Message from Tony Braswell, NCVV President
As we close out the year and the decade, I would like to share with our stakeholders an update on the great work accomplished by your NCVV Board of Directors in 2019.
The year started with our continued multi-committee effort to update the North Hollywood/Valley Village community plan. This is a three year process and 2019 marked year number two in which more than 20 meetings were held to identify and communicate priorities for Valley Village, and then advocate those priorities to the LA Department of City Planning. The organizational effort for this work began in late 2017, and the visionary leadership of our Community Plan Committee helped position us to be fully prepared for this three-year process. As we await final feedback from the City, I am confident that the hundreds of hours we’ve invested in this effort will serve to protect the quality of life in Valley Village for years to come.
2019 also marked the continued construction of our long awaited soundwall. By the middle of 2020 we should have a completed project that will help reduce freeway noise for all nearby residents and businesses. As you know, this has been a goal of our Board from its very beginning in 2003, and it’s finally become a reality. Now we just have to find a way to keep the graffiti off of the wall.
Our Planning and Land Use Committee heard over 20 projects during the year, and helped guide our interests in long sought improvements at Colfax Carter School and North Hollywood High School. Our Valley Village Vision Committee completed and submitted to the City plans to protect 100 year old trees along the north side of Magnolia Boulevard at Colfax Avenue. And our City Services Committee added another 50 Neighborhood Watch signs throughout Valley Village, and approved filming guidelines for Valley Village that have been submitted to the City for approval.
Throughout 2019 our Events & Outreach Committee produced multiple events for our stakeholders, including Earth Day shredding, National Night Out and one of our most successful Light Up Valley Village events ever. We co-hosted events with the Valley Village Homeowners Association including Colfax World Fair and sponsorship of the much loved VVHA July 4th Parade and Pancake breakfast. At all our events we accepted food donations and gifts of gently worn shoes to help others in need.
NCVV’s Board partnered with the office of Councilman Paul Krekorian and LAPD to sponsor two “Coffee with a Cop” focused meetings on public safety, traffic and homelessness. In partnership with the Bureau of Street Services we sponsored 4 Pothole Repair days, and along with several community based organizations hosted a forum on homelessness.
One of the most significant achievements of the year was our work to clean up the Laurel Canyon / Chandler intersection. Partnering with local residents and businesses, petitions were signed and delivered to the city, and with leadership from CD2 parking restrictions were approved that have eliminated parking of Recreational Vehicles, thereby improving safety and cleanliness in the area.
Our Board also lost a dear colleague and friend in October, long time member Dale Liebowitz-Neglia. As Chair of our Planning & Land Use Committee, her impact on Valley Village will last for many years to come.
Last but not least, I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of our Elections & Bylaws Committee. NCVV held our 12th election in May, one of our most successful ever. With outstanding support from the L.A. City Clerk’s Election Division and the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, we maintained our leadership with as one of the top voting NCs in the City. You elected a Board of which you can be very proud. All fifteen elected members and our two stellar Student Board members, Jake Kovinsky and Eileen Garcia, have made this year one for the books. I am grateful to all of my colleagues for their incredible commitment, and to our 26,000 stakeholders who continue to engage in the work of our Board.
With over 100 meetings in 2019, and countless more hours answering calls, returning emails, attending city hearings and advocating to city departments on behalf of our stakeholders, we’ve worked tirelessly to support our community. I hope you share my pride in the efforts of your NCVV Board.
Our goal is to make 2020 even better, and keep Valley Village as “a great place to call home”.