LOS FELIZ-The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council is the latest group to urge the City to delay a decision on the award of the contract to operate the Greek Theatre in order for the adjacent neighborhood councils to be afforded the opportunity to study the responses in the Request for Proposal (RFP) and to benefit from community presentations.
In a letter, the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council (LF NC) outlined their dissatisfaction with the process, which promised the opportunity for significant community input in both the development of the RFP and review of the responses. The letter states, “In fact the RFP itself notes that ‘The engagement of the Community in the Greek Theatre is a critical aspect of its overall success...’ The invitation to participate never materialized. Based on the nearly five hours of public comment at the October 23, 2014 Recreation and Parks Commission meeting, we believe that this item is of great interest to the community.”
Additionally, the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates comprised of 90 representatives who explore, research, study, seek input, prepare, and present the feelings and spirit of the communities of Los Angeles to the Mayor and City Council requested “that the City Administration Officer oversee an independent and transparent review, analysis, and an apples to apples comparison of the two proposals to manage and operate The Greek Theatre.” Multiple Neighborhood Councils are requesting this same review.
The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council is prepared to partner with Hollywood United Neighborhood Council to sponsor an open forum in December offering both vendors the opportunity to present their proposals including the architectural, programming and financial plans. This would enable individual neighborhood councils to have informed discussions at their respective December meetings and forward any recommendations to the Arts, Parks, Health, Aging and River Committee.
Joining the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council, the following groups have raised concerns with the proposal to move forward with Live Nation.
- Los Feliz Improvement Association: Voted to endorse Nederlander / AEG's proposal and raised questions about the process.
- Hollywood United Neighborhood Council: Joined LF NC, voted to question the process, said community review was inadequate, and asked for more time for community review.
- Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council: Voted unanimously to endorse the Nederlander / AEG proposal.
- East Hollywood Neighborhood Council: Voted against the Recreation & Parks Department recommendation.
- Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates: Voted to ask for an apples-to-apples comparison of the proposals.
- Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council: Voted to ask for an apples-to-apples comparison of the proposals.
- Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council: Voted to ask for an apples-to-apples comparison of the proposals.
In addition to neighborhood council support, over 29,000 community members have signed the Change.org petition supporting the Nederlander / AEG bid to operate the venue. While a decision on who will operate the venue is still undecided, Nederlander is actively programming the 2015 season and has already announced Damien Rice on April 24 and Nightwish on May 1. Multiple shows have been confirmed and will be announced in early spring through the venues annual subscription program.
(This article was provided by Vanessa Kromer, the contact for the Nederlander Concerts. The Greek Theatre is owned by the City of Los Angeles and is exclusively managed, operated and booked by Nederlander Concerts. )
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 96
Pub: Nov 28, 2014
