PARKS’ PLACE-Tuesday, November 18 couldn’t have been more perfect. In the week before families and friends gather to give thanks, I couldn’t resist bringing that feeling early.
Can you believe it? Actually yes, you can see it and believe it. I kicked off my 100th sidewalk reconstruction with the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) and I’m in awe of the impressive work they have done. After you witness decades of city indifference, negligence even, when it comes to repairing sidewalks, to have a partner like LANI just come in and really perform instant magic is just remarkable.
It seems like it was yesterday. About seven months ago, we held a news conference at 807 West Century kicking off our partnership with LANI to repair the worst of the worst sidewalks in the district. Gwen Young’s sidewalk held her captive in her own home. Attempting to walk on the sidewalk seemed like a dare suitable for Evel Knievel.
Geneva James had the honor of being the site of the 100th sidewalk repair on 1762 W. 48th street.
Like Gwen, Geneva had experienced years of difficulty leaving her home due to the conditions of her sidewalk and was losing the battle against a tree with roots that looked like pythons. She and her grandson, Don Dennis, were beyond grateful for the repair. You can see media coverage and pictures from the event below.
While the city continues to shuffle its feet on an overpriced sidewalk repair program that only repairs sidewalks on city property, we will continue to move forward efficiently and cost-effectively. It’s not a secret: this project is being funded through AB1290 funds.
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These funds are discretionary and controlled by each of the 15 Council Districts. They originate from former redevelopment project areas that were eliminated by the Governor a few years ago.
LANI does extreme makeovers and I can’t wait to see how Geneva’s sidewalk turns out.
By June 30, 2015, I hope to complete a total of 400 sidewalk repairs.
As a reminder, this program is designed to repair the worst of the worst sidewalks in the district. Give either of my field offices a call (Constituent Service Center on Vermont, Crenshaw Field Office on Crenshaw) and my staff can assist in determining if a sidewalk is eligible for repair.
(Bernard Parks is Los Angeles Councilman for the 8th Council District. He is also former Los Angeles Police Chief. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 95
Pub: Nov 25, 2014
