The Hancock Park Homeowners’ Association, est. 1948, annual meeting will be held on Monday, October 20th at Marlborough School. The meeting is an opportunity for you to hear from your Council Office, the LAPD, ADT and SSA security services, the LADOT on traffic and the DWP on the drought and water conservation. A representative from the California Nevada Concrete Association will be presenting options for street repair/resurfacing. The Association committee chairs will be giving presentations on areas such as Historic Preservation, Traffic, Safety, Street Maintenance, Trees and many other topics, so come and ask questions and find out how you can participate.

The annual meeting is also when the election of half of the Board of Directors takes place and the results announced. The candidates submitted by the Association are: Patricia Alexander, Christine Bubser, Cindy Chvatal-Keane, Jennifer DeVore, Joel Kozberg, Joanne Medeiros, Pam Newhouse, Susan Roth and Victoria Vickers. Visit the Association’s website to read brief biographies. If you’re a member in good standing (those homeowners who have paid annual dues), you should have received your ballot. If you haven’t please contact the Association. So be sure and put the Association’s Annual Meeting on your calendar and we’ll see you there!

Don’t forget to be safe and to not make yourself a target for crime. Never leave anything visible in your car; Lock the doors of your house; Set your alarm system; and never open your door to a stranger. Call 911 if you see a suspicious person and contact our Acting Senior Lead Officer Art Gallegos with any questions. His cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is: 35849@lapd.lacity.org. If you’re considering any changes to the street visible portion of your house, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ).

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

The Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society’s fifth annual Garden Tour will be held on Sunday, April 25th, 2010 from 12:00-5:00PM.  Every year the tour opens historic private gardens to the public just at the height of the spring blooming season.  Featured will be six private estate gardens, including a historic walled castle on a stream in Brookside; a spectacular courtyard garden and a garden featuring drought-tolerant plantings.  The Garden Party closes with a reception including a silent auction, light supper and opportunity drawing.    This year the Society is honoring the community work for Margy Hudson who was one of the leaders of the Windsor Square HPOZ initiative, a member of our Neighborhood Council and has served on the Board of the Windsor Square Homeowners Association. 

 The money raised by the tour will be used to fund the beautification project planned for John Burroughs Middle School.  Neighbors to JB, including Schools Committee co-chair Howard Hart, have worked with the school to come up with a beautiful and ambitious beautification plan that will provide tree plantings, landscaping, fencing and other features making the campus more inviting to the staff and students and putting a better face to the community.  For more information visit the Society’s web site:  59fifty hats; email:  info@wshphs.org or 213-243-8182.

 Don’t forget, if you haven’t already, mail in your dues!  Your dues support efforts like the JB Beautification and let you vote in the election for Board of Directors.  Just click on CONTAN

With the California drought continuing through another year, the state, the city and the DWP are asking that we all try and do our best to save water. September and October can be two of the hottest, driest months in the year and we don’t want our urban forest to die, even though we’re all trying to cut back on water usage. Trees require different kinds of watering practices than lawns and landscaping, so we can nuture our cooling, water purifying arbor while at the same time conserving water. Just water, once a month, deeply, while making sure you follow the guidelines for water conservation. Trees provide shade, thus lowering temperatures, as well as cleaning the air and purifying our previous groundwater. Go to websites http://dpw.lacounty.gov/wwd/web/Conservation/WaterConservation.aspx and http://www.ladwp.com for more information.

Be sure and put the Association’s Annual Meeting on your calendar so you can find out information about the many issues in Hancock Park, such as street maintenance, historic preservation, safety and crime prevention. The meeting will be on Monday, October 20th at Marlborough School. At the meeting half of the Board of Directors will also be elected. The candidates submitted by the Association are: Patricia Alexander, Christine Bubser, Cindy Chvatal-Keane, Jennifer DeVore, Joel Kozberg, Joanne Medeiros, Pam Newhouse, Susan Roth and Victoria Vickers. Visit the Association’s website to read brief biographies. If you’re a member in good standing (those homeowners who have paid annual dues), you will be receiving a ballot in the mail in the upcoming weeks.

Unfortunately, crime is still occurring in Hancock Park. Never leave anything visible in your car; Lock the doors of your house; Set your alarm system; and never open your door to a stranger. Call 911 if you see a suspicious person and contact our Acting Senior Lead Officer Art Gallegos with any questions. His cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is: 35849@lapd.lacity.org

Don’t forget that if you’re considering any changes to the street visible portion of your house, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ).

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

Hancock Park is the largest Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) in the City of Los Angeles. We also have a rich stylistic diversity including houses designed by important and significant architects such as Wallace Neff and Paul R. Williams. The Preservation Plan is the document that sets the standards and rules for preserving our beautiful and historic neighborhood. So if you’re considering any changes to your house, including hardscape, repaving your driveway or changing your windows, contact our City Planner, Kimberly Henry (kimberly.henry@lacity.org) and fill out the online form – http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist to start the process. The HPOZ Board, which consists of a professional architect and four Hancock Park residents, provides consultations so that your plans can be reviewed and if need be adapted to better fit the requirements of the Preservation Plan. The Preservation Plan for Hancock Park can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ or http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park )

Crime continues to be a problem in Hancock Park, including many break-ins to parked cars. Please remember to never leave anything visible in your car; lock the doors of your house; set your alarm system even when home (if you have one); and never open your door to a stranger. Call 911 if you see a suspicious person. You can also contact our Acting Senior Lead Officer Art Gallegos with any questions. Officer Gallegos’ cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is: 35849@lapd.lacity.org .

The contract for the maintenance for the Highland median expired and the Association is working with the Council Office to get the contract reinstated. In the meantime the Association is asking the Council Office to get the grass cut and the trash picked up while things are being sorted out. Don’t forget, with summer here and the hot, dry weather, be sure to water your parkway trees.

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htmBe sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

• The Hancock Park Homeowners Association ‘48:
  Helps organize block security meetings for our residents with Block Captains, LAPD and our private security companies to improve awareness and neighborhood safety. We communicate on a regular basis with these organizations and neighbors.
• 
  Created a Streets Committee, made up of Board members and residents, to focus on ensuring CD4 and the City will fix our failed streets. Watch for an updated neighborhood survey with additional options and more information on how to repair our streets. Our Council Office has promised that 6th Street and Highland will be resurfaced this year.
• 
  Created a Highland Avenue Median Committee, made up of Board members and residents, which succeeded in restoring the historic median by funding the trimming of all 75 palms, securing funding to repair the irrigation system and providing oversight along with Urban Forestry for proper median maintenance. We are also planning the replacement of 20 missing palms this year.
• Succeeded in trimming over 150 parkway trees, removing over 30 tree stumps, planting over 80 new parkway trees, purchasing and nurturing 2 dozen baby elm trees for future elm replacement, and continues to replace and maintain our parkway trees to preserve our beautiful canopy.
• 
  Maintains an extensive neighborhood email list which is used to communicate important information to our residents, including safety and security updates, traffic and transportation information and City, Council District 4 and Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council updates, and which has reunited dozens of pets with their happy owners!

Thank you for your support!

Cindy Chvatal-Keane

President

HPHA’48

The Hancock Park Home Owners Association ’48 Committees:

• Block Captains
• Neighborhood Watch/Emergency Prep
• Filming
• HPOZ
• Land Use and Zoning
• Parking
• School Liaison
• Security
• Street Resurfacing/Repair
• Traffic

The success of our committees rely on the work the members!  We are always looking for new committee members.  If an area interests you, contact the Association and join a committee!

Don’t forget to look at the beautification work done by the Schools Committee at John Burroughs Middle School and Third Street School.  Joanne Medeiros and Patricia Alexander have done a terrific job of keeping the landscaping beautiful and the schools grounds clean.

Bringing in your trash cans on the day of trash pickup not only helps the neighborhood looks good, but keeps us safe.  Trash cans left out are a signal that the resident is not at home.  Also, remember to:  lock your windows and doors, don’t leave visible electronics in your car, never open your door to a stranger.  Officer Art Gallegos, our acting Sr. Lead Offier’ss cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is:  35849@lapd.lacity.org .    Remember to never confront a suspicious person, always call 911.

Report street light outages to the city at:  http://bsl.lacity.org/.  Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htm. If you’re planning changes to your house read the Preservation Plan which can be found at:  http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/orhttp://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ) and contact City Planner Vinita Huang (213-978-1216 or Vinita.Huang@lacity.org).   Be sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org .  Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System - http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

If you haven’t already please respond to the Street Survey which asks residents to vote on one of three options for fixing our streets:  1) Asphalt Resurfacing; 2) Concrete Street Replacement, which would mean homeowners assessments; and 3) No Major Repairs.  While the original streets in Hancock Park were concrete; the developer paid for the installation, not the City.  The City will repave our streets, but they will only do it in asphalt.  To resurface our streets in concrete will take the formation of a special assessment district where Hancock Park residents will tax themselves to raise the additional funds to install concrete.  If you haven’t gotten a letter and survey in the mail please contact the Association.

The Highland Median has been trimmed!  Drive by and see how it looks.  After strong questioning from the Association the City has committed to improving the monitoring of maintenance on the median.  The Association is also continuing to use your dues to pay for beautification efforts in Hancock Park.  Eight tree stumps have been removed and trees will be planted to replace them as soon as the weather cools.

Security continues to be a concern so remember to:  lock your windows and doors, don’t leave visible electronics in your car, never open your door to a stranger.  If you observe suspicious activity call the LAPD’s non-emergency dispatch number:  877-ASK-LAPD. Our Senior Lead Officer (SLO), Dave Cordova, is out on medical leave.  Officer Art Gallegos will be covering for Dave.  His cell phone number is 213-793-0708 and his email address is:  35849@lapd.lacity.org .  ever confront a suspicious person, always call 911.

Report street light outages to the city at:  http://bsl.lacity.org/.  Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htm. If you’re planning changes to your house read the Preservation Plan which can be found at:  http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/orhttp://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ) and contact City Planner Vinita Huang (213-978-1216 or Vinita.Huang@lacity.org).   Be sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org .  Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System - http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

We wish everyone a Happy, and Successful New Year! There are lots of things we’ll be working on for Hancock Park in 2014, and invite you to join us.

The Hancock Park Streets Committee has put together a survey for Hancock Park residents asking them to vote on one of three options for finally fixing our streets. Option 1 is Asphalt Resurfacing; Option 2 is Concrete Street Replacement; and Option 3 is No Major repairs.

The original streets in Hancock Park were concrete. While the City will repave our streets, they will only do it in asphalt. To resurface our streets in concrete will take the formation of a special assessment district Hancock Park residents will tax themselves to raise the additional funds to install concrete. The survey will be sent to all Hancock Park homeowners enclosed with a self-addressed postage paid response card. We ask everyone in Hancock Park to read the options carefully, vote and send their card in by February 1st, 2014.

There has been a number of home and car break-ins so sure to lock your windows and doors, don’t leave visible electronics in your car, never open your door to a stranger. If you observe suspicious activity call Wilshire Police Desk 213-473-0476. You can also call our Senior Lead Officer (SLO) Dave Cordova- cell phone at 213-793-0650 and notify your private security patrol cars. Never confront a suspicious person, always call 911.

The Association will be holding our Annual Hancock Park Block Captain meeting in January. Additional information on the time and place will be announced in December.

Report street light outages to the city at: http://bsl.lacity.org/. Report potholes by submitting an online request at http://bss.lacity.org/request.htm. If you’re planning changes to your house read the Preservation Plan which can be found at: http://www.hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org/ orhttp://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park ) and contact City Planner Vinita Huang (213-978-1216 or Vinita.Huang@lacity.org). Be sure and look at our website for news – http://www.HancockPark.org . Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System – http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180 Questions regarding filming – contact Filming Committee, Cami Taylor (323-692-1414-Home and 310-659-6220-Office).

The HPHOA’48 has formed two new Ad Hoc committees: Hancock Park Streets and Highland Avenue Median.

The residents will finally begin to see results of those efforts of the Median Committee in Early January. The Median, which was, designated a Los Angeles Historic Landmark #94 in 1972 had been ignored for years. It was not for lack of trying to get the City to help. We could not figure out why brand new medians were being funded (via special grants) and we couldn’t get our sprinklers fixed, our turf fertilized, re seeded or mowed on a regular basis. It just didn’t make any sense. The HPHOA funds Parkway Tree trimming, replanting of new trees and stump removal, along with helping to fund beautification projects at local schools. The City no longer funds any of these services. Last month CD5, which represents 40% of the median on the west side, joined the effort and contributed 15K toward needed repairs along with the 15K from CD4. The repair money was allocated from each of the Council Offices discretionary funds made available via AB 1290. The median committee, made up of Highland Ave. residents and HPHOA Board members, is also working with representatives of the Department of Urban Forestry, to ensure that Tru Green, the landscape maintenance company the City has contracted with, actually maintains the median and complies with the contract. Along with bi-monthly turf mowing the company is responsible for; irrigation repair, trash removal, sign removal. yearly fertilization, thatching, and re seeding. The HPHOA’48 plans to replace the missing palms along the median and the committee is exploring drought tolerant landscaping ideas.

The Hancock Park Streets Committee will work with the Association and the City to develop accurate and complete information about options for repaving our Hancock Park streets; the committee will be responsible for developing a survey of all Hancock Park residents and will work to reach a consensus on an option. At this time options include an assessment district to pay for repaving in concrete or a switch to asphalt re paving. Hancock Park streets have long been neglected by the City, in a recent LA Time article, Hancock Park was singled out as having some of the worst streets in the City. See link: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/04/local/la-me-pavement-201305. The Association has been trying to get our Council Office to focus on this problem for several years. While we will continue to work to improve the condition of our streets. We will be addressing another issue – our horrific potholes. As we try to develop a plan for repaving, we are asking the City to repair our potholes in a professional lasting manner. We are hopeful with the formation of the new committees and the continued follow up of the HPHOA board, the City will finally address the needs of the Hancock Park community. Please write to our Councilman Tom La Bonge to encourage him to focus on these important issues, his email address is Tom.LaBonge @lacity.org.

Rudolph Gintel

Rudy has lived in Hancock Park for many years and has served as the liaison with the Wilshire Homeowners Alliance, helping coordinate larger community efforts with Hancock Park. He has also served for 5 years as business representative to the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and is a past member of its Land Use Committee.

Greg Glasser

Greg has lived in Hancock Park since 1999. He has been involved with the HPOZ and chaired the HPOZ Committee. He maintains the Association’s website – hancockpark.org.

Sheldon Goodkind

Sheldon is a longtime resident of Hancock Park. He is a co-chair of the Schools Committee and has worked closely with the neighbors and the schools to successfully address many of the longtime problems, such as parking and traffic.

Peter Gorelick

Peter grew up in Hancock Park and attended local schools including John Burroughs, Fairfax High and UCLA. Peter moved back to Hancock Park in 2003. He is an insurance defense/workers’ compensation attorney. Peter represents Hancock Park as a member of the Wilshire Community Police Advisory Board. He is also an LAPD Volunteer and graduate of the LAPD Community Police Academy.

Susan Grossman

Susan and her husband Kim have lived in Hancock Park for more than 20 years. She is currently the vice president of the Association, chair of the Tree Committee as well as an HPOZ Board member.

Cami Taylor

Cami has lived in Hancock Park at 264 South Muirfield for 13 years. She’s married to Steve Eshelman and has a daughter, Marguerite Eshelman. She is a member of the Ebell and the LATC. Cami owns a film production company called Crossroads Films, which produces commercials, music videos, independent features and some television programming. She is the ex-president and still sits on the board of a nonprofit organization called Streetlights and is a board member of a commercial producers’ group called the AICP. Cami was also a founding member of the HPOZ support group and an integral part of the many year efforts to achieve HPOZ status for Hancock Park.

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson has been a resident of Hancock Park for over 20 years. He earned an A.B. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from USC. In addition to being past president, current Board member of the Association, and head of the Budget Committee, he is founder of the Wilshire Traffic Committee and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oaks School in Hollywood.

Jon Vein

The Association welcomes new board member Jon Vein, a long-time resident of Hancock Park. He is co-founder and CEO of MarketShare, a leading data analytics software company and before founding MarketShare worked as COO for Michael Ovitz’s AMG and APG. Jon is an Emmy Award winner, producing many film and television productions, including King of the Hill and the Simpsons. He was trained in engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley before attending Harvard law school; after which he was a founding partner of the entertainment law firm Dem & Vein. Jon is an active volunteer in many civic and charitable organizations. Jon is married to Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, an entertainment executive, and has two rambunctious children, Caroline and Jack.

James Wolf

Jim grew up in Hancock Park. After time away in college, he, his wife and children moved back to Hancock Park and have lived here since 1983. Jim attended both the University of Pennsylvania and USC where he earned degrees in Civil Engineering and in Architecture. He is a California licensed architect. Jim has served on the Board of Directors since 1987 and was the president of the Association for over 12 years. Jim co-chairs the Street Lighting Committee and the Zoning Committee. He is the Hancock Park representative on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council where he is vice president of the Board and chairman of the Land Use and Planning Committee.