​Thank you again to everyone who attended!  Special thanks to our CD5 Councilmember, Katy Yaroslavsky, CD5 Field Deputy, Michelle Flores, Senior Lead Officer Harry Cho, of Olympic Division, Captain Borboa of LAFD Fire Station 29, Brett Miller of ADT Patrol and Brian Liddy of SSA Security Group Patrol.  Thank you also to Eleeza Agopian and family who hosted the meeting and to everyone who brought food and chairs.

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CD5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky discussed the state of the City and budgeting issues that will delay the rest of our street light repairs until May.  She and her Field Deputy answered questions and provided guidance to our neighbors on homelessness issues on 9th, speed bumps on Leeward and stop signs on Bronson (a traffic study is being conducted), and overtime funds for additional LAPD patrols.  There was some discussion about street cameras with license plate readers being installed.  Katy also suggested we include Mark Gonzales, our Assemblymember, at the next meeting, and that we start to contact him as individual constituents to familiarize him with the concerns of Wilshire Park and get some state attention on our issues.  For Katy, contact CD5 Field Deputy Michelle.Flores@lacity.org.  For Mark Gonzales -- (213) 620-4646, https://a.54.asmdc.org/

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Captain Borboa and his team from LAFD Station 29 stopped by to introduce themselves.  We plan to coordinate some emergency preparedness sessions with them in the future and invite them to our Halloween Haunt.  (213) 485-6229

 

LAPD Senior Lead Police Officer Harry Cho spoke on crime prevention (lock it, hide it, get alarms, get cameras, get patrol, turn on your lights).  He discussed the importance of hardening your home against break-ins (fixing fences, doors, windows, etc.) and coordinating neighborhood watch walkabouts on each block (neighbors going on walks with/without dogs at different times and photographing and reporting anything suspicious).  He also emphasized the importance of each block having a chat group for issues and emergencies, and agreed that the WP car decals were a good idea (they are still available).  The LAPD is stretched extremely thin, so it is up to us as individuals and our neighborhood to do more, and that may necessitate the spending of some of your funds.  He also provided information on being an LAPD Community Volunteer.  If you are interested, you can contact the Community Outreach and Development Division at 213-486-6000 or email lapdvolunteers@lapd.online.  Harris Cho can be contacted at 33817@lapd.online.

 

And speaking of adding alarms and private patrols to your home, we heard from ADT Patrol (Brett Miller, BrettMiller@adt.com) and SSA Security Group Patrol (Brian Liddy, dplagenza@ssa-pi.com) who provided us with information on their services.

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The Board has begun to put together an Emergency Preparedness Plan and more information will be forthcoming, but here are the basic elements:

1. Preparing a TO-GO / BUG-OUT BAG for people and pets.

2. Preparing a Shelter in Place Emergency Kit for people and pets.

3. Get to Know and being in contact with your neighbors — block captains create a group chat of phone numbers and collect neighbor emails for emergencies and information distribution.  Neighbors will also provide the block captains with information on pets, elderly, disabled, and children in the house, as well as provide the location of their gas shut off valve.  Neighbors will choose Block Buddies for key access in cases of emergencies.

4. Meeting place in case we must evacuate-- St. Gregory’s Church at the corner of 9th and Norton.

5. Block captains to identify medical professionals and veterinary professionals in WP.

6. Community Emergency Response Team/CPR and basic first aid training. Dates will be set if we have enough residents interested.

7. Sessions by LAPD Olympic Division, LAFD Station 29, LA County resources, CD5 Councilmember -- to educate Residents about emergency preparedness.

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We are in need of Block Captains for Ingraham, 700 Block of Norton, 7th, 8th, 9th and San Marino.  Please let me know if you are a resident on one of those blocks and would like to volunteer.  The work is minimal, but crucial.

 

Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council election information (April 15).  As presented by John Gresham, you must register first for Area 13, then you can vote twice — once as a resident of Wilshire Park, then as a member of the Wilshire Park Association (a 501(c)(3)). 

1. Register ASAP and request a ballot-- Choose Voter Registration on the right side of the screen.  https://clerk.lacity.gov/clerk-services/elections/neighborhood-council-elections.

2. Vote twice  (geographic and part of nonprofit, get letter from Lorna).  The City Elections clerk will call you to verify your identity.  In order to demonstrate your residency, you will probably be asked for a copy of your driver's license.  In order to prove you are a member of the Wilshire Park Association, you will need to request a letter from me.  After the call you can mail, email or fax your ballot and supporting documents as indicated on the ballot.

 

Halloween Haunt Committee – This is our one Annual Fundraiser.  We have a couple of volunteers to serve as chairs.  We will need LOTS of volunteers, so please let me know if you are interested.  More details to come.

 

WPA Election – Thank you to all who voted!  Below are our newly elected Board members who will be meeting soon to choose their committee chairs and officers.  The website has been updated with the new Board, as well as current block captains.

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Remember, the WPA can't function without the help of many volunteers.

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD OF WILSHIRE PARK?​