Cindy Chvatal
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A newspaper for the 90,000 readers in Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Windsor Village, Vol 2. No. 5 Wilshire Historic District, Country Club Park, Lafayette Square, Oxford Square, Brookside, Mid-Wilshire and Koreatown May 20152016 Summer Marlborough Closures in Revises Lawsuit Store for Response Wilshire Blvd. By Allison B. Cohen and By Sheila Lane Sheila Lane Ledger Contributing Writer MID-WILSHIRE—After sev- eral months of discussion about how to close parts of Wilshire Boulevard to build the Wilshire/La Brea subway station of the Purple Line, officials of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Trans- portation Authority are final- The Board of Trustees at Marlborough School have instructed their law firm izing plans for detours for the to revise the school’s response to a agreed upon 22 weekend clo- lawsuit from a former student who sures, which are expected to was sexually involved with a teacher begin in June. no longer at the school. Work will be divided into HANCOCK PARK—The board three phrases. The first will of trustees of Marlborough occur over three weekends Polls will be open Sunday, May 1st for the election of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. Candidates who at- tended a “Meet the Candidates” forum on April 3rd included (left to right) Joe Hoffman, Patricia Carroll, Mike Genewick, School have renounced a pre- between Detroit Street and Jeffry Carpenter, Phillip Farha, Owen Smith, Barbara Savage, Moderator Anne-Marie Johnson, Phivan Ha, Colette Amin, vious filing made on their be- La Brea Boulevard. The sec- Sue Horwitz, James Rosales, Julie Stromberg, Max Kirkham and Nancy Kim. Photo credit: James Rosales see WILSHIRE page 3 see LAWSUIT page 8 Ryu Asks for Sidewalk Triage [PEOPLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD] (HPOZ) in 2007, the neigh- borhood, by city ordinance, is By Sheila Lane, Ledger Contributing Writer Cindy Chvatal: Producing Change supposed to have maintained MID-WILSHIRE—The Los In Her Neighborhood concrete streets, but some Angeles City Council recently By Sheila Lane, Ledger Contributing Writer streets have not been re-done approved the allocation of $1.3 since 1954. billion over the next 30 years The quest for cement to repair broken sidewalks, streets is just one of several and City Councilmember Da- issues that Chvatal has taken vid Ryu wants to be sure that on over years of neighbor- Council District 4 spends its hood activism. She was one of fair share wisely. the founding members of the The need for the repairs Greater Wilshire Neighbor- is the result of a settlement hood Council (GWNC) in reached between the city and the early 2000s, is currently in advocates for the disabled who In response to a recent pledge from the midst of an almost decade- the Los Angeles City Council to spend long run as the president of claimed the city violated the $1.3 billion over 30 years to repair Americans with Disabilities sidewalks, City Councilmember Da- the local homeowner’s associa- Act by allowing miles of bro- vid Ryu addresses the Windsor Vil- City Councilmember David Ryu (left) community leader Cindy Chvatal and tion and is also a member of lage Association and asks for help to Chvatal’s husband John Keane celebrated Chvatal’s honor of being named a the Discretionary Funds Task ken sidewalks to remain unre- identify local damaged sidewalks. Pioneer Woman by the Los Angeles City Council. The recognition goes to the paired throughout the city. woman in each council district who has made outstanding contributions to the Force for Los Angeles City At a meeting of the Wind- “If I can only fix two strength, vitality and enrichment of Los Angeles. Council District 4. sor Village Assoc. in April, sidewalks, for now, in your Although deeply en- HANCOCK PARK—Cindy Chvatal. “The concrete is in Ryu pointed out that $1.3 bil- neighborhood, I [need] to trenched in her community, Chvatal, president of the the mayor’s budget.” lion translates to roughly $31 know which ones to focus Chvatal is originally from Hancock Park Homeowners The concrete in question million a year for the entire on,” Ryu said. Chicago. After attending the Assoc. (HPHA), recently re- is what the streets of Hancock city, so it would be important To that end, Ryu asked University of Illinois, she got a ceived some very good news. Park have been craving for de- not only to identify, but pri- residents and business owners job in a Chicago office of IBM. “Just got confirmation cades. Designated as a Histor- oritize which sidewalks get re- to work with the their neigh- At that time, the company was from the council office,” said ic Preservation Overlay Zone paired first within the district. see SIDEWALKS page 7 see CHVATAL page 10 Real Estate: Community News: Restaurant Review: Mother of Invention: Events Calendar: Comedians Market cooling off? page 5 Nominations needed for Luv2Eat serves flavorful Thai When your child is in the ER, create PowerPoint presentations on sustainable garden tour, page 7 dishes, page 9 larchmontledgerla.com the fly, larchmontledgerla.com Larchmont Ledger [LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER] The Holly- now commonplace. Plan” soon, addressing and wood Sign The problem started about hopefully providing solutions is one of 10 years ago as smart phones for the entire hillside by the FOUNDED 2015 PUBLISHER/EDITOR Allison B. Cohen if not the became ubiquitous offering A newspaper for the 90,000 readers landmark. in Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, most rec- GPS directions to the once Relief could not come Windsor Square, Windsor Village, ADVERTISING SALES ogniz able hard-to-locate entrance at the soon enough for everyone in- Wilshire Historic District, Country Libby Butler-Gluck landmarks in the world and end of Beachwood Drive to volved: residents, businesses, Club Park, Lafayette Square, Oxford 323-644-5536 for the small Beachwood com- the sign. Since then, tourists hikers in the area and even Square, Brookside, Mid-Wilshire [email protected] and Koreatown munity in its shadow, the 350- in cars and on foot have trans- tourists. ASSISTANT EDITOR foot long sign with its 45-foot formed the once quiet area “It’s a bad experience for For editorial consideration, Sheila Lane tall letters has become the 800 into what looks like the park- everyone,” said Beachwood send story ideas to: EDITORIAL ASSISTANT lb. gorilla they both love and ing line trying to get into Dis- resident Jack Conrad. “Bad for [email protected] (323) 741-0019 Erin Hickey hate. neyland or out of Coachella. the tourists, bad for the busi- Solutions, such as residen- The issue has been one of nesses. Bad for the residents.” 1933 Hillhurst Ave. GRAPHIC DESIGN Los Angeles, CA 90027 tial restricted parking even the most emergent to solve for To read more about this & LAYOUT near the area’s small business new Los Angeles City Coun- story visit losfelizledger.com Tiffany Sims district—to stem the crush cilmember David Ryu. No For more stories and updates: of tourists trying to get near one disagrees the situation has Sign up for LarchmontLedgerLA.com it for a photograph—are now become untenable. Some fixes pitting wealthy homeowners are now in place, but so far, no Larchmont Ledger versus merchants and raising one has been able to come up email updates! Visit our sister publication online at LosFelizLedger.com questions regarding public ac- with a solution that will work Register at cess versus public safety. for the entire community. www.larchmontledgerla.com Petitions are flying every- According to Ryu’s Chief where, and today threats of of Staff Sarah Dusseault, the boycotting the area’s tiny busi- councilmember will release ness district and lawsuits are a “Hollywood Sign Action 1ST SATURDAY ROSSMORE AVE OF EVERY MONTH 10AM - 4PM FLETCHER AND SAN FERNANDO AT VAN DE KAMP BEHIND DENNY S MELROSE AVE WILSHIRE BLVD HIGHLAND AVE N Keeping Hancock Park Green, Clean and Safe The Association has completed another successful elm tree planting as part of the Tree Committee’s project to renew Hancock Park’s beautiful elm forest. Trees, like all ADMISSION living things, have a life span and Hancock Park’s elms are 2$ Includes FREE Parking! reaching the end of theirs. The Tree Committee has removed dead trees, stumps and replanted with a mixture of American Elms, the original elm, and Frontier Elms, a newer, hardier, Bring this ad for $1 off Admission WWW.THEODDMARKET.COM more drought tolerant variety. Given the unpredictability of rainfall and temperature ranges, the Committee decided to add to the variety to ensure the survival of our arbor. Councilman David Ryu’s Office has been making a concerted effort to clean up neighborhoods of trash, graffiti and items dumped illegally. Just take a look at the cleanup done at the corner of Lillian Way and Melrose, where the council office cleaned up years’ worth of garbage and erased graffiti on the walls. Working with the LA Conservation Corps the council office has a website where you can request a cleanup: http:// bit.ly/1Msmm96. Unfortunately, crime is still occurring in Hancock Park. Please remember to lock your house, car and activate your house alarm if you have one. If you are the unfortunate victim of a crime file a report with our Senior Lead Office, Dave Cordova. Dave can take a crime report if you call his cell phone, 213-793-0650 or send him an email: 31646@ lapd.lacity.org. Send him all the information, including your name and telephone number. The Wilshire Division Front Desk can be reached at 213-473-0476 for questions and information. The Association’s Committees are working hard to keep Hancock Park a great place to live; so join a committee by visiting our website and be an active part of our community.