LA Congress of Neighborhoods: It’s about Politics and Public Service

MY TURN-When someone outside of Los Angeles asks where you live...the answer is invariably ‘LA’ and for some it's ‘The Valley.’ That is rather arrogant since it refers to the San Fernando Valley and we do have several other Valleys in Los Angeles. Yes, we live in this wonderful sprawling City, but we really live in neighborhoods. It’s where we raise our families, go to the grocery store or religious institutions, watch our kids play sports like soccer and make lifelong friends. Our neighborhood is our haven when the world seems like it’s just too much. This is home! 

The Neighborhood Council (NC) system was initiated by former Councilman Joel Wachs to develop community spirit on a local level. It was brought to fruition by former Mayor Hahn and added to the City Charter by the citizens of Los Angeles. 

Today, there are ninety-six neighborhood councils covering every part of this city. For the past twelve years, they have played a vital role in truly representing their communities, not in foreign policy or macro-economics, but in areas of everyday life. Neighborhood Council activists work to make sure their streets are clean and cared for…they work with local responders to ensure their community is safe in case of a disaster…they keep track of what elected and appointed local officials are doing to provide the services and projects that are needed in their community and the entire city. 

Once a year there is a Neighborhood Council Congress which is held at City Hall but planned and executed by NC representatives from all over the City. It is a full day of forty workshops for Neighborhood Council Boards of Directors who are often referred to as "volunteers," which they are in the literal sense. They don't get paid for their time or aggravation... but in reality they are elected officials, voted into office by members of their community. 

The annual Congress was held this past Saturday under the Chairmanship of Ms. Cindy Cleghorn from the Sunland Tujunga NC. More than 650 attendees came to soak up the atmosphere of City Hall and mix with several city councilmembers as well as other elected officials, including the Mayor and City Council President. That was the icing on the cake.  

There were workshops on every conceivable areas under NC jurisdiction. This included topics such as learning how to "Say No to Developers, how to run a successful meeting, recruiting and training new leaders, and political etiquette (and, yes, there is such a thing!)  Dakota Smith, a journalist at the Daily News, along with Moderator Commissioner Lydia Grant and myself spoke to a standing room only audience on how to work with the media. 

Kevin James, President of the Public Works Committee, headed a panel with the heads of his departments so the audience would know whom to call when there was a problem and how to develop a relationships. I think it is harder not to return a call from someone you know. 

About fifty percent of the attendees were new or had served on their Boards less than five years.   One of the positive things that have happened to the Neighborhood Councils this year is that Council President Herb Wesson has re-arranged the council committees and placed the Neighborhood Council system under the jurisdiction of the Rules Committee that he chairs. He opened the event in his usual warm and humorous manner, setting the stage for the rest of the day. Under his Rules Committee, there have already been changes to several items the NC's have long been lobbying for. 

City Attorney Mike Feuer talked about the importance of the NCs to individual communities and introduced some of the community-based assistant City Attorneys who are actually working in the new system he inaugurated. Feuer said that the NCs, along with the attorneys, have a better chance to combat crime in their particular area because they know all the players. However, I take exception to the stringent rules that his attorneys present to the Neighborhood Councils. The first words out of their mouths are usually why something can't be done. This has to be modified. 

New Councilmembers David Ryu and Marqueece Harris-Dawson both remarked how they had interacted with the neighborhood councils in their area. And, of course, Controller Ron Galperin is the poster child for the NCs. He always acknowledges how he came up through the NC ranks. 

Mayor Eric Garcetti closed the day with a challenge for NCs to help him with the "Clean Streets" Initiative. He stressed the importance and how influential the Neighborhood Councils and its stakeholders are in the City and he looks forward to further cooperation. 

Ms. Cleghorn was especially thankful to her city-wide committee that has been planning this event for the last six months. When asked her "take away" from the event, she said NC members should "have a vision which will keep your NC focused and on track; take photos, research rules, fact check, inform yourself, talk to the department, listen-listen-listen; know the difference between an emotional opinion and opinion based on facts. The community needs (and wants) to be involved in the decisions that affect them. Be reasonable... right isn't always right! Projects can be better when working together and we will accomplish more by always being kind.” 

Usually the "Empowerment Awards," given by the Department and the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC) are held at the same time as the Congress. This year, they were held at a separate event at City Hall. More than 320 people attended, and undoubtedly it will continue to be a separate event, according to Lydia Grant who chaired the dinner. 

Each BONC Commissioner, representing a different areas of the city, bestowed an award on a Neighborhood Council that had performed above and beyond for their community.  

In addition, EmpowerLA, the city department overseeing the NCs, presented individual "spirit" awards. 

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The winners were: 

North Valley: Sylmar NC for their outstanding Equestrian event which showed the importance of working with other like-minded groups and showed how important it was to the lifestyle of the community. It resulted in the City designating a "K" overlay in certain areas which cannot be broken.  The first of its kind. 

South Valley: North Hollywood Northeast NC and North Hollywood West NC, with the help of other community organizations, have transformed a long-time hazardous and blighted area into a water-saving garden and artistic landmark. The project also helped develop new friendships, and an open awareness of how much can be achieved when Neighborhood Councils cooperate with one another. 

Central LA: Westlake South NC has recruited a Board reflecting all ethnicities in the community. Has conducted the free Neighbor-to-Neighbor event in MacArthur Park to connect people to the NC, to city services, and local non-profit services. They have also sponsored an Immigration Legal Fair, working with organizations involved with immigration rights. 

Central LA: Also from Central, Mid-City West NC has responded to community constituents requests to create safe routes for bicycling and walking. They created a comprehensive plan and received a grant of $806,765 to create two bike routes. The project was ranked 7th of 15 bicycle infrastructure projects. This project proves that neighborhood councils can respond to community needs and get big things done through strong and diligent advocacy. 

East, LA: the Eagle Rock NC is being honored for several reasons. They make sure that all meetings, including land use, are on the web site. They have taken a hard look at the structure of their neighborhood council and made important infrastructure changes. They submitted written recommendations on every significant Planning Department case and Conditional Use Permit in Eagle Rock. It was only one of two neighborhoods in all of LA to take advantage of a state grant for tree well cutting that was administered by the Council District. Board members walked the streets of Eagle Rock to plot locations for over 250 new sidewalk tree wells. 

West LA: West LA NC holds eight free concerts and movie nights to bring the community together. They recently partnered with NIKE to re-open the skate plaza and do a renovation at their civic center plaza. The West LA NC was an integral partner in the renaming of the Sawtelle area as the “Sawtelle Japan Town” area, recognizing the historic Japanese community. 

South LA: Empowerment Congress Southwest Area Neighborhood Development Council has conducted sidewalk summits to discuss sidewalk issues. They have developed outstanding cooperation with schools, neighborhood housing services and elected officials to improve the quality of their stakeholders’ lives. They are an excellent example of the success of strategic collaborations. 

Harbor Area: Harbor Gateway North NC’s Emergency Preparedness Committee mobilized 63 block leaders to go door to door in their neighborhoods with small bags of information on how to prepare for a major emergency. A survey was given to residents in an effort to identify those who had medical skills, construction skills, own generators or are Ham radio operators. Information from the surveys laid the groundwork for sponsoring CERT classes during May and June of this year, the first such classes in ten years. In addition, a number of stakeholders began preparing to pass the Ham radio license exam, which was given in July. 

No matter where you live in the City of Los Angeles... Neighborhood Councils are at work. Do support them and their activities. They make your life better! 

As always…comments welcome.

 

(Denyse Selesnick is a CityWatch columnist.  She is a former publisher/journalist/international event organizer. Denyse can be reached at: [email protected]) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.

-cw

 

 CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 79

Pub: Sep 29, 2015