Amy Alcon
Thank you for such a richly informative Venice Update (not that this is unusual!) and for printing my email about Gjelina’s hijacking of our neighborhood’s parking. Loved that you even printed the relevant bits from the Jones Settlement at the bottom. You really provide a huge service. –
Steve Freedman
I agree with Liz Wright. I strongly oppose the idea of closing the Washington Blvd. Alley. That alley is part of our local circulation plan. It keeps a lot of commercial deliveries off our streets. We use that alley to get to the shopping center at the SW corner of Lincoln and Washington. Those neighbors who park in their garages on adjacent alleys need that access. Closing the alley to prevent cut-thru traffic makes no sense as it would push more of that traffic onto our residential streets. While traffic around our neighborhood is bad, reducing the number of routes would only make the congestion worse. Bad idea!
Linda Lucks
The Free Venice Storage container has a 10 person wait list. Needs more room.
Peter Griswold
Many Triangle residents enjoy walking the neighborhood on sidewalks about 50 inches wide.
Some homes have bushes growing over sidewalks narrowing them to less than legal 36 inches.
Alexandra Jamison
As a follow-up, Saturday, December 6th, 2014 the Basin reeked so badly, we had to hold our noses and sought refuge in mists of vanilla/orange spray…
Amy Alcon
In the worst drought in California in 1200 years, the Brig made a mountain of snow on Sunday, with loud horrible noise permeating our neighborhood for hours and then more loud noise till late at night on Sunday, illegally power-washing the snow away.
Monday, they started powerwashing at 8am. It is 3:11 pm, and the guy is still out there. The noise has been horrible all day. And think of the terrible water waste — at time when farmers can’t water their crops and rivers and lakes are drying up.
Those who profit from The Brig — David Paris, Nancy Cowen, and Dave Reiss — show no respect for the neighbors, the laws, or common consideration, and this is enabled by the LAPD. Both Jon Peters, the former captain, and Brian Johnson, the current one, have ignored the noise laws and allowed our neighborhood to be abused…for years and years (almost a decade).
Lucky for all of them that they live so far away from their business that they are not besieged by noise from it like we who live around it are.
Jill Prestup
The Venice Historical Society & SPARC are having a special holiday sale Saturday, December 13th
At SPARC (Old Venice Police Station), 685 Venice Blvd., Venice.
Visit us and enjoy a unique combination of holiday gifts with lots of surprises.
Yolanda Gonzalez
In response to Amy Alcon on Danny White. Miss Alcon you probably have a problem parking in your own home because you either have a difficult access to an ally to get to your parking space with a small garage. Or your garage is used for other means. Or you just don’t have a parking space like many homes in Venice because these homes were used as vacation homes in the past. I took an inventory several years ago on alleys in Venice and so many are in die heart of repair. But the property owners need to take action for these repairs. Many homeowners were not willing to spend the money nor take action. They are still complaining.
In reference to your complaint about the Brigg, I am part of the Group of Women for Alcohol Justice. Some of us in that group closed down 15 bars in Boyle Heights. Because of these past elections, I am waiting from my good friend in the group who is already on the works to continue with new policies at the state, city, and district level to modify old policies set by the state for the ABC. Now, we need to see which Assembly Representative is willing to take on our movement and changes and cause.
One thing that I have noticed is that most of this young outsiders are coming to this place using Uber services. It is the IN thing for them to do. These new milenials are changing the way we live and how they are choosing different ways from how their parents did things. My tenants leave their cars or ride their bikes to eat and meet with their friends and travel using Uber. We need to clean up the alley behind these restaurants and stores. IT is ashamed the way it looks and the dirt being their. Lets open up to change and new improvements. On my book I am glad 100 people are employed, happy, working in Venice. It is not their fault the city CAN’T get its act together. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS YOUNG KIDS SLEEPING ON THE STREET. But THE CITY sure as hell knows how to collect their share.
The homeless problem in my opinion is political. It is a problem all over the City of Los Angeles. OTHER POLICE STATIONS are having a battle to understand what policy is the right one to follow AND APPLY. IT IS the City Attorney WHO needs to really weigh in on this one. I just had a private meeting with another Council District Representative and requested from him an answer as to why in certain areas of the city, the city is allowing this problem to get out of hand. I told him of a resource that works in the Housing Department that the Housing Department wants certain areas to go blight and be declared blight, Venice being one of them. His response was that he has personally brought the issue of housing and the homeless issue before the City Council, but no one wants to address the issue.
Now, as many of you know, I am a member of the Coalition for the Apartment Owners Association. We already have a so call audit on the amount of low income housing from city and county. We already have a listing of the organizations and owners of Section Eight Housing. 1,864, JUST FOR THE City and County. Did I not request a while back an actual audit of how many units there are? No answer. The audit IS a joke. We also requested from The Coalition of East LA and Boyle Heights asking, who is in charge of permanent supportive housing units. Guess what, never have we gotten a response nor do they want to give us an audit or accountability. We even marched in protest because of the problems been brought to the communities by the supportive homes paying owners of this housing units up to 1,845, dollars, NOT PESOS to house this individuals.
The homeless problem is just as bad on that end of town. Plus we have had young girls disappear and found dead. So, we need to keep supporting the Law Suit filed by the Venice Stakeholders Association to get results and solutions to this big problem in our own back yards. HAVE WE NOT HAD OUR SHARE OF TRAGEDIES ALSO? I TO HAD A HOMELESS SLEEPING IN MY LAUNDRY FACILITY. BUT, as my friend and I were walking to attend the lighting of the Venice sign on Grand it sadden me to see women, young ladies sleeping on the street.
And last but not least the Short Term Rentals.
How did this rental economic development start?
There are good housing providers and there are those that are bad. But there are good more good ones than bad ones.
The LAHD needs immediate reform. Some of the code enforcement workers who will retire soon are in agreement that the city needs to look at this department because of corruption within the department for many years. I can go into further details. But I want to get to an important issue that most of you are not aware of. Lately I have noticed new comers on my block who are renting units for a short time or for a month. I was lucky to come across a couple who asked me, about the neighborhood and access to restaurants and places within Venice. My curiosity was to ask them where they were from and how long were they here for. Knowing they were staying in one of the condos behind me. They were from Canada and they were here because they use to go to Acapulco every year because they love Mexico. But at this time it was unsafe to go back. I told them I was from Mexico City, and of course they immediately open up to me. As matter of fact they rented a home that belongs to very good friend of mine. They come from a very cold part of Canada. Have several businesses. But found California a replacement for Mexico because of our weather and LA today had so much to offer and places to go to. So they choice Venice. I asked them if they looked into Pasadena? YES, BUT why Venice. Venice gets free publicity of its own. Not only for what it is but what people have made of it. More books have been published on Venice. For its architectural design homes and because it is special. Here is your answer to why people are coming not only to Venice but to Los Angeles. I remember at this time of the year so many Americans, snowbirds from the west coasts of the USA and Canada going to Mexico for three months during what we call the high season. Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica are the favorites. But because of the problems Mexico facing at the moment people are afraid to go or they cannot get the good places to rent since they are booked in advance and Mexican families use it for their purpose. WE are talking tight security resorts, which I stay at when I go on vacation. The hotels are booked here in Marina. Santa Monica you have to go on line to get a reservation. So in a way I hope we welcome these folks. Lets get City Council to come up with a solution because in my opinion this situation has been going on for a while. I find people who own this rentals keeping them cleaner better maintained and improving their buildings. We just have to clean up our mess of problems for them to keep coming back. Besides the city itself has already lost 1million 7 hundred units . I wonder why?
Marcia Hanscom, Sierra Club & Ballona Institute
It appears there is an ONGOING ASSAULT of nature on the LA coast – especially in the Ballona Valley – and especially in Marina del Rey.
Please read below and MAKE A FEW PHONE CALLS TODAY AND TOMORROW to THREE of the County Supervisors.
Besides the more than 1,000 trees that are planned to be removed at Mariners Village – which we are working diligently to stop (and making SOME progress, which I hope to update you on in person very soon) — and besides the plans to build a 7-story hotel atop the Marina Marsh at Tahiti & Via Marina –we’ve just learned this past week that the plan for Oxford Lagoon – which is near the Marina City Club – to the northeast of it – and is part of the historical Ballona Wetlands – includes removal of more than 600 trees!
We were told by Beaches & Harbors officials that ONLY diseased trees (other trees would stay!) would be removed and NO native plant life would be removed. Now, it appears that ALL trees are slated for removal and all plant life is planned to be removed – starting TOMORROW!
Below are the phone numbers and email addresses for the County Supervisors and either their chiefs of staff or special assistants.
Tell them that you would like the tree killing and marsh plant bulldozing stopped.
Tell them that you would like the project at least stopped until their offices AND
• Sierra Club (Kathy Knight and Marcia Hanscom) AND
• Ballona Institute (Marcia Hanscom & Roy van de Hoek) AND
• West LA Democratic Club representative (Kathryn Campbell) AND
• Marina Peninsula Community Council (Sandie West) AND
• Venice Neighborhood Council (Marc Saltzberg)
are invited to a meeting to discuss the plans and to determine how to proceed with plans that are not destructive to nature.
Sheila@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:Sheila@bos.lacounty.gov> (Gilbert 213 974-3333)
mmoore@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:mmoore@bos.lacounty.gov>
hilda@hildasolis.com<mailto:hilda@hildasolis.com> (Olivia 213 974-4111)
phong@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:phong@bos.lacounty.gov>
markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov> (Jacklyn 213 974-2222)
njenkins@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:njenkins@bos.lacounty.gov>
819
Comments–14 December 2014
Amy Alcon
Thank you for such a richly informative Venice Update (not that this is unusual!) and for printing my email about Gjelina’s hijacking of our neighborhood’s parking. Loved that you even printed the relevant bits from the Jones Settlement at the bottom. You really provide a huge service. –
Steve Freedman
I agree with Liz Wright. I strongly oppose the idea of closing the Washington Blvd. Alley. That alley is part of our local circulation plan. It keeps a lot of commercial deliveries off our streets. We use that alley to get to the shopping center at the SW corner of Lincoln and Washington. Those neighbors who park in their garages on adjacent alleys need that access. Closing the alley to prevent cut-thru traffic makes no sense as it would push more of that traffic onto our residential streets. While traffic around our neighborhood is bad, reducing the number of routes would only make the congestion worse. Bad idea!
Linda Lucks
The Free Venice Storage container has a 10 person wait list. Needs more room.
Peter Griswold
Many Triangle residents enjoy walking the neighborhood on sidewalks about 50 inches wide.
Some homes have bushes growing over sidewalks narrowing them to less than legal 36 inches.
Alexandra Jamison
As a follow-up, Saturday, December 6th, 2014 the Basin reeked so badly, we had to hold our noses and sought refuge in mists of vanilla/orange spray…
Amy Alcon
In the worst drought in California in 1200 years, the Brig made a mountain of snow on Sunday, with loud horrible noise permeating our neighborhood for hours and then more loud noise till late at night on Sunday, illegally power-washing the snow away.
Monday, they started powerwashing at 8am. It is 3:11 pm, and the guy is still out there. The noise has been horrible all day. And think of the terrible water waste — at time when farmers can’t water their crops and rivers and lakes are drying up.
Those who profit from The Brig — David Paris, Nancy Cowen, and Dave Reiss — show no respect for the neighbors, the laws, or common consideration, and this is enabled by the LAPD. Both Jon Peters, the former captain, and Brian Johnson, the current one, have ignored the noise laws and allowed our neighborhood to be abused…for years and years (almost a decade).
Lucky for all of them that they live so far away from their business that they are not besieged by noise from it like we who live around it are.
Jill Prestup
The Venice Historical Society & SPARC are having a special holiday sale Saturday, December 13th
At SPARC (Old Venice Police Station), 685 Venice Blvd., Venice.
Visit us and enjoy a unique combination of holiday gifts with lots of surprises.
Yolanda Gonzalez
In response to Amy Alcon on Danny White. Miss Alcon you probably have a problem parking in your own home because you either have a difficult access to an ally to get to your parking space with a small garage. Or your garage is used for other means. Or you just don’t have a parking space like many homes in Venice because these homes were used as vacation homes in the past. I took an inventory several years ago on alleys in Venice and so many are in die heart of repair. But the property owners need to take action for these repairs. Many homeowners were not willing to spend the money nor take action. They are still complaining.
In reference to your complaint about the Brigg, I am part of the Group of Women for Alcohol Justice. Some of us in that group closed down 15 bars in Boyle Heights. Because of these past elections, I am waiting from my good friend in the group who is already on the works to continue with new policies at the state, city, and district level to modify old policies set by the state for the ABC. Now, we need to see which Assembly Representative is willing to take on our movement and changes and cause.
One thing that I have noticed is that most of this young outsiders are coming to this place using Uber services. It is the IN thing for them to do. These new milenials are changing the way we live and how they are choosing different ways from how their parents did things. My tenants leave their cars or ride their bikes to eat and meet with their friends and travel using Uber. We need to clean up the alley behind these restaurants and stores. IT is ashamed the way it looks and the dirt being their. Lets open up to change and new improvements. On my book I am glad 100 people are employed, happy, working in Venice. It is not their fault the city CAN’T get its act together. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THIS YOUNG KIDS SLEEPING ON THE STREET. But THE CITY sure as hell knows how to collect their share.
The homeless problem in my opinion is political. It is a problem all over the City of Los Angeles. OTHER POLICE STATIONS are having a battle to understand what policy is the right one to follow AND APPLY. IT IS the City Attorney WHO needs to really weigh in on this one. I just had a private meeting with another Council District Representative and requested from him an answer as to why in certain areas of the city, the city is allowing this problem to get out of hand. I told him of a resource that works in the Housing Department that the Housing Department wants certain areas to go blight and be declared blight, Venice being one of them. His response was that he has personally brought the issue of housing and the homeless issue before the City Council, but no one wants to address the issue.
Now, as many of you know, I am a member of the Coalition for the Apartment Owners Association. We already have a so call audit on the amount of low income housing from city and county. We already have a listing of the organizations and owners of Section Eight Housing. 1,864, JUST FOR THE City and County. Did I not request a while back an actual audit of how many units there are? No answer. The audit IS a joke. We also requested from The Coalition of East LA and Boyle Heights asking, who is in charge of permanent supportive housing units. Guess what, never have we gotten a response nor do they want to give us an audit or accountability. We even marched in protest because of the problems been brought to the communities by the supportive homes paying owners of this housing units up to 1,845, dollars, NOT PESOS to house this individuals.
The homeless problem is just as bad on that end of town. Plus we have had young girls disappear and found dead. So, we need to keep supporting the Law Suit filed by the Venice Stakeholders Association to get results and solutions to this big problem in our own back yards. HAVE WE NOT HAD OUR SHARE OF TRAGEDIES ALSO? I TO HAD A HOMELESS SLEEPING IN MY LAUNDRY FACILITY. BUT, as my friend and I were walking to attend the lighting of the Venice sign on Grand it sadden me to see women, young ladies sleeping on the street.
And last but not least the Short Term Rentals.
How did this rental economic development start?
There are good housing providers and there are those that are bad. But there are good more good ones than bad ones.
The LAHD needs immediate reform. Some of the code enforcement workers who will retire soon are in agreement that the city needs to look at this department because of corruption within the department for many years. I can go into further details. But I want to get to an important issue that most of you are not aware of. Lately I have noticed new comers on my block who are renting units for a short time or for a month. I was lucky to come across a couple who asked me, about the neighborhood and access to restaurants and places within Venice. My curiosity was to ask them where they were from and how long were they here for. Knowing they were staying in one of the condos behind me. They were from Canada and they were here because they use to go to Acapulco every year because they love Mexico. But at this time it was unsafe to go back. I told them I was from Mexico City, and of course they immediately open up to me. As matter of fact they rented a home that belongs to very good friend of mine. They come from a very cold part of Canada. Have several businesses. But found California a replacement for Mexico because of our weather and LA today had so much to offer and places to go to. So they choice Venice. I asked them if they looked into Pasadena? YES, BUT why Venice. Venice gets free publicity of its own. Not only for what it is but what people have made of it. More books have been published on Venice. For its architectural design homes and because it is special. Here is your answer to why people are coming not only to Venice but to Los Angeles. I remember at this time of the year so many Americans, snowbirds from the west coasts of the USA and Canada going to Mexico for three months during what we call the high season. Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica are the favorites. But because of the problems Mexico facing at the moment people are afraid to go or they cannot get the good places to rent since they are booked in advance and Mexican families use it for their purpose. WE are talking tight security resorts, which I stay at when I go on vacation. The hotels are booked here in Marina. Santa Monica you have to go on line to get a reservation. So in a way I hope we welcome these folks. Lets get City Council to come up with a solution because in my opinion this situation has been going on for a while. I find people who own this rentals keeping them cleaner better maintained and improving their buildings. We just have to clean up our mess of problems for them to keep coming back. Besides the city itself has already lost 1million 7 hundred units . I wonder why?
Marcia Hanscom, Sierra Club & Ballona Institute
It appears there is an ONGOING ASSAULT of nature on the LA coast – especially in the Ballona Valley – and especially in Marina del Rey.
Please read below and MAKE A FEW PHONE CALLS TODAY AND TOMORROW to THREE of the County Supervisors.
Besides the more than 1,000 trees that are planned to be removed at Mariners Village – which we are working diligently to stop (and making SOME progress, which I hope to update you on in person very soon) — and besides the plans to build a 7-story hotel atop the Marina Marsh at Tahiti & Via Marina –we’ve just learned this past week that the plan for Oxford Lagoon – which is near the Marina City Club – to the northeast of it – and is part of the historical Ballona Wetlands – includes removal of more than 600 trees!
We were told by Beaches & Harbors officials that ONLY diseased trees (other trees would stay!) would be removed and NO native plant life would be removed. Now, it appears that ALL trees are slated for removal and all plant life is planned to be removed – starting TOMORROW!
Below are the phone numbers and email addresses for the County Supervisors and either their chiefs of staff or special assistants.
Tell them that you would like the tree killing and marsh plant bulldozing stopped.
Tell them that you would like the project at least stopped until their offices AND
• Sierra Club (Kathy Knight and Marcia Hanscom) AND
• Ballona Institute (Marcia Hanscom & Roy van de Hoek) AND
• West LA Democratic Club representative (Kathryn Campbell) AND
• Marina Peninsula Community Council (Sandie West) AND
• Venice Neighborhood Council (Marc Saltzberg)
are invited to a meeting to discuss the plans and to determine how to proceed with plans that are not destructive to nature.
Sheila@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:Sheila@bos.lacounty.gov> (Gilbert 213 974-3333)
mmoore@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:mmoore@bos.lacounty.gov>
hilda@hildasolis.com<mailto:hilda@hildasolis.com> (Olivia 213 974-4111)
phong@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:phong@bos.lacounty.gov>
markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:markridley-thomas@bos.lacounty.gov> (Jacklyn 213 974-2222)
njenkins@bos.lacounty.gov<mailto:njenkins@bos.lacounty.gov>
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