committees didn’t meet at all. 

Our treasurer launched into his monthly reports with angry attacks on the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which seemed incapable of paying its bills or delivering the funds that were promised for our operations. At one point, I’m told, the board threatened to disband if the city didn’t deliver on its funding obligations. 

Nevertheless, the West Hills Neighborhood Council worked on several fronts to build community pride and volunteerism. 

Working with the local Chamber of Commerce, we organized successful annual Fall Festivals, which continue to this day. We built relationships with city agencies and connected our stakeholders with them. We began a decade-long process to design and erect signs to post at major entry points to our neighborhood. And as awareness of our existence increased, turnout in elections increased as well. 

After Chuck retired, we were served by two excellent presidents, Ed Youngblood and Steve Lenske. During this period, we launched an ad hoc committee to explore possible environmental risks for building homes in Dayton Canyon (this was the genesis of our current Environment Committee). We also teamed with a local church and Shadow Ranch Park to create one of the largest annual community events in the Valley: the Eggstravaganza/Emergency Preparedness & Safety Fair, which recently has been (mercifully) renamed Spring Fest. 

Also during this time, we brought heads of city agencies and other speakers to our monthly Neighborhood Council meetings, generating higher community turnout and informing the public about civic issues. 

All of these developments had a cumulative effect. By the time I was first elected president in 2012, our Neighborhood Council was primed to move into full gear. 

Today I am proud to work with a board of workaholics that is second to none in the city. Our agendas are (almost) always posted on time and our committee meetings are filled with enthusiastic and passionate members and stakeholders. Meeting a quorum is never a problem. 

Together, we have embarked on the following projects and more: 

• Our Beautification Committee organizes monthly Community Cleanups that attract dozens, scores and even hundreds of volunteer weed-pullers and sidewalk-sweepers who are making West Hills an inspiration for neighborhoods across the city. In a presentation at City Hall on Jan. 14, the city recognized our work with a grant through its Clean Streets LA Challenge. (Photo left.) 

• Slowly and incrementally, we have built a communications program that again is second to none. Its elements include a sophisticated social media effort, a professional-quality monthly email newsletter, an excruciatingly comprehensive weekly community calendar, a well-maintained website, banners, flyers, bus bench ads and more.

• A special committee is making meaningful process toward establishing a community center and senior center for West Hills and surrounding communities. 

• Through the leadership of our Homelessness Committee, we have made grants to relief agencies, funded meals for disadvantaged families through schools and provided referrals to homeless individuals. We expect a large turnout from West Hills at the coming citywide Homelessness Count on Jan. 24. 

• We have designed a Emergency Preparedness Plan, developed a Map Your Neighborhood emergency response program and purchased kits for block leaders. Our Spring Fest continues to attract thousands of visitors every year to learn about public safety and how to plan for disasters. 

• We are arranging purchase of a large storage container to hold our growing collection of cleanup tools, promotional items, audio equipment and more. 

• Our Youth & Education Committee has organized an annual program of awards for teachers and support staff at West Hills schools. The WHNC also provides Community Purpose Grants to fund specific projects at the schools. 

• Our Zoning & Planning Committee has a successful record of working with stakeholders and developers to keep projects at sustainable levels and with design standards that are appropriate for their surroundings. 

• Our liaisons have a prominent role in the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils and other coalitions. We have a warm and productive relationship with the Neighborhood Councils of Canoga Park and Woodland Hills-Warner Center, as well as Councilmember Mitchell Englander’s staff at Council District 12. 

It’s a big agenda, but as I said, we have a board of workaholics, as well as stakeholders who fully share our passion for making West Hills an even better place than it already is.

We still get the cold shoulder from the L.A. Times and our junk mail is still addressed incorrectly, but fortunately we have the Los Angeles Daily News, which does a fantastic job of covering our community. And, as I have pointed out before, we are rapidly earning the respect of other communities, as well as the city’s political and managerial elites. 

West Hills is definitely “here,” and this fact is becoming impossible to ignore. 

As we celebrate our 15^th anniversary, the West Hills Neighborhood Council celebrates its past while planning for the future with a “can-do” attitude along with our sister Neighborhood Councils in the Valley and elsewhere in the city. 

As our slogan goes: “It’s our neighborhood. Let’s build a community!”

(Dan Brin is the president of the West Hills Neighborhood Council. Check out their good work here.)

-cw 

Tags: neighborhood councils, West Hills Neighborhood Council, community, edge of the world, Brown Act, Chuck Bremer, Canoga Park, Valley, 15 candles

HAPPY 15^TH BIRTHDAY LA NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS--I remember the first time I ever heard of my Neighborhood Council. A friend of mine wanted to run for a seat and needed an alternate … basically a Robin to his Batman. I knew nothing about what a neighborhood council was and assumed it was probably a place where people talk about things and write letters and spin their wheels a lot. Something I certainly did not have the time for. I only agreed to run with him since he promised my “Robin” duties would be minimal ... after all, things are the way they are and as the saying goes … you can’t fight City Hall. (Photo above: Seated:  Left to right:  Mary Kusnic, Shannon Burns, Aaron Rosenfield, Sarah Shaw, Terri Tippit, Lisa Morocco, Colleen Mason Heller
Standing (second row):  Rick Mendoza, Francesca Beale-Rosano, Barbara Broide, Brendan Kotler, Steve Spector, Jae Wu, Wendy Dox (alt.) Sean McMillian.  (Not in photo:  Eric Shabsis and Lisa Tabor))

That was 11 years ago. I could not have been more wrong.

I have proudly served now on the Westside Neighborhood Council since 2007. What I like most about this group is that we have a “whole community” view. NCs not only represent residents, but businesses, schools, non profits libraries and religious centers. We also support our local police and fire. At our meetings we hear about new developments, safety issues, upcoming school and non-profit events and of course a review of the latest City ordinances and policies. It really is a great way for regular folks to get a pulse on what is happening in their own neighborhoods and to voice their concerns to our council.

The most rewarding part of this group is to take the funding we receive from the City and apply it to where we think it is needed most in our community. While Council District 5 thoughtfully represents us, we can get into the nooks and crannies of our neighborhood and really address local needs.

Our funding requests run from books for the library to art supplies to the schools to tree planting on Pico Boulevard to a now annual community event called Pick Pico which showcases the businesses, non profits and schools in our neighborhood. This event is totally free to the public and last year we had over 6K folks come and Pick Pico with us. This small town fair is most welcome in this big city and it not only informs our stakeholders about our neighborhood, it brings us together as a community.

Since the presidential election in November, I feel a shift in people’s attitudes towards community involvement. Now more than ever, people are moved to engage, participate and contribute to our neighborhoods. People want to stay positive and want to find focus. The NC system is a perfect answer to this desire.

My grandmother always said, “The best gift you can ever give is your time”. I encourage everyone to seek out what moves them…what they believe in…and find the time to create real change wherever they call home in this great City of LA. There are 96 NCs waiting with open arms.

(Lisa Morocco is Westside Neighborhood Council Outreach Chair and Co-Chair of Pick Pico.)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--Parking and politics aren’t mixing well for Robertson Boulevard businesses, leaving some to question whether retailers have become pawns in the lead-up to the city’s March elections.

The recently opened campaign headquarters on Robertson Boulevard of Jesse Creed, who is running against incumbent Paul Koretz for a chance to represent the fifth district on the Los Angeles City Council, was followed with a surprise for the street’s other tenants: the removal of a two-hour free parking garage program some allege was taken away to stop Creed’s volunteers from using it.

Free parking is gold in Los Angeles, where gridlock and circling blocks to find an open metered spot is factored into all commute times. For Robertson Boulevard, it’s perhaps even more critical as some hope for a revival of the occupancy-challenged street. Offering the first two hours free in the structure — a common carrot in places such as Beverly Hills or Santa Monica — is seen as a way to woo people to the street.

“Free parking on Robertson is imperative to the success of the street and small business owners like us especially,” said Alissa Jacob, the cofounder and ceo of the multibrand concept shop Reservoir.  “We are competing with Beverly Hills’ free parking and have many customers who are incentivized to come here only if there’s available free parking for a portion of their time on the street. The street is really suffering, with many more homeless people than ever, and if the city doesn’t do something now to help businesses, then this street will continue to suffer and more businesses will shut down or relocate.”

At issue is what the city of Los Angeles calls lot 703, the parking garage it owns at 123 S. Robertson Boulevard. Between Dec. 15 and Jan. 15, the structure offered the first two hours of parking free. Business owners reported anecdotally a lift in foot traffic and sales during that time.

A two-week free parking program was approved for the holiday via a council motion, a Los Angeles Department of Transportation spokesman said. The motion was done as an incentive for holiday shoppers and will not be coming back, the spokesman also confirmed.

That’s a different story than what was told to Fraser Ross, the founder of Kitson and owner of the new boutique concept Kitross on Robertson Boulevard. Ross has attempted to work with the city since May beginning with Manav Kumar, deputy counsel to Mayor Eric Garcetti, before being shuttled to Garcetti’s senior director, William Chun. He was passed on to the office of councilman Paul Koretz, who oversees the fifth district where Robertson is located, and has since been working with John Darnell, district director for Koretz.

Darnell, according to Ross, said at the onset the free parking would be extended every two weeks before swinging to full-time in March. Ross had a free parking sign made after he said he was told the city couldn’t afford to make such signage.

“Why do I have to make signs for the city? I’ve got enough to do. I have to pick up the garbage, get the tree [on the sidewalk] trimmed, get the phone booth [on the sidewalk] down. When was the last time Paul [Koretz] has walked the streets of Robertson to see the problems first hand?” Ross said.

Darnell, Koretz and Koretz’s spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.

The sign’s lettering was slashed, by an unknown party, last week with the end of the free parking program.

“It looked like we possibly had his [Koretz’s] attention, but since Creed’s office [opening], I’m having difficultly talking to his office,” said one merchant on the street, requesting anonymity.

Ross on Monday started a petition to bring the free parking back and expects to get to 1,000 within a week. He also, per his style, dressed his store’s window with a hard-to-miss statement accusing Koretz of taking away the parking. “Pay for play. All talk, no action,” part of the window reads.

Creed, the incumbent running against Koretz for the council, said he moved onto the street because he had seen the thoroughfare languish and took up the space as a statement of what he said was solidarity with the other business owners. He called the sequence of events — free parking available when his headquarters moved in Jan. 1 and then no free parking Jan. 15 — “suspicious.” One other observation since his move onto the street few would argue with: “The merchants here are desperate for help,” Creed said.

“There’s no ownership and Mayor Garcetti and Paul Koretz were down at the march on Saturday and they’re saying stand up for your rights and fight the fight. Well, we’re fighting the fight against you [politicians],” Ross said, pointing to American Apparel, BCBG Max Azria Group, The Limited and other retailers shuttering doors. “I mean, come on. You can see there’s a problem in this brick-and-mortar retail business. You’ve got to invite people to stores and make common areas again.”

Instead, what people see are empty and sometimes dirty storefronts, some of that city-owned real estate.

Bob Esho, the owner of the optical and sunglass store Optx, has been on the street for some 15 years. He previously occupied the storefront, owned by the city, located next to the city-owned parking garage. He shared the space with a doctor who decided he wanted to exit Robertson in 2015. Esho said he asked if the city could re-write the lease, removing the doctor from the contract, and was told no one was available to redo the paperwork. He closed in July 2015 and inked a lease across the street a few months later at a building owned by a private individual.

Esho’s former space is still empty.

Nathan Sager, who owns Sager French Salon, has expressed interest in leasing Esho’s previous space on Robertson. It would have been a homecoming of sorts, with Sager French on the street for 17 years before relocating to Beverly Hills after losing its lease when the building underwent major renovations. Sager was told by Darnell he would have to apply for the space via a request for proposal process through the Department of Transportation.

The city expected the RFP to post by mid-August, according to e-mails between Darnell, Chun and parking and LADOT analyst Rene Sagles. Darnell followed up with Sagles in November, at which time he was told the RFP would be released the first week of December. On Dec. 2, a follow-up e-mail between Darnell and Sagles indicated what Sagles called a “small setback we need to resolve” and that the RFP would be out the following week. The RFP has not yet been posted.

“I don’t understand it,” Esho said. “Why wouldn’t you lease the space and have a tenant there paying … There’s no accountability. Who are you going to hold accountable for it? They will blame each other [at the city].”

And even as lease deals get inked, merchandising of the street’s tenants needs to be done with a more careful eye, Sager added, factoring in services and lessons learned from the street’s past boom and then bust.

“The street’s lost so much of the retail and we understand that you cannot support retail without services,” Sager said.

It didn’t help that big brands — Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Lululemon, among others — moved in years ago, boosted rents and later left with the recession and rise of competing streets offering cheaper prices. It wasn’t good for real estate and it wasn’t good for a street aimed at trendsetters and neighborhood shoppers, some would say.

“These people [big brands] don’t really look at recessions,” Sager said. “These people have an agency that is looking for them and what is the hottest location. None of these owners stand on the street and see what people are walking them. They have location scouters.”

“I’ve been here for 20 years. This street, I’ve never seen it so bad,” said Sylvia Diaz, owner of the restaurant Cuvée. “Any little thing we can get that would increase our business, I’m shocked that the city doesn’t get it.”

Diaz said longtime customers come in and regularly ask her what happened to the street, referencing the heyday when celebrities shopped there and tour buses rolled through. Today, she’s contemplating whether she should relocate following a rough six months capped by a November and December that were the worst months the business has had during its run on the street.

“It’s never been this bad,” she said. “I’m working harder. I’m trying to come up with new ways of drawing in business and it’s hard. I’ve never had to cut [employee] hours before. These employees of mine, it really breaks my heart.”

(Kari Hamanaka writes for WWD.com … where this piece was first posted.)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS-----The effort to legalize street vendors is moving forward at City Hall.  The proposal has proven controversial in the past, with many residents as well as brick-and-mortar business owners opposed to the idea.  But most of the business owners and managers who were interviewed by The Eastsider were open to but cautious about the measure. 

“If it’s a taco stand, of course it’s competition,” said Miguel Perez, the manager at Acapulco restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, near Virgil Avenue in East Hollywood. But, “as long as [vendors] keep it nice and clean, that would fine.” 

Perez’s answer was typical among [business owners] but so was his surprise to hear that the city was considering the matter; Perez, like most of the other businesses owners and employees who were interviewed, had not heard about the renewed efforts to legalize vendors. 

The latest push comes as advocates are concerned that undocumented immigrants who are cited for illegal vending may face deportation under a Trump presidency. Under a proposal that came out last week from a Council committee, each block could have up to four vendors – two on each side of the street. Adjacent businesses owners would also have the power to approve their presence. The plan goes to the full City Council for review next spring. 

“I know people who are against vendors,” said Meghan Dhaliwal, a manager at Caffe Vita in Los Feliz. “But I think cheap street food is great.” 

Dhaliwal said vendors nearby probably wouldn’t create much competition with her store, since Caffe Vita doesn’t serve hot food. 

Christian Chavez, owner of Echoes Under Sunset on Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park, had heard of the recent vendor proposal and unabashedly supported it. 

“I got no problem with street vendors. They’re convenient,” said Chavez, whose business is primarily a comedy venue – selling drinks, but not much food. “So it’s kind of cool for us to have the street vendors.” 

He added that the vendors are clean and don’t take away from other businesses, since his neighborhood sees so many people. 

“Some people come out of a club or bar get something to eat and keep running,” he said.

The City Council is scheduled to take up the most recent street vendor proposal early 2017.

(Barry Lank posts at The East Sider where this report originated.)  Photo of Boyle Heights Vendor by Ana Facio-Krajcer.

15 CANDLES, 96 POINTS OF LIGHT--In his farewell address last night, President Obama called on American citizens to take concrete steps to create positive change - to be action-oriented, engaged, and to get offline and talk to one another. Luke Klipp, president of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council and recent winner of Streetsblog LA's 2016 Deborah Murphy Award for Excellence in Advocacy (named after our very own founder), explains how you can get to work right in your own neighborhood. 

“Neighborhood Councils are the place where good ideas go to die.” That was me a few years ago, reflecting on frustrations serving on a neighborhood council that, at the time, was more interested in preserving parking spaces than in creating human spaces.

While neighborhood councils were created 15 years ago to better connect residents with their city government, oftentimes it can feel like they just stand in the way of progress. That said, I have since come to recognize the opportunities that these groups represent, and the ways in which people who care about walkability, bikeability, and street safety in their communities can create change on a micro-scale, albeit an important one, through their neighborhood councils.

Many neighborhood councils – though certainly not all – are ambivalent about or openly oppose the things that folks at Los Angeles Walks support: things like more and better-marked crosswalks, more stop signs, and slower street speeds. However, this is neither always the case, nor is it a done deal. As the strongest and clearest link to the constituents they serve, neighborhood councils are more responsive to citizen involvement than any other City function or body.

This brings me to why I’m writing this post and why you should care. In just my few years as an elected member of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council, I’ve seen a sea change in our council’s approach to street safety measures and support for efforts to improve walkability and bikeability, as people who care about these things have shown up, spoken up, and gotten involved.

At a time when much of our world – at least nationally – has been turned upside down, local involvement is one of the best-available tools that we have to effect change.

I guarantee you that, while your neighborhood council may or may not be responsive to your concerns in the moment, if you stay involved, if you keep showing up, if you join a committee and/or run for a seat – you will effect change through your neighborhood council. You will get the marked crosswalk that your busy street needs. You will get your city councilmember to support new street tree plantings. You will get improved DASH service, or better public spaces, or new bike lanes.

But it takes time, it takes persistence, and it takes showing up. As someone who has sat through innumerable meetings hearing the same complaints about how there’s too much traffic and not enough parking; I can assure you that that voice of reason, the voice you can bring to the neighborhood council that says we must do better by our kids and our seniors and our businesses by improving our sidewalks and street trees and crosswalks – that is the voice that is so often missing and so often needed. 

It’s a new year, and we need you more than ever. There’s never been a better time to get involved in your community, and your neighborhood council is a great place to start.

You can find out which council represents you by visiting http://empowerla.org. You can also email me with any questions at [email protected]. Cheers, and happy new year!

(Luke H. Klipp is president of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council. You can follow him on Twitter at @lukehklipp. This piece was posted at Los Angeles Walks and LA Streetsblog) 

Tags:

NEIGHBORHOOD P­­OLITICS--ECHO PARK – A cluster of classic, Spanish-Revival style bungalows on Echo Park Avenue could be demolished to make way for as many as a dozen new homes, according to city records. 

An application filed by the developer with the Planning Department seeks permission to carve up the property at 1456 Echo Park Avenue to build up to 12 single-family homes under the city’s small-lot development ordinance, which allows for more dense development of single-family homes. The project, proposed by Bixel House LLC, would require the demolition of 7 apartments and the removal of nearly 4,000 cubic feet of earth. 

This project of 3-story homes would have a big impact on this section of the avenue, where most of the surrounding one- and two-story buildings date back to the 1920s or earlier and there has not been much in the way of new construction during the past 30 years. 

The request to subdivide the property would be subject to public hearings and additional reviews. Stay tuned. 

Update: In response to the developer’s application, Councilman Mitch O’Farrell issued the following response through his spokesman, Tony Arranaga: “This proposal flies in the face of historic preservation and the Councilmember’s efforts at revising the Small Lot Subdivision ordinance …. In addition, the proposal does not align with the Councilmember’s goals to maintain the historic character of our Echo Park neighborhood.”

(This report was first published at The Eastsider)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS—Vernon--State environmental regulators issued guidelines Thursday that will allow expedited cleanups of high-risk homes near the shuttered Exide Technologies battery-recycling plant in Vernon even before a full mitigation plan and environmental review are completed. 

The Department of Toxic Substances Control released a draft cleanup plan and environmental impact report for public review in December, with cleanup operations to mitigate lead-contaminated soil and properties near the plant anticipated to begin this summer. 

That schedule, however, sparked criticism from some residents and area officials who said some properties near the plant are at particularly high risk. 

DTSC officials said Thursday they will move forward with cleanups on a “case-by-case basis” at a limited number of properties “with high levels of lead in the soil and the greatest exposures to sensitive populations.” 

“We are utilizing all of the resources at our disposal to ensure that we are able to take action to protect the most sensitive populations impacted by the presence of lead in the soil from the Exide operations,” DTSC Director Barbara Lee said.

The agency plans to consider for expedited cleanup properties that have soil with lead levels of 1,000 parts per million or more. 

The agency will also consider cleanups at properties where a resident “has a blood-lead level at or above five micrograms per deciliter, which is the level used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify children with elevated blood-lead levels.” 

The Exide plant permanently closed in March 2015. When Exide agreed to close the lead-acid battery recycling plant, it committed to pay $50 million for cleanup of the site and surrounding neighborhoods. Of that amount, $26 million is meant to be set aside for residential cleanup. 

Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this year signed legislation providing $176.6 million in funding for environmental testing and cleanup work in neighborhoods surrounding the now-shuttered plant. 

State officials said the funding would pay for testing of residential properties, schools, day care centers and parks within a 1.7-mile radius of the plant, and fund cleaning of as many as 2,500 properties with the highest lead levels.

(This report originated at City New Service.)

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--LA City Council candidate Jesse Creed hosted a press conference to call for safety improvements on Westwood Boulevard. Creed is running for the Westside’s Council District Five. 

Creed declared that, due to more than 300 injury collisions over the past five years, Westwood Boulevard is “virtually a deathtrap.” According to Creed, despite Westwood being among the 15 mayoral Great Streets Initiative sites for the past two years, “virtually nothing” has changed. Due to high rates of collisions and death, Westwood Blvd. is part of the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network, streets that experience more than their share of deadly crashes. Creed stressed that his priority is to “make Westwood Boulevard safe for everyone” and pledged that “one of his first actions as councilmember” will be to commission a safety study for Westwood. 

Creed was joined by Westwood residents, academics, and business leaders, all of whom called for greater safety features, including bike lanes, on Westwood Boulevard. Residents and business leaders criticized a lack of representation. UCLA professor Michael Jerrett, a bicycle commuter himself, criticized bike lane opponents as “putting peoples’ lives at risk.” Many speakers emphasized connections between UCLA, which is implementing a bike-share system this year, and Metro rail stations, including the existing Expo Line station and the future Purple Line subway station.

Creed is drawing a clear distinction between his platform and the record of Fifth District incumbent Councilmember Paul Koretz. Koretz quashed an earlier study of designated bike lanes for Westwood Boulevard,  and further undermined the city’s Mobility Plan by yanking Westwood from the city’s Bicycle Enhanced Network. 

(Joe Linton is the editor of StreetsblogLA ... where this perspective was first posted. He founded the LA River Ride, co-founded the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, worked in key early leadership roles at CicLAvia and C.I.C.L.E., served on the board of directors of Friends of the LA River, Southern California Streets Initiative, and LA Eco-Village.)

-cw

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--According to Greg Monfette, of Tree Case Management, an arborist hired by the Larchmont Business Improvement District (BID), the ficus trees planted on Larchmont almost sixty years ago have outlived their welcome (photo above) on the street, and it’s time for them to be replaced through a process of rotational management.

The BID, a consortium of property owners on Larchmont, is trying to address the broken plumbing and sidewalks caused by the tree roots for several years. According to BID Co-spokesperson Rebecca Hutchinson, the BID needs to replace the ficus trees because it will lose its insurance if it gets sued one more time by someone who has been injured falling on a broken sidewalk. (Read the rest.) 

-cw