NC WATCH-After twelve years of community activism there are still Angelenos who stare blankly when one mentions Neighborhood Councils (NC’s). Probably some of you still get them confused with Homeowners Associations.
Both have parochial interests but NC’s are so much more and they have become an increasingly important partner with the vari ous City Agencies.
Each year the LA Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners recognizes individual NC’s for promoting best practices overall and also for specific projects.
The annual awards were divided into seven geographical areas of the City and each one was chosen for a specific policy they brought to their neighborhoods. All NC Board members and committees are volunteers and receive no compensation other than helping make their neighborhood more livable.
The projects truly were representative of their unique neighborhoods. Sometimes examples are the best way of illustrating what an organization accomplishes. The majority of City departments are now recognizing that NC’s can be of great help in determining and solving challenges.
The awards were presented to the following seven NC’s last month at the annual Los Angeles Neighborhood Congress held at City Hall.
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VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
There is hardly a day that goes by without my receiving notice about some meeting or activity that the Venice NC (VNC) is publicizing.
Talk about diversity in a neighborhood ... Venice would be hard to beat from an economic, philosophical and ethnic makeup. Yet they have managed to form a cohesive group, which serves all facets of their neighborhood and has become an integral part of the community.
The last VNC elections attracted more than 1500 voters and an impressive number of candidates.
Their election outreach is phenomenal and the time spent on recruiting candidates for NC office is extraordinary – the theory being that high recruitment of candidates means increased election turn-out and participation of citizens supporting favorite candidates.
They also have Candidate Forums and voting day is a big celebration with some of the local restaurants and bars featuring specials and entertainment. Obviously they have the support and respect of the community.
Perhaps the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, which is currently seeking suggestions on how to increase voter turnout--- should get some help from VNC.
VNC hosts a yearly Community Bar-b-que, which attracts visitors from all over. They organize the Great Venice Toy Drive; and invite an array of elected officials to their high profile meetings. The heart of this NC is its very active committees on housing; transportation; the Arts; environment; public safety and Ocean Front Walk. Venice is an overall Best Practices example of what a NC can accomplish for its community and the government officials who service the area.
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SUN VALLEY AREA NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
Whereas Venice is a walking neighborhood, Sun Valley and the areas located in the foothills are one of the last pastoral areas in the City. It is economically diverse and ranges from small ranches with kids and adults riding their horses to fairly large homeless encampments. The NC’s have been instrumental in keeping large developments at bay.
Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council is a prime example of creating a community project that involved every aspect of the neighborhood represented. This council created the powerful Neighborhood Pride Day that was a day of rehabilitating homes needing renovations and improvements.
The council engaged the city through Neighborhood Housing Services to rehabilitate 3 homes; then the board assessed other homes requesting help and through volunteers of neighbors… eleven more homes were improved.
The business community was approached to supply goods and services and food for volunteers. This project took vision, hard work, complete cooperation of board members, and a lot of flexibility and determination.
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VALLEY VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
The San Fernando Valley is as large in area as the City of Chicago and just as diverse. It is divided into two regions, North and South. Each region includes seventeen NC’s, thirty-four in total.
Valley Village Neighborhood Council (NCVV) emphasized an important aspect of their community: a need to have a strong business center and to encourage business support for the neighborhood council. This is an aspect that many neighborhood councils could view as a best practices project. The council initiated a program entitled “Light Up Valley Village.”
They first recruited 50 businesses that grew to 99. These establishments would provide special holiday lighting; open the doors of their businesses and provide coupons, snacks, and music; and where citizens could stroll the shopping districts in the evening.
NCVV identified 300 known businesses in the immediate area and helped to develop a strong retail sector, which can provide a strong economic base for the community.
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LOS FELIZ NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council includes Griffith Park and its summer performances of Shakespeare are famous among Angelenos. It is however very much 21st century.
Realizing the increasing importance of social media their award is for its newly designed website. Their creativity and thoroughness in including important city and neighborhood council business is admirable and is of course a “Best Practices” leader in website design.
The new website has an updated calendar of local events and an array community service programs to peruse. An important addition has been the “Survey of the Month” where citizens have the opportunity to voice their opinion on a variety of subjects.
This survey interaction with citizens is an important way for citizens to voice concerns and keep in contact with the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council. They in turn have tangible back up in trying to improve conditions or make changes with City agencies
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EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS WEST
Empowerment Congress West located in the Baldwin Hills area has many competing organizations all trying to recruit volunteers. It used the neighborhood council election season to orchestrate an all out campaign to reach stakeholders and recruit new board members in the process.
Recruitment was done at special events and council meetings. The most important strategy was to hold elections in conjunction with the local very popular Farmers Market.
This resulted in a 100% increase in voter turnout. Other neighborhood council areas should consider this neighborhood council plan for elections where there are farmers markets, large shopping centers, or activities created in conjunction with elections.
Ethics Commission take note! One of the suggestions citizens have made is to hold elections in Malls and centers of activity instead of garages on private streets that are hard to find and change with every election.
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ARROYO SECO NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council WAS considered one of the lesser performing NC’s. It is the turn-around story of the year.
They have moved forward from extremely low-turn out for Board meetings to standing room only. Outreach has become a prime concern of Arroyo Seco NC. Their council has expanded its participation in community events; has directly hosted their own special events; has actively grown their database of citizen contacts; established regular email blasts; and created a newsletter.
This recognition is important and no doubt will motivate them to continue this direction.
In fact, The East LA Neighborhood Councils have banded together to form the Alliance of River Communities (ARC). They are all becoming very active.
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HARBOR CITY NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
Because the Harbor area is the Southwestern most part of the City they are sometimes viewed as being apart from the rest of the NC’s.
Harbor City Neighborhood Council however, is great example of a neighborhood council bringing citizens together to address an important public policy issue regarding public safety.
This neighborhood council worked with their state senator and assembly representatives, their city council representative, and the State Department of Transportation (Cal-Trans) to arrange funding to build a safety fence along Western Avenue (state highway) to prevent Narbonne High School students from jaywalking across this very dangerous portion of the street.
Harbor City Neighborhood Council civically engaged and brought together citizens, students, parents, school staff and politicians to accomplish this task. This council is a good example of an organization that researched a problem, engaged all aspects of the community that could influence the decision-making process, and carried out a plan of action that would help fund this important public safety project.
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According to Department Manager, Grayce Liu, “Our goal with these awards is to celebrate Neighborhood Councils, furthering positive perceptions of their work, providing a platform for sharing best practices and encouraging high standards as they work to engage community members and work with the City to address local needs.”
Not so bad for a group of volunteers? These seven were singled out of the ninety-five- but many of the other NC’s are doing great things for your neighborhood. You should check out your local NC and if nothing else, say “thank you” for making your individual neighborhood a better place to live, work and play.
As always comments welcome.
(Denyse Selesnick is a contributor to CityWatch focusing on activities, policies and foibles in NCLand. She is a former Publisher and international event organizer and is also active in many neighborhood council activities. She can be reached at: [email protected])
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