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Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Newsletter
March
11, 2005
Re: NEIGHBORHOOD
CAFÉ’S THIRD SEASON IN THE CAN. PREVIOUS SHOWS REPEATED.
STAFF REPORTS FOR BONC AVAILABLE.
NEIGHBORHOOD
CAFÉ’S THIRD SEASON IN THE CAN (SO TO SPEAK)
The third round
of Neighborhood Café shows were just taped. Nine in three
days. That’s 25 shows in total. We know some of the air times
on Channel 35, and the rest will be announced soon. Tune in and
hear from some of your favorite Neighborhood Council leaders.
Monday, March
28, 10:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“Tree
Planting with the TreePeople”
Planting trees
is good for people, neighborhoods, the environment, and birds, so
what’s holding you back? Diann Corral (Mid-Town North Hollywood)
and Terri Davis (Greater Toluca Lake) describe their tree planting
projects, and how they got city grants to leverage their money.
Jim Summers from TreePeople explains how they train Neighborhood
Council leaders to become “Citizen Foresters.”
Tuesday, March
29, 8:30 a.m.
“Two
Great Neighborhood Improvement Projects: Vincent Thomas Bridge Lighting
and Wilmington Gateways”
Wilmington is
revitalizing itself in many different. Dennis McCarbery (Wilmington)
talks about the Vincent Thomas Bridge Lighting project, a 17-year
collaborative effort by many organizations including the Wilmington
Neighborhood Council. Jack Babbitt (Wilmington) is working on improving
Wilmington in a different way. Together with the Los Angeles Neighborhood
Initiative (LANI), the Neighborhood Council is working hard on creating
10 gateways around Wilmington.
Thursday, March
31, 8:30 a.m.
“Creative
Ways to Involve People and Youth Outreach”
Outreach is
one of those things that is on each Neighborhood Council’s
“to do” list. The Greater Griffith Park and Atwater Village
Neighborhood Councils are no exception. Charley Mims (Greater Griffith
Park) describes their outreach while preparing to be certified.
Perla Miranda (Atwater Village) illustrates the various outreach
activities and methods that all Neighborhood Councils are currently
adopting to reach out to stakeholders. How is the youth involved?
Maribel Ramirez,
a youth specialist, and Johnny Godinez (Boyle Heights) convey the
importance of involving youth in a meaningful way. Joe Gatlin (Central
San Pedro) explains his grass-roots approach at informing housing
project residents of issues in their community.
Coming soon
to a theatre or drive-in near you:
“A Great
Neighborhood Improvement Project: Grand Avenue”
“We’re
trying to make Downtown Los Angeles the living room of the city!”
said Brady Westwater (Downtown Los Angeles) explaining the concept
of the Grand Avenue Project. Along with Bill Witte of the Related
Companies of California, they describe the extensive outreach that
all parties are taking at making this project a true community effort.
“L.A. SHARES
and Equipping Neighborhood Council Offices”
Neighborhood
Councils are beginning to find and occupy office spaces … a
place to hang their shingle. The City of Los Angeles has streamlined
its system especially for the Neighborhood Councils. Bert Ball from
L.A. SHARES explains how his nonprofit helps provide free supplies
and equipment for the offices. Nicholas Krall (Sylmar) talks about
his experience in getting their office set up, and Jackie Mendez
from the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment describes how the
City helps cut the red tape.
“Why We
Love Our Senior Lead Officers”
When the Neighborhood
Councils in the Harbor Area and their Senior Lead Officers started
talking about how to do better prevent crime in the 60-acre Peck
Park, they decided that the Neighborhood Councils would share in
the cost of buying three ATVs so the police could patrol the park
more easily. It was a major investment in public safety. Officer
Steven Muirhead (Harbor Division), Ralph Galante (Coastal San Pedro),
and Howard Uller (Central San Pedro) explain this exciting partnership.
Officer Amanda Serrano (Rampart Division) tells viewers what Senior
Lead Officers do and why everyone is so happy that they’re
back.
“An Outsider's
View”
Raphe Sonenshein,
former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission,
and Craig Summers from Coro recall their original expectations of
the new Neighborhood Council system, describe their current observations,
and talk about the potential of the Neighborhood Councils. It’s
a refreshing viewpoint from two people who aren’t associated
with any Neighborhood Council, but who are able to analyze the system
objectively from the outside.
“The Making
of the Los Angeles Mayoral Debates”
The evolution
of the Neighborhood Council system took another big step forward
when leaders organized themselves to sponsor two debates involving
the five major candidates for mayor. Working through the Los Angeles
Citywide Alliance of Neighborhoods and CityWatch, an online newsletter
for Neighborhood Councils, these leaders designed the debates working
with KCBS Channel 2 and KCAL Channel 9, which agreed to televise
two commercial-free 90-minute forums. It wasn’t easy, but it
was an unforgettable experience. Bill Christopher from the Alliance,
and Ken Draper, CityWatch editor, explain how it all came together
and the value that it had for the Neighborhood Council movement.
“A Candid
Discussion with the General Manager”
Host Brad Pomerance
hosts this special program and interviews Greg Nelson, the General
Manager of Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Greg talks about
the past, present, and future of the Neighborhood Council system.
(Note: This wasn’t my idea. There was a last minute cancellation
and I just happened to be standing there in the studio – GN)
PREVIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD
CAFÉ SHOWS REPEATED
Here are the
air times for last round of Neighborhood Café shows which
are being repeated.
Monday, March
14, 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“The
People Sound Off”
The Official
Neighborhood Café Cam caught up with several Neighborhood
Council leaders at the Congress of Neighborhoods and recorded their
thoughts and suggestions about the future. Among those who had an
opinion and gave it freely were: Dan Bernstein (Hollywood Hills
West), Ken Wyrick and Candy Tanamachi (Boyle Heights), and Daniel
Andalon (Historic Highland Park). Greg Nelson, General Manager of
the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment comments on the comments.
Tuesday, March
15, 8:30 a.m.
“A
Great Neighborhood Improvement Project: Bee Canyon Park”
Mary Ellen Crosby
(Granada Hills North) is the kind of energetic and devoted person
that any Neighborhood Council would be proud to have promoting it
parks projects and programs. The Neighborhood Council matched a
contribution from Councilman Greig Smith with a significant amount
of its money to reopen a playground in Bee Canyon Park. The Department
of Recreation and Parks explains how it call came together.
Thursday, March
17, 8:30 a.m.
“A
Great Neighborhood Improvement Project: Broadway-Manchester Streescape”
(You won’t
be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this early will you?)
A top priority
of the community was to create a landscaped median down Manchester
Avenue, and to create other improvements as part of a million dollar
project. Elizabeth McClelland from the Empowerment Congress Southeast
Area Neighborhood Development Council, and representatives from
the city’s Bureau of Street Services explain how this was done,
and how other Neighborhood Councils can do the same thing.
Monday, March
21, 10:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“Fight
Blight”
Broken windows,
dilapidated houses, and junk on the front yard sends a message that
the residents of the area have given up on their neighborhood. That’s
not acceptable to the Mayor’s office or to Neighborhood Council
leaders like Leslie Evans (Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood
Development Council). An inspector from the Department of Building
Safety joins Leslie on a tour of his neighborhood as he explains
how much more effective the fight against blight has been since
the Neighborhood Council got started.
Tuesday, March
22, 8:30 a.m.
“The
Trauma Centers Crisis”
The closing
of the King/Drew trauma center has not only created a crisis in
South Los Angeles, but its domino effect is creating problems throughout
the entire county. Dr. Richard Baker, and Robert Cole (Empowerment
Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council) explain the
situation and what can be done.
Thursday, March
24, 8:30 a.m.
Graffiti
Prevention, Part II
Graffiti consultant
Tim Kephart goes into details about his innovative tracking system.
Before the graffiti is eliminated, it’s photographed and put
into a database. Captain Pat Gannon (Harbor Division) explains how
this process helps the police catch the bad guys and reduce crime.
The Harbor City Neighborhood Council and other cities have contracted
with Tim to deal with this problem.
STAFF REPORTS
FOR BONC POSTED
Click
here to view the staff reports that have been prepared for
the next meeting of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners on March
15.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greg Nelson
gnelson@mailbox.lacity.org
866 / LA HELPS
213 / 485-1360
213 / 485-4608 fax
done@mailbox.lacity.org
email
www.lacityneighborhoods.com
website
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