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Lead Officer Report
Officer Sevdalian reported on crime in the area (down, car burglaries up). He
also informed us of a city service hotline which can be used to request
ANY City-provided service, such as fallen tree/palm frond removal;
graffiti removal; street lamp repair, large object pickup, etc. All
of these services are provided FREE by the city and can be requested by
calling 3-1-1. During normal hours, they'll transfer you to the
direct department you need, during off-hours, they'll take your message
and forward to appropriate dept.
Officer Sevdalian also informed us of a Thai festival which will be held
on June 1st at the corner of Van Ness and Hollywood Blvd. For more
information on this festival call officer Sevdalian for the Organization's
information, at 213-485-4310.
OLD BUSINESS
Graffiti was addressed (yet again), and it was reiterated that you can
call the City for free removal. Officer Sevdalian also explained the
process by which they build a case against perpetrators (by photographing
the tags which usually include the tagger's name or initials). They
can then prosecute and hopefully discourage future vandalism.
Resource Cards
In previous meetings we had discussed producing referral cards with
numbers of local social services that provide necessities such as food,
shelter and medicine. The purpose was to be able to give the cards
to local merchants and their customers, so that if they were solicited it
was an option for them to give assistance not in the form of money.
Catherine Zarate of the 7th Day Adventist Church researched this idea and
found there was already a similar card in existence, sponsored by the City
of LA and The United Way. It's called INFO LINE, and they produce
small wallet-sized cards, larger flyers and even some posters. These
cards have one phone number listed for each suburb, and this number will
refer a needy person to the service they are requesting. We will
revisit these cards at the next meeting for further discussion.
Crosswalk - St. Andrews and Hollywood
It was discussed that we should do more pushing for a "smart"
crosswalk (pedestrian crosswalk) for Hollywood Blvd. at St. Andrews Place,
where crossing is perilous.
Fire Station 82
The fate of Fire Station 82 is currently being kept under wraps because of
litigation. The Fire Bond cannot officially comment until the
litigation has been settled. Yesterday, on May 7, the City Council
was scheduled to go into closed session and vote on this litigation.
Currently, we have placed phone calls to our City Council representative,
Tom LaBonge, to find out if the matter was settled - allowing us to know
the old/new/revised plan for the location of Station 82. I will keep
you advised as to what I learn in a future email - hopefully very soon.
Beautification/Redevelopment
Thai Town
Mary Apisakkul of the Thai Community Development Center did a presentation
on her organization's development and beautification plans. The
official area they are affecting is Hollywood Blvd, between Western Avenue
and Normandie - Thai Town. Their plans include erecting
"gateways" into Thai Town from either direction, these gateways
being angel statues. Future plans also include tree planting.
The group has worked very hard at organizing the merchants in the district
to support renovation plans and ideas. They are a great model for
our area directly east of Western Ave. Without the support
of merchants in the district no effective redevelopment can occur.
Eastwood Beautification/Redevelopment Plans
Next we went into discussion on redevelopment opportunities in the
Eastwood area (loosely bordered by Western on the East, Franklin on the
North, Sunset on the South, and Gower on the West). The special
focus area for renovation is Hollywood Blvd., between Western and the 101
freeway.
A beautification committee has been meeting for roughly a month to discuss
possibilities for this area. A list of projects has been developed,
and includes tree-planting; a greenspace (corner of St. Andrews and
Hollywood Blvd); wastecans; banners; sidewalk repair; sidewalk cafés;
volunteer cleansweeps of problem areas; a parking structure; lamppost
renovation; and public benches. One of the most important aspects of
successful renovation is the support of retailers, and it was noted that
we need to bring merchants on board for most of these plans to work.
Not actually addressed at the meeting due to lack of time was the idea of
creating a Merchant's Association
for the focus area of development.
Volunteers are also sorely needed to be the "contact people" for
some of these projects. This would entail making some phone calls
for research, typing up findings and reporting on them. Anyone who
has an interest in helping out please let me know.
NEW BUSINESS
Needle Exchange
The Hollywood Free Clinic is currently considering allowing the Needle
Exchange Program to operate out of their offices (located just east of
Gower). Neighbors and neighborhood organizations are against the
program, due largely to schools nearby and the detrimental effect it may
have on businesses adjacent. Unfortunately, Councilman Eric Garcetti
(rep for that area) has come out in support of this location. A
strategy meeting to discuss how to fight the Needle Exchange Program was
held, unfortunately, at the same time as ours on Tuesday. However,
if you would like more information or would like to know what to do to
make your voice heard, call Fran Reichenbach of the Franklin Hollywood
Hills Community Council at 323-462-1514.
ADMINISTRATIVE
Lastly, if you would like to be informed of the monthly meeting via mail,
please send your mailing address to me and you will receive both email and
mail notification of future meetings. (Katherine Etzel eastwoodorg@cs.com)
NEXT MEETING
Tuesday, June 3, 2003 @ Seventh-Day Adventist Church; 6:00 - 7:30 pm
(always the first Tuesday).
Katherine Etzel eastwoodorg@cs.com
or call 323-462-1514 |
