Wilshire Center Team’s Activities and Other News
This quarter, the Wilshire Center District Safety Team assisted in getting 451 bulky items picked up, made 41 calls to the City for street repairs, and assisted in getting 224 graffiti tags cleaned up. The team responded to 27 calls for assistance from the LAPD and others. They issued 101 illegal vendor warnings, assisted 16 homeless individuals and made 4 felony arrests.
A video surveillance camera program is being developed with the help of Captain Matt Blake of the Olympic Police Station. The main purpose of this program is to deter criminal activity and to help in the prosecution of captured criminals. Funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for the Council District 4 area, the new video cameras would monitor part 1 crimes in the area between 6th Street and 3rd Street within the District. The CRA Commission should approve final funding for the program sometime later this summer.
The sidewalk maintenance team collected 1,100 bags of trash, removed 1,200 stickers and used 6 gallons of paint for graffiti removal on the sidewalk pots, poles, and news racks. The team also collected and disposed of litter and debris from sidewalks and street gutters; removed illegally posted advertisements from public areas, light poles, signal boxes, bus benches and shelters, and phone booths; cleaned light graffiti from all surfaces; cleared debris from public planters and flower pots and disposed of garbage in designated trash containers.
The CRA is proposing to fund the Street Services Department to improve the north side sidewalk along 8th St. between Kingsley and Serrano. This area of sidewalk is one of the worst within the District.
Check out the new updated Wilshire Center District map on our website at wilshirecenter.com and email us at info@wilshirecenter.com for printed copies.
PLEASE CALL 311 IF YOU SEE BULKY ITEMS, GRAFFITI AND VACANT, DILAPIDATED OR NUISANCE PROPERTIES. TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE.
Wilshire Center Cool District Program Update
Arup has finished conducting the 12 preliminary assessment level audits of buildings within the District. Judging from the audits, it looks as though these 12 buildings, 3 apartment and 6 commercial buildings could potentially realize a combined savings of $475,000 per year with a 3 year payback.
The CRA has approved the funding of the Cool District program for about $200,000. This fall, using the funds from CRA, we will work with Arup on doing audits for an additional 25 buildings; these will be free level one energy assessments. Also, we will start working with Greenform on the Carbon Master Plan utilizing some of the work done by students at USC and SCI-Arc. Two community meetings will be organized: one that addresses the local community and the second will work directly with the City departments and utilities. We are exploring the idea of doing Cool District block parties on Saturday mornings to encourage people who live and work here to develop more green practices.
SIGN UP FOR A FREE BUILDING ENERGY AUDIT – CONTACT US AT INFO@WILSHIRECENTER.COM
Community Events
Several community events have been organized by the WCBIC staff, CRA and UDLA over the past 3 months: A Peaceful March against Crime and Drugs on June 12th with about 300 people, the 8th Street Clean-up on July 10th with about 170 people and the National Night Out walk with LAPD on August 3rd with over 500 people.
The WCBID 15th annual membership meeting and awards luncheon will be held on Aug 26th, at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel, 12pm to 1:30pm, lunch will be provided courtesy of the WCBIC for assessees and invited attendees. We will recognize about 15 individuals and groups who have made valuable contributions to the District. New Development at Southwestern Law School
TSouthwestern Law School is delighted to announce its Student Housing and Campus Improvement Project (SHCIP), which is designed to help the law school continue to develop a community atmosphere among Southwestern constituencies while raising Southwestern’s national and international profile. The first phase of the project will be the creation of a new 133-unit student housing complex at 7th Street and Shatto Place. Groundbreaking on this building is scheduled for the second half of 2011. Subsequent phases of the project will include the rehabilitation of the existing building at 3100 Wilshire Boulevard; the construction of a new 450-seat lecture hall directly south of the 3100 Wilshire building; and the addition of a campus green. These elements will enhance the campus and transform Southwestern from a commuter school to a more integrated and vibrant academic community. This project also will allow the school, which is already a very active member of the Wilshire Center neighborhood, to become an even more involved community partner. Southwestern Law School is pleased to have received the endorsement of the Wilshire Center Business Improvement District on this exciting new venture.
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