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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Word from Eric
New Additions to the Blog
Around the District
Contact Us
Councilmember
Eric Garcetti |
A Word From Eric
It's hard to believe that spring is just around the corner - it seems that just yesterday we were ringing in the new year. As 2006 came to a close, we took stock of our progress during the previous 12 months, and measured the challenges that lay before us. As well as 2006 ended, 2007 began even better, as the son of LAFD Firefighter Sterling Johnson, Ian, scored the winning touchdown of one of the most exciting football games I've ever seen, and then proceeded to ask his long-time girlfriend to marry him. An impressing opening salvo to 2007, Ian and his family gave us a great start to the year.
The Stars of Hollywood and Vine |
Already in the midst of its renaissance, Hollywood played host to its biggest star ever, as elected officials and celebrities alike gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Hollywood and Vine project, a human-centered mixed-use development that will provide 250 living-wage jobs and 79 affordable housing units. A collaborative effort years in the making, the Hollywood and Vine Development will bring glamour back to Hollywood while ensuring that those that believed in the area when it was down will be able to participate in its renewed success. The groundbreaking was just one of the many successes for the community and the city that I highlighted at the annual State of Hollywood Address, where we once again examined where we had been and where we still needed to go.
Reuniting with an old friend - Senator Alex Padilla - and working to get LA's fair share |
Hollywood isn't the only place where big changes are taking place. Congressman Xavier Becerra, who represents much of CD13, was appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the post of Assistant to the Speaker, becoming both the highest-ranking member of the House from Los Angeles and the only Latino member of the Speaker's leadership team. I traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the National League of Cities, in an effort to promote some of our accomplishments, such as the LA River Master Plan, and highlight some of our most pressing issues, such as the need for affordable housing, to Congress. Los Angeles' prominence was not only felt on the national level, but in Sacramento as well, as I spent a day in the capital talking to legislators about getting our city's fair share of the bond dollars approved by voters in last November's election.
Though 2007 holds much promise for our city, I will conclude by highlighting one of the most serious problems faced by thousands of Los Angelenos everyday: Human Trafficking. Modern-day slavery still exists, and earlier this year the city joined the Metropolitan Task Force in announcing the first-ever National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. This day of vigilance kicked off a city wide campaign to combat trafficking that includes a hotline - (800) 655-4095 - and a concentrated public awareness campaign.
NEW ADDITIONS TO THE BLOG
More reasons to read the CD13 blog: we've added a few new regularly occurring items to the blog. You'll notice round-ups from the press and blogosphere about happenings in the district and around the city. From the Top Ten Cultural Products in CD13 to a profile on Alex Baum, namesake of the bike bridge over Los Feliz Blvd., check out what is going on in the community and in Los Angeles. Take a trip around the city, spend a day at the opera, discover the week that was, hear about the dogs rescued in Echo Park, and find out what the city is doing to combat violence on our streets.
Blue bins are now available to all Multi-Family Complexes |
Another new addition from the blogosphere are periodic guest posts from some of my favorite bloggers. The LA City Nerd explains the long connection between the city and St. Vincent's Medical Center, and remembered Charles Toberman, the man that built Hollywood. The Nerd wasn't the only one extolling the virtues of Los Angeles; Siel from Green LA Girl highlights the city's expansion of the city's multifamily recycling program. Now all apartments are eligible to receive the ubiquitous blue bins - sign up your complex today!
AROUND THE DISTRICT
Echo Park
Big things are happening and big changes are coming to Echo Park | Echo Park was one of three clean up sites across the city to participate in the launching of Keep America Beautiful, the national effort on behalf of local communities to wipe out urban blight. Do your part to eradicate litter and graffiti in our neighborhoods!
Speaking of Echo Park, the lake will be undergoing a dramatic remodel, as the city approved $84 million from Proposition O to clean up the water that comes into this stormwater retention basin, much of which flows into the LA River and, eventually, the ocean. Passed in 2004 with 76% of the vote, Prop O represents a $500 million commitment on behalf of the city to clean our water, and at Echo Park we'll be cutting our bacteria count, eliminate pollution downstream, come into compliance with a federal regulation specifically assigned to the lake, and improve the park with a number of environmental amenities. Public workshops should begin this summer. Look for updates on when and where they will be held.
The improvements and clean up centered around Echo Park are a sign of the resurgent community that is doing more and more to strengthen the neighborhood and create a sense of civic pride in the area. These efforts came to a head when the Right Site Coalition won a victory when a judge ordered the Los Angeles Unified School District to conduct an environmental impact review on a proposed site for the new school in Echo Park. Our schools must be built in partnership with the community in a way that complements the design and character of the neighborhood.
Historic Filipinotown
The blossoming of HiFi |
The Temple streetscape improvements achieved another milestone as I joined members from the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA) in celebrating the planting of 75 purple orchids along Temple between Glendale and Hoover. The last stage in a two-year community-driven strategy to beautify the neighborhood, their growth serves as a metaphor for resurgence of Historic Filipinotown.
HiFi's growing appeal was on display last Veteran's Day, as I was joined by Filipino Veterans and elected officials alike in celebrating the nation's first Filipino Veterans Memorial. This beautiful testament to the sacrifice of those soldiers was envisioned by CD13's very own Cheri Gaulke, whose work can be seen all over the southland, from the Pasadena Gold Line to the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council street medallions. Thank you Cheri, for your commitment to social justice and to our community.
Glassell Park
The Glassell Park Seniors were paid a visit by some of their biggest fans on Valentine's Day, from the Glenfeliz Early Education Center |
The Glassell Park Seniors have been doing quite a bit at the Senior Center/CD13 Satellite office. They added some holiday cheer to the office before Christmas, and then received a surprise visit from some of their biggest fans on Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, one of the ideas the Seniors suggested at our public safety summit, free taxi vouchers and bus tokens, became a reality thanks to the great work of our Senior Case Worker, Sally Martinez.
In between playing host to Christmas parties and Valentine's Day celebrations, the field office also attracted a Million Trees giveaway event. Sponsored by the Glassell Park Improvement Association and TreePeople, residents were lining up to pick out plum, peach, and shade trees.
Shutting down a center for gang activity in Drew Estara |
Recent reports about the rise in gang violence touched Glassell Park several weeks ago, as 16 year-old Melissa Paul was shot to death while walking home near the Rec Center.
In response, Councilmember Jose Huizar and I met with residents in the area to discuss how violence is affecting their lives, what they can do fight crime in their neighborhood, and what the city is doing to help. One of the major successes in the area was the closing of the Drew-Estara drug house, a location that had been used to deal drugs for generations.
Finally, after three years of collaboration with the community, we broke ground at the Old Masonry Builders Supply Site. A thin stretch of land between Eagle Rock Boulevard and the Glendale Freeway, it will soon be home to 114 housing units that are well integrated into the community's urban fabric.
Breaking Ground at the Old Masonry Builders Supply Site
Elysian Valley
Lighting up Elysian Valley |
I was joined by Congressman Becerra to witness the lighting of Elysian Valley, as the community gathered on a rain-soaked evening to celebrate the activation of 135 new street lights in the area. A promise that dates back to my initial run for office, the lights are a part of the concentrated effort by the city, the federal government, and the LAPD that has seen crime drop 33% in the past two years in Elysian Valley.
Atwater Village
In memory of the victims of the MetroLink train crash | I was joined by Mayor Villaraigosa, Councilmember Tom LaBonge, Sheriff Lee Baca, and others in dedicating a memorial to the memory of those 11 individuals that lost their lives when a MetroLink train derailed over two years ago. The memorial is a testament to lives we lost that day, but also a reminder of the incredible acts of heroism by the local Costco employees and the first responders. May that bravery stay with us as long as the tragedy of the lives lost that day.
Silver Lake
A quick congratulations to Luis Lopez on his appointment to
the East Area Planning Commission. His experience on the
Silver Lake Neighborhood Council is a great asset as the city
continues to work towards community-centered development.
Hollywood
Imagine: 24 acres of green space over the 101 |
One of the more striking ideas that has ever been brought to my office was putting a cap park over the 101 freeway that would stretch from Bronson to Santa Monica. The city is currently conducting a feasibility study to cover the concrete snake of the 101 with greenspace, reconnecting a divided community and providing open space to one of the park poorest communities in the country.
Riding through the streets of Hollywood | DRC Emergency Services traveled from their home base in Alabama, where they specialize in disaster relief, to deliver 100 new bikes to the Hollywood Police Activities League (PAL). The PAL sponsors community programs designed to provide our youth with alternatives to gangs and drugs. As Hollywood continues to transition into a walkable community, these bikes will give youth in Hollywood a hands on opportunity to incorporate bikes as a part of their daily commute.
Finally, it just wouldn't be CD13 if there weren't a story recounting the heroics of our resourceful staff. This edition's episode focuses on caseworker Arsen Melikyan's rescue of a two-month-old Staffordshire Terrier and placing of the pup in a safe home.
CONTACT US
Councilmember Eric Garcetti represents the Thirteenth Council District which includes all or part of the communities of Glassell Park, Atwater Village, Elysian Valley, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Silver Lake, East Hollywood and Hollywood.
Councilmember Garcetti serves as President of the Los Angeles City Council. He chairs the Council‘s Rules and Elections Committee, is the Vice-Chair of the Energy and the Environment Committee, and sits on the Housing and Community Development Committee. He also sits on the Council‘s Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Los Angeles River.
Councilmember Garcetti and his staff can be reached via e-mail at councilmember.garcetti@council.lacity.org or by mail or phone at City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Room 470, Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 473 7013 and 5500 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, 323/957-4500.
www.cd13.com
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