Councilmember
Eric Garcetti |
A Word From Eric
Dear Friends,
December has begun its annual cycle of hurry-up and slow-down, the crushes of the end-of-year legislative hearings and the restorative lull between Christmas and New Year's. I don't make New Year's Resolutions, but I like to take this time to look back over what I've been able to accomplish, and to recognize and honor those I've accomplished it with.
In the December 2003 edition of the e-news, I described a year's worth of work that had somehow been crammed into a single day (like I said, not extraordinary for this time of year). Reviewing the goals I had set for my office and myself at that time, it's instructive to see how far we've come.
There's $36 million out there for L.A., and that's just the EITC. |
On that day, I had sat in on interviews for what we then described as an "EITC coordinator". I had proposed that the city hire someone who would promote the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal benefit for which many working families qualify but too few claim. If all qualified applicants in Los Angeles received the benefit, the city would have $36 million more in spending money. Not only would that money make families' lives easier, it would circulate through the economy to the benefit of all.
Announcing ACCESS to the world |
Just twelve months later, the city has begun its ACCESS program, which goes far beyond the EITC, using libraries and Worksource centers to promote benefits to help working families with work, health, school, and home. ACCESS will help Angelenos find out about job training programs and the EITC, about Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and other health supports, about college scholarships like Cal Grants and Pell Grants, and about low-income utility programs. With ACCESS, the city is spending none of its own money, simply promoting underutilized existing programs. The only expense is the salary of the program coordinator, which is paid with a federal grant. And like none of the individual programs, ACCESS takes advantage of the likelihood that a family that qualifies for one benefit will be able to take advantage of others. Poor communities in Los Angeles could realize billions of dollars in benefits.
Last December, I wrote about protecting the Housing Trust Fund in budget deliberations. The investment of precious city funds was worth it: for every dollar we spend on constructing affordable housing through the trust fund, we make five more by qualifying city projects for state affordable housing funds and tax credits at a rate that far outstrips any other community in California. Additionally, money spent on housing construction creates jobs locally—and, of course, helps to ease the housing crisis.
In last year's letter, my proposal for an Office of Immigrant Affairs had just been heard in committee. This year, the office opened, hired a talented executive director, and has begun its survey of the city to find out how we can do a better job for our considerable immigrant population.
And one year ago, the final version of the Superstores Ordinance that I had developed with City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, Mayor Hahn, Councilmember Ed Reyes, and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy had just been unveiled. By the middle of this year, it had been through hearings at the Planning Commission and the full City Council, and was signed into law.
Announcing an innovative No-Sweat Ordinance |
And there's more that I hadn't even foreseen when I wrote last year's letter. I had no idea that we would pass a half-billion-dollar initiative to protect our city's waterways with the second-highest margin of victory in the city's history (only the Zoo bond beat Proposition O, passed in November). I could not have told you that we would find the money to back up our innovative No-Sweat Ordinance with real, collaborative enforcement.
I had only just begun to sketch out the program that would become UNTAG, Uniting Neighborhoods To Abolish Graffiti, leading to fifty-percent reductions of tagging in some neighborhoods and the virtual elimination of vandalism in others. The month before UNTAG began, there were 396 reports of tags in CD13; six months later, that had nearly doubled, with 80 UNTAG block captains calling in 726 instances of graffiti.
I hadn't yet met with Roberto Haraldson, now co-chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, to hear his proposal to institute a city-wide "lifeline" cable service, affordable to those who just wanted cable for the reception. But this month I announced that, as a result of the work of the SLNC promoting this idea and the city's Information Technology Agency, Adelphia would provide a $12 monthly rate with all broadcast and public/educational/government channels.
Last year at this time, I had just begun to talk to Councilmember Wendy Greuel about cooperating on business tax reform. Then, reducing business tax receipts by 15% over five years was still so controversial that it looked like any new proposal was doomed to gather dust along with the past three decades' attempts. But the principles of fairness and simplicity combined with the evident affordability of our proposal took on enough momentum to propel it to unanimous approval by the council and signing by the Mayor.
Last year I might have paused before boldly stating that we could double the number of parks in the district. But 2004 saw the opening of Meadowvale on the L.A River, Bimini Eco-Slough and Madison West in East Hollywood, and the Lake Street Skate Park, bringing us to an increase of 13 parks over the 15 we started with.
As I said above, I don't make New Year's Resolutions (although I do plan to play more basketball next year). But my promises and those of my staff to the people of the 13th Council District and the City of Los Angeles are serious and made with the full force of commitment. So I promise to work even harder in 2005, to open more parks, to lower crime and graffiti, to push for a more safe, just, and livable Los Angeles...
...after a little bit of holiday rest.
Happy Holidays from me and the whole CD13 staff,
Eric
The regular legislative update will return in January. Please feel free to contact the e-news editor for updates on any policy matters of interest to you.
CD13 says goodbye to Legislative Deputy Alexandra Paxton, who developed ACCESS and led the charge for business tax reform.
Isaac Hayes, composer, voiceover actor, and king, appears in Council before being honored by the Millenium Momentum Foundation at Disney Hall.
Honoring Patricia Kuff and Marian Aguilar in Council
This is not the L.A. River you grew up with: Announcing a plan.
Those of you who attended my "look ahead at 2004", delivered to the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, may recall some of the goals I set out for CD13 in Atwater Village: new sidewalks, driveway apron fixes, and speed hump approvals. As you've read in the e-news since then (including this month's), I've made serious progress on all of those items, not to mention crossing a few off the list. On Thursday, January 13th, 2005, I will join the neighborhood council at New Hope Chapel for a look ahead at the coming year. Let's set the bar even higher!
I missed the annual Atwater Village Tree Lighting ceremony on Glendale Boulevard, but the giant Redwood on Glendale Boulevard lit up for its 14th time. (I was meeting with other city officials at the League of Cities conference in Indianapolis.)
Speed humps have been preliminarily approved for installation on Boyce Avenue and on Revere Street, between Glendale and Los Feliz; on Perlita, between Fletcher and Silver Lake Boulevard; and on Madera, between Glendale and Tyburn. The next step is petitioning the neighborhood to demonstrate a threshold of support. Please let Field Representative Jim Omahen know if you would like to help get the speed humps installed.
Valley Brink Road used to be known to city officials and Atwater Village residents as having the worst sidewalks in Los Angeles, but this December it finally lost its title. Despite a small and dwindling resource pool for sidewalk repairs, CD13 was able to provide much-needed repairs on that street.
South-of-Fletcher got a much-needed clean-up this month, with special concentration on the area beneath the 2 Freeway.
Glassell Park
Dedicating the new improvements at Glassell Park Recreation Center with Assistant GM George Siegal and local Senior activist Helen Jacobs. |
I was immensely proud to attend the rededication ceremony at the much-improved Glassell Park Recreation Center. This project has had tremendous interest and support from the community, and I look forward to its use by all.
Less gritty, more pretty: Early last month, Anahuak, GPIA and the GPNC led a terrific clean-up along San Fernando Road.
The Northeast Holiday Parade was Sunday, December 5th, with music, rides, food booths and a big ol' Santa Claus. The big guy in the red suit will make another appearance this Saturday, December 18th at the Recreation Center to distribute Toys 4 Tots including 25 supplied by CD13.
On January 10th, please join me at the groundbreaking for the hard-fought, long-awaited Public Storage Community Center! The center will include 7400 square feet of space, including a senior center, a kitchen, and a CD13 field office. Two conference rooms will be available, and there will be 40 community parking spaces.
On the 12th of January, I will swear in the Glassell Park Chamber of Commerce in a ceremony at 7 World Wide (formerly Applied Graphics). I am immensely proud of this brand new, diverse and representative Chamber. See you there!
The Glassell Park Improvement Association installations will follow right after, on the 20th of January.
Elysian Valley
A bus shelter will soon rise at Allesandro and Riverside. More are coming along Rriverside, adjacent to the 5 freeway, but there are issues to be worked out with Caltrans, who would need to allow us to use their property since the sidewalk is too narrow to install the shelters. George Magallanes of Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg's office has more information. In the meantime, we are working on getting some temporary benches.
The Neighborhood Land Trust, the organization that the city spun off with urging from my office to create small-scale parks, has taken on a project in Elysian Valley: the much-sought-after skate park for on Marsh Street, which was formerly being developed by Elysian Valley United. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is leasing the land for the skate park to the NLT for a nominal amount. Adjacent to the proposed park, the SMMC will build a passive park of more than three acres in size.
The Elysian Valley Lighting Project is going into Phase I, starting on Eads and proceeding for six or seven blocks. The $1 million design and construction of the lights have been financed with public funds, but the project will require a maintenance assessment from the neighborhood. Ballots for the assessment, which should run about $50 annually, will be sent out in the spring.
I "meeted and greeted" Elysian Valley residents at Dorris Place Elementary School, which, as many of you probably know, Marilyn Monroe attended. I did not have the honor of meeting or greeting her, but Virginia Adams, Ricardo Rodriguez, Laura Rodriguez were all on hand to discuss EV issues with me.
See more on the Elysian Park expansion below.
El Centro in Echo Park has agreed to be the fiscal sponsor for Elysian Valley United's radio project. The money is in, and soon EVU will train the next generation of Walter Winchells, Ryan Seacrests or El Cucuys.
Echo Park
Preliminary work on the boathouse will have begun by New Year's! With $122,000 in federal money that Congressman Xavier Becerra helped us find, the boathouse will be made more structurally sound and will be restored aesthetically as well. Whether you're re-shooting scenes from Chinatown, competing against my three-time winners in the Lotus Festival Race (scroll down to "Odds and Ends") or just going out for a lazy afternoon paddle with a friend, this community amenity will be much improved. Thank you, Congressmember!
The much-heralded Elysian Park Expansion along Riverside Drive will go forward now that $1.5 million has been allocated from voter-approved park bond Proposition 40.
Many of you have been experiencing traffic problems in Echo Park due to the long-awaited Glendale Boulevard project. I'm happy to report that progress is being made daily. The light has gone in at Aaron; a flashing crosswalk has been installed by the Sunset Blvd. bridge, 100 trees have been planted, and stamped crosswalks are on their way. I live in Echo Park, so I sympathize with you. But Glendale will work much better after the project's completion.
Nearly 500 people purchased tickets to attend the Echo Park Historical Society's Second Annual Historic Echo Park Home Tour, climbing such steep streets as Cerro Gordo in Elysian Heights and Quintero off Sunset Boulevard to explore 10 homes in a variety of styles. To demonstrate the year's theme of Hillsides and Hideaways, the tour featured homes with stunning views or intimate canyon and city vistas.
Get back into the community-meeting spirit in the New Year with the Echo Park Improvement Association's January 6th meeting or the Neighborhood Council's January 18th meeting. Deputy District Director Mitch O'Farrell has more information.
Historic Filipinotown
St. Vincent's Medical Center has announced the opening of the Cancer Awareness and Prevention Center on Beverly Boulevard. A recent report on health statistics in the Filipino-American community reported an increase in deaths from cancer among Filipina women, breast cancer in particular. The Center hopes to facilitate earlier and more frequent check-ups in the community.
The Belmont High New Group, comprising neighbors, school representatives and the LAPD has begun meeting on the first Monday of every month. On January 5th, the group will discuss quality-of-life issues in the community surrounding Belmont High.
After neighbors like Spencer Cross brought complaints to LAPD, two arrests of prostitutes have been made at Beverly and Alvarado.
Dogeaters, the award-winning play at SIPA, has closed after a well-reviewed and well-attended run.
Silver Lake
Silver Lake's redoubtable Senior Lead Officer Dawn Lewis reported to my office this month that a gang member who had been involved in ammunition and drug dealing was arrested last month. He lived on Silver Lake Boulevard and was the target of two recent drive-by shootings, one of which, I believe, was reported on here. The arrested man had set up a surveillance camera with which to see potential assailants. His landlord has initiated eviction proceedings since his arrest.
The controversial Red Car property has been purchased and is in the hands of a new owner. As always, my office will watch any proposed development plans very carefully and will insist on a robust community process in determining the future of the site.
The Mayberry Elementary School 5th graders who participated in the Full Circle program of the Wildwoods Foundation have graduated! More than 70 5th graders met weekly over a two-month period, going on field trips to local parks and participating in classroom and neighborhood activities to explore the connections and parallels between nature, human ecology and personal behavior. Their final project, which they came up with on their own, is a toy/food/clothing drive to benefit local kids. If these kids are the future of our city, we are in good hands.
East Hollywood
This month saw the beginning of a new tradition: the Greater Griffith Park, Hollywood Studio District, and Hollywood United Neighborhood Councils held their First Annual "Mixed Neighborhood Councils" Holiday Party, setting the stage for inter-council collaboration in a relaxed setting.
The neighborhood around Catalina and Kenmore is leafier now with the addition of 70 California Sycamores, each planted by the Hollywood Beautification Team in memory of a Californian who perished in 9/11.
I was honored to receive an award at A Taste of Hollywood, held at the Youth Center on Vermont. The event, sponsored by the Congolese Community of Southern California and LA Bridges II, offered an opportunity to make community connections and take in the artistry of local entertainers.
My house coffee at the Children's Bureau/Rosewood Community was well attended. More than twenty people showed up to talk about green space and public safety, and I handed out toys to be distributed by the Children's Bureau. If you missed the house coffee, please come to the group's Holiday Party this Saturday, December 18th at Alexandria Elementary. It's open to all, so come on over if you would like to make some friends in the neighborhood.
Trouble starts with T: Many of you were concerned about the proposed "pool hall" seeking permissions for a site at Oxford and Western. Field Representative Christina Ortega testified at a Zoning Authority hearing to your quality-of-life concerns. The establishment will not be opening at that location.
The first election for the Lemon Grove Park's Park Advisory Board (PAB) will be held on Monday, January 6th. If you are a frequent user of Lemon Grove and have some ideas for programs and improvements, please talk to Christina Ortega about getting involved.
Hollywood
Toys for the kids of CD13 |
With the help of many generous donors, CD13 has been able to deliver toys to needy children this holiday season. SIPA, EVU, the Hollywood Literacy Program have all had toys to hand out to kids because of the spirit of people like Charlie Woo, Shu Kwan Woo, Gary Minzer, Donelle Dadigan, George Braunstein, Dr. Mahfouz and Donna Michaels
from Clinica Medica-San Miguel, and the good folks at the St. Martin of Tours Church in Brentwood.
The Hollywood Christmas Parade once again surprised the whole city with a stellar showing. The weather was great and it was terrific to be out on newly decorated Hollywood Boulevard with parade marshal Magic Johnson, comedian George Lopez, Brad Garrett from Everyone Loves Raymond and the rest of the stars. Now, one last thing for the chismosos (gossips) out there: the strikingly elegant woman riding in the car with me was Amy's and my good friend Allie, whom Amy asked to be in the parade. So no big ideas.
A thank you goes out to the Kodak Theater, who generously made it possible for hundreds of CD13 residents to see The Ten Commandments with Val Kilmer.
Hollywood provides more services to the homeless than any other Los Angeles community save Downtown. This year, writes in Scott Milbourn of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Covenant House will add an additional 16 beds for homeless youth as part of the city's vital Winter Shelter program.
