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Eastwood
Coalition Everyone
was welcomed and the meeting was called to order. KC started by thanking
everyone whose continued efforts helps keep this organization going
strong. First item on the Agenda: Crime
Report: Senior
Lead Officer Armen Sevdahlian reported that there have been two homicides
in the area, unrelated, but not random. One was drug related and the other
was prostitution related. Officer Armen will have more to report on these
at our next monthly meeting. Both crimes are yet to be solved: (1800 block
of Garfield/1800 block of Gramercy) Officer
Armen also reported to us that the person causing the rise in automobile
theft has been arrested, and is going back to jail. Re:
5555 Hollywood Blvd – vacant lot. Officer Armen told us that the
property owner signed a Trespass Arrest Authorization letter, which allows
the police to arrest trespassers without having to first call the property
owner. Thanks to this, the police arrested 4 people in that lot. Also,
the demolition of the bungalows has been postponed, but will soon take
place. Cindy says that homeless are coming and going into the round
building (Panorama) through the rear portion of the building. Armen
says that she should call the non-emergency number and tell them that
there is a Trespass Arrest Authorization letter on file. Officer
Armen reported that Residential Burglaries slightly increased because
people keep leaving their windows open, probably to get some relief from
the summer heat. Cindy
thanked Armen for his help in busting a drug-house on Garfield. The
question came up about the availability of homeless shelters for the
people that are finding the need to hang out on that property. Armen
explained the homeless outreach program. He also explained that the people
hanging out on that property don’t fit the profile of the mentally
challenged. Mr.
Brian Hirsh (Hired by Bond Development to oversee the property at 5555
Hollywood Blvd.) doesn’t want to invest money on security for the vacant
lot, since the bungalows will soon be demolished. After that, they plan to
secure the lot with a fence. Dave suggests that Hirsh also maintain the
property, specifically he should paint the Panorama and install security
lights on the lot. He feels that it’s important that Mr. Hirsh help us,
and asked Armen to plead this case for us. Cindy
feels that Hirsh was thinking of her as his unofficial security officer
and secretary. He even told her that the LAPD would provide security for
the property. He gave her instructions on whom to call if she saw anything
on the property. Armen
will call Mr. Hirsh and explain the concerns of the community. Hirsh will
also be reminded that the Panorama will not be demolished. Stacey said
that Hirsh should keep the place in order. Armen will also call Building
and Safety. Neighborhood
Watch: Garfield
Watch is now official. Cindy has created flyers for the September 22nd
meeting (at the Gershwin). The flyers are in several languages. She
started this because she was sick and tired of the crime on her street. The
Catholic Church says we can hold a Garfield Block Party event in their
parking lot. For more information, you can contact Cindy through her
e-mail address, at: GarfieldWatch@hotmail.com
or call her, at: 323-957-9733. Cindy
announced that she has a meeting scheduled with Bill Kysella from the City
Attorney’s office this coming Monday morning. She will be telling him
about the gangs, MTA, crime on the vacant lot, drug deals, noise, etc. (A
month ago the back of a car got taken off by a speeding MTA bus – then
the puppy that lived on the Panorama property got hit and killed by an MTA
bus. The Buses are now taking their toll on Garfield). Steven
says that all bus routes must be on concrete, not just on asphalt, and
that we should take that into consideration before suggesting possible
alternative bus routes. Speed
Humps on Garfield – children sometimes run in the street, some seniors
have motorized chairs, neighbors walk their dogs – the MTA buses (and
traffic, in general) drive too fast. Cindy said that because the Catholic
School is right across the street on Franklin, she’s thinking that (at
least part of) Garfield might qualify as a school zone. Steven
has started a Speed-Hump request three years ago on Taft with no petition
and they are supposedly next on the list. Nancy explained the difference
between speed bumps and speed humps. Garfield will probably get the speed
humps. Cindy
also announced the tree-planting project starting on October 2nd,
and suggested that folks volunteer. For more info, call
323-466-5828, or e mail Adam, at: akear@earthlink.net. Taft
Ave:
Rory
Kirkpatrick, from CD 4, gave word to KC to pass that Taft Ave. is in the
queue for resurfacing and speed humps. Steven explained that any street
that receives speed humps must first be resurfaced. Street
Cleaning for Hollywood Blvd:
KC
reported that in order to have Hollyood Blvd properly cleaned, the Street
Services will post temporary “no parking” signs during early morning
hours, approximately once every six weeks, or as reasonably needed. During
these early hour parking restrictions, the street will be cleaned. Then,
the signs will come down. We
must call in order to have it done. Pierre didn’t seem too pleased with
this news, so KC suggested that he speak with Mr. Taguchi, himself. Whole
Foods: Dave
reported to the neighbors that we are in a gray zone, with most of us
being dissatisfied with the level of dialog that exists between Bond
Development and the neighbors. It’s unclear where we are in the process
regarding public hearings, etc. We have been having some dialog with the
city council office. But,
Bond wants to add a third level of parking on top of the building to
accommodate our requests (for employee parking), and CD 4 seems to be
supportive of that. But, we don’t want that huge of a building in our
neighborhood – it’s out of scale. There are also different issues: we
are still concerned about the huge number of tractor-trailers and vans
that will be delivering all day and evening on a residential street.
Simple requests to Bond, such as taking care of their property, are being
ignored or resisted. Stacy
feels that this is a big picture issue, that if we wait until the trucks
and trailers are a problem for us, it will be too late. The neighbors know
this and that’s why we’ve been persisting with a dialogue with the
developer. We
will continue exploring the possibility of an Environmental Impact Report
to take place before Bond is allowed to have permits and go forward with
construction. Fire
Station 82: KC
says that the meeting that Prop F held was to announce the relocation of
Fire Station 82 to the Florentine Gardens parcels. LaBonge and Garcetti
support the relocation to the FG site. This issue is not over with: We
need to now go to a hearing of the Prop F. Administrative Committee. They
will meet on September 23rd at 1pm, at City Hall. The neighbors
that live near Florentine Gardens will attend to say that they embrace the
Fire Station coming into his neighborhood. Eastwood neighbors need to
remind this committee why they protested both previously suggested Fire
Station 82 locations, and why we support the decision to place the fire
station at Florentine Gardens. Erik
Sanjurjo from CD 4:
Just
returning from vacation, Erik stopped by to fill us in on some
neighborhood issues. He reported that LaBonge has an initiative regarding
the Bulky Items in the neighborhood. His proposal is to assess a 2-dollar
a month fee to apartment owners to cover the cost of removing this stuff.
The 2 dollars will be split 50/50 between the tenants and the landlord.
Erik is also pushing for a public education program to go along with this
program. The proposal is on its way to public works, then Budget
Committee, and then City Council (by the end of the year). They have the
tenant and the union support, but are working to get the apartment owners
on board. Dave
asked how we can avoid making it okay for all apartment buildings to pour
large amounts of furniture, etc. on the street because they are paying
their $2.00 fee? Erik says that they are working on creating a limit or
some controls. Erik
will check into the three-way stop on Wilton and Franklin. Parking:
LaBonge
wants to know if we would support having parking meters operate on
Saturdays in certain commercial districts? If we can raise money this way,
we can build parking lots. Tom LaBonge would like to know what people feel
about that idea. CRA
– Development: Tomorrow
night will be the final panel meeting for voting on the CRA redevelopment
project. This meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm, and will be held
in the Community Room of the Hollyview Apartments, located above the
Ralph’s Market and Ross’s Dress for Less on the Hollywood/Western
corner. Meeting
Venue:
Anne
Marie and Fran expressed their feelings that that meeting back at the
Hollywood-Adventist church would result in more attendance – the chairs
are more comfortable, and there’s air conditioning. Elaine said that she
parked at Ralph’s, but didn’t know if her car was secure. Stacy
felt that there might be a secular issue with meeting in a church. KC
disagreed and relayed that nobody from the church had ever tried to
encroach their personal beliefs onto the neighborhood. They offer us a
place to meet as part of their neighborhood outreach. Regarding the
parking, KC hoped that by moving to the meetings to the Gershwin, the
public officials attending our meetings would get to experience the lack
of parking issue (first hand) when they come to meetings at the Gershwin.
He would like for us to try meeting at the Gershwin for a little longer.
If it doesn’t work out, then we can always go back to meeting at the
Hollywood-Adventist church. Stacy
will check with the people at Ralph’s to get confirmation that it’s
okay to park there. Our
next monthly meeting will be October 5th, 7:00 pm, at the
Gershwin Hotel. The meeting was adjourned. |
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