So, Who’s Telling the Truth…?

Here’s one more odd chapter in the chronicle of “Stakeholders vs. City Hall” in the effort for residents to feel safe in their homes and on the sidewalks of Venice.

I was invited to Paramount Pictures last week to hear the Mayor give his annual “State of the City” address.  We all sat in the studio’s large theater and heard about the successes and remaining challenges of the City’s many transportation projects.  While he touched on some other topics, “LA Fast Forward” and fulfilling Tom Bradley’s vision of a “subway to the sea” were the centerpieces.

Then, bogged down in traffic on Melrose, I noticed that Mozza Osteria, a restaurant I had been meaning to try, was just ahead.  Since the Mayor’s traffic improvements were not in evidence in the stalled traffic, I dropped the car off to a valet and found a seat at the bar for dinner.

Some commotion behind me made me turn my head and there I saw the Mayor sitting with what appeared to be his girlfriend and other family members.  He was frequently out of his seat, greeting other diners or talking on the phone.

I thought to myself, would it be appropriate to ask the Mayor for a moment to talk about the public safety issues we’re seeing here in Venice.  I kept thinking about this while I enjoyed a terrific meal.  As I was finishing up, I thought, why not ask; he’ll just say “yes” or “no.”  So, I scribbled out a note on the back of a business card and gave it to one of those sitting with the Mayor, since his eminence was off again in an alcove on his cell.

A member of his party came over and said the Mayor would speak with me right then.

He was welcoming.  When I told him that I wanted to talk with him about the problems we are having with transient encampments in Venice, he interrupted me and said the real problem was that the council district “has no leadership.”  Then he made another derogatory remark about Bill Rosendahl.

He volunteered that Bill had called him a day or two earlier and asked him to initiate criminal prosecution against me for having posted addresses on the VSA website [of the Mayor, Bill, a deputy mayor, the editorial editor of the LA Times, the lawyer who frequently represents transients, and some other local homeless advocates who by my estimation would welcome the homeless to sleep on their parkways, given that they oppose enforcement of City laws against camping on public property].

I was taken aback for a moment.  This certainly conflicted with Bill’s usually avuncular demeanor and his comment to me two nights earlier that he would give me $20 to pay some homeless person’s bus fare to come camp on his sidewalk.  Bill had told me to leave him on the list.  (It was also odd procedurally because the City Attorney and District Attorney have prosecutorial authority, not the Mayor.)  The Mayor then said, “You are Mark Riabec, right”?  And I replied, “Mark Ryavec, and we’ve met numerous times.”  He said, “Yes, that’s what Bill called about and something about some woman.”

Then we went on to talk about the encampment problems in Venice, the recent attack on two residents on 3rd Avenue, etc.  I told him that Bill had told me that enforcement was out of his hands and that Chief Beck reported to the Mayor, not Bill.  I also told him that Bill had said that either the Mayor or Larry Frank, a deputy mayor, had stood in the way of enforcement of City laws, on the Boardwalk and more recently with the encampment on 3rd Avenue.  The Mayor said, “Not at all.  We’ve stayed out of it in deference to the councilman of the district.”

Then he said, “But if you want me involved, I will get involved.  You may not like my solution, but you will get a solution.  Did you hear me today [referring to his successes with transportation improvements]?  I get things done.”

“When you stop believing that I am in anyway interfering with enforcement in Venice, then come see me and I’ll get involved,” he said.  I told him that we very much would like him to get involved and provide the leadership that both of us feel is lacking.  He told me to call his office to set up the meeting.

For the next day or two I debated whether I should confront my friend Bill about the Mayor’s claim that Bill was pushing for prosecution of a political statement (that is fully protected by the 1st Amendment).  Eventually, I did share the Mayor’s story with Bill and he absolutely denied it.  Then, as he told me later, he called the Mayor and asked the Mayor directly if he had told me that Bill wanted me prosecuted.  Bill said that the Mayor admitted talking with me but denied telling me Bill had pushed him to instigate prosecution.

So, who is lying?

I did follow up with the Mayor’s scheduling secretary and his Westside deputy, Joe Hari and Deputy Mayor Larry Frank, who lives in Venice.  At first, Hari disputed that I had actually spoken to the Mayor.  He went so far as to call the staff who was with the Mayor at Paramount and then called me back to, basically, call me a liar, because the Mayor’s handlers reported that that no one had a substantive discussion with the Mayor before or after his speech at Paramount.  Hari was a bit sheepish when I told him that I spoke to the Mayor at Mozza, not Paramount.

A day or so later I sent another email asking for a reply to my request for a date for the meeting with the Mayor.  Eventually Hari called me and said that there would not be a meeting.  I said that the Mayor had clearly agreed to meet with representatives of our group on the public safety situation in Venice.  Hari said that it wasn’t going to happen.  So, I said that I intended to blog that the Mayor’s staff had interceded and told the Mayor that he shouldn’t meet with us, against the Mayor’s own commitment.  The call ended.  A few minutes later Hari called me back and said that my request for a meeting was in process.  I asked that the Mayor’s scheduler call me to confirm that the meeting was being calendared.  He said he would have her call.  She hasn’t called.

I’ll leave you with the Mayor’s parting comments at Mozza:  “You know, when I leave office, I’m going to move to either Venice or the Pacific Palisades, so I have a personal interest in helping you with this.”

Posted by Mark Ryavec, President, VSA

Please Ask Rosendahl to Enforce City Ordinances

Dear VSA Supporter:

As you are undoubtedly aware, the City of Los Angeles, under City Councilman Rosendahl's authority, is permitting large encampments of transients to exist at several locations in Venice.  We know from past experience that within these populations are some individuals who are prone to intimidation of residents, assaults, violence, drug sales and use, stabbings, burglary and even murder.  We also believe that the City, the County and various social service agencies and non-profits organizations are currently woefully incapable of enticing those living in these camps to accept services, housing or assistance of any kind that would remove this threat from our neighborhoods in a timely manner.

Thus we ask that you print out the following letter onto your stationery and send it to Councilman Rosendahl with copies to Mayor Villaraigosa, Chief Charles Beck and Captain Jon Peters by first class mail.  Should you prefer to communicate electronically, their email addresses are also provided below.

Thank you for helping to make our community safer.

Mark Ryavec

President, Venice Stakeholders Association

P.S.  Please forward this message to your neighbors and friends in Venice.


Councilman Bill Rosendahl
City Hall
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA  90012

Dear Councilman Rosendahl:

I respectfully ask that you immediately order the LAPD to enforce existing laws against sitting, lying and sleeping on public property between 6 AM and 9 PM, on occupying public property without a permit, obstructing the public way, obstructing ADA access, and storing personal possessions on public property.  I also ask that you immediately introduce an amendment to the Boardwalk Vending ordinance to remove the spaces for public feeding programs.

You are currently playing Russian roulette with the citizens of Venice.  

Within the encampments you are allowing to exist and grow on 3rd Avenue, in the Farmers Market parking lot and elsewhere in Venice are individuals who are mentally ill, addicted to various drugs, and those prone to violence.  The assault on a young couple on April 14^th by several campers living on 3^rd Avenue and the stabbing at the Farmers Market parking lot on April 21^st underscore the violent element living in these encampments.  It was not a coincidence that Boneetio Washington, who raped and murdered pregnant Eun Kang on Electric Avenue, routinely visited a public feeding program in Venice.  The feeding stations, which serve no purpose in helping these individuals leave the street life, are a magnet and an enabler.  The unsupervised encampments, in violation of several City ordinances, also enable these individuals to continue their life on the street and are a magnet for more transients to settle in Venice, which puts violence prone individuals close to our homes and families. 

On April 18, 2012, Mayor Villaraigosa told VSA president Mark Ryavec that you control whether the LAPD cites the violations of the Municipal Code concerning occupation of public space in your district and that his office has taken a hands-off approach in deference to the prerogatives of the Councilman of the district.

Please exercise your clear authority to remove these dangerous encampments from our neighborhood.

Sincerely,



cc:    Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
        City Hall
        200 North Spring Street
        Los Angeles, CA  90012

        Charles Beck, Chief of Police
        Los Angeles Police Department
        100 West 1st Street
        Los Angeles, CA 90012

        Captain Jon Peters
        Commander, Pacific Division
        Los Angeles Police Department
        12312 Culver Boulevard
        Los Angeles, CA  90066

Councilman Bill Rosendahl <Billrosendahl@aol.com>
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa c/o <Larry.Frank@lacity.org>
Police Chief Charlie <Charlie.Beck@lapd.lacity.org>
Captain Jon Peters <jon.peters@lapd.lacity.org>

Westside Guide to Safe Camping Locations for the Homeless

 Dear Homeless Advocate: The Venice Stakeholders Association is preparing to publish a camping guide for distribution to homeless individuals in Venice, including those living on the sidewalks and parkways along 3rd Avenue between Rose and Sunset Avenues in Venice. The guide will provide Venice homeless with locations of sidewalk/parkway locations where they will be more welcome to camp out than the 3rd Avenue location. The residents and property owners in this area find this encampment, with its related crime, assaults on police officers and residents (one as recent as this past Saturday evening), public drug sales and use, public inebriation, public urination and defecation, and threat to public health, to be intolerable. We will continue to press the City of Los Angeles for the removal of this encampment, including bringing a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for maintaining a public nuisance if necessary. Our camping guide will provide these Venice homeless individuals with locations of sidewalk/parkway locations where they will be more welcome to camp out than the 3rd Avenue location. In light of your vigorous support for the rights of the homeless to sleep on public pedestrian easements over private property, which is what sidewalks and parkways legally are, we are contacting you to ask if you have any objection to our including a photograph and address of your residence in camping guide. On the following page are the addresses we would like to publish in our guide. We intend to incentivize these individuals to take advantage of your welcoming spirit by offering them $20 per day to relocate. Please advise me at your earliest convenience of whether you object to being included in the guide and if the address listed is correct. Yours truly, Mark Ryavec President


Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (Official Residence): 605 S. Irving, Los Angeles CA 90005

Councilman Bill Rosendahl:  3715 Wasatch Ave., Mar Vista (Los Angeles) CA 90066

Deputy Mayor Larry Frank: 2110 Walnut, Venice CA 90291

Carol Sobel: 860 23rd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403, CA

Nicolas Goldberg: 111 S. Norton Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90004

Los Angeles Times: 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Linda Lucks: (address and photo removed at the request of Ms. Lucks)

David Ewing: 1234 Preston Ave., Venice CA 90291

Steve Clare: 733-739 Palms Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

Karen Wolfe: (address and photo removed at the request of Ms. Wolfe)

Debra Lashever: (address and photo removed at the request of Ms. Lashever)

Ferris Wheel Effects on Parking, Traffic and Views

The Venice Stakeholders Association has called for the City of Los Angeles to perform a full Environmental Impact Report on the proposal to place a 200 foot Ferris wheel in the Venice Beach Recreation Area at the foot of Windward Avenue.

“The parking, traffic and scenic impacts of the Ferris Wheel installation are highly problematic for our neighborhood,” said Mark Ryavec, VSA president. “Oddly, the firm proposing the Wheel has offered no mitigation.”

In a letter to City Recreation and Parks officials, the VSA’s attorney, John Henning, notes that the Wheel could draw up to 16,320 visitors per day, based upon the capacity of the Wheel given at a recent public hearing by a representative of Great City Attractions, the firm proposing the installation.

“The Ferris wheel would operate 12 hours per day, 7 days per week, from 10 AM to 10 PM,” Henning wrote. “It contains approximately 40 “capsules” in which riders would sit, and there are 8 seats per capsule, for a total of approximately 320 riders when fully loaded. Each cycle (i.e., “ride”) of the Ferris wheel lasts about 14 minutes, so there would be approximately 51 cycles per day, for a total of 16,320 individual riders per day.”

Henning also points out that unlike a restaurant, which turns over its seating every 60 to 90 minutes, the Wheel will turn over its seats every 14 minutes, so the Wheel will generate four to six times has many visitors clamoring for a ride….and seeking non-existent parking.

A restaurant of that size would be required to provide 80 parking spaces under the Venice Local Coastal Specific Plan, the City land-use ordinance that governs development in Venice. Great City Attractions has offered no parking or traffic mitigation.

“We’re asking the City to apply to itself the same land-use rules that it would apply to any other new development of this size in our neighborhood,” Ryavec said.

Attachment: Letter to LA City Recreation and Parks Department

Great Observation Wheel

City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

Re: Great Observation Wheel

Dear Sirs and Madams:

Your department has solicited community views on a proposal to allow the installation,
for a temporary period, of a 200 foot Ferris wheel, known as the Great Observation
Wheel, at the foot of Windward Avenue in the Venice Beach Recreation Area.

The Venice Stakeholders Association is a non-profit organization committed to civic
improvement. While many would be delighted to ride a Ferris wheel at the proposed
location and to enjoy the stunning views which it will make available, we have serious
concerns about the project, principally related to the parking demand and increased traffic
that will result from this installation.

We would ask that this project be viewed as an opportunity for the City of Los Angeles to
seriously reconsider its policy regarding any and all events and installations in the Venice
Beach Recreation Area. For example, the filming of the Ninja Warrior Challenge this
last week took over much of the park from south of Windward Avenue almost to Market
Street. Our members report that public parking on Windward on Saturday and Sunday,
while filming was underway, was completely taken up by 7:30 AM by visitor vehicles in
the 200 block of Windward. This resulted in residents who do not have on-site parking
being held hostage in their homes or running the risk of having to park many blocks away
from their homes if they gave up their street parking spaces on Windward during the day.

The Wheel proposal is a good reason for the City of Los Angeles to apply to the
Coastal Commission for preferential 24/7 permit parking for beach adjacent residents
and to craft an ordinance to require that all events and installations in the Venice Beach
Recreation Area pay in-lieu parking fees to a dedicated Venice parking fund, which is
immune to being “swept” by the City Council for non-parking purposes or use outside of
Venice, to the end of creating parking structures of modest height in Venice.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Sincerely,

Mark Ryavec

Mark Ryavec, President

cc: Mayor Antonia Villaraigosa, Councilman Bill Rosendahl

Petition to stop closure of Venice Post Office

The Venice Stakeholders Asssociation, Mark Ryavec and others have filed a petition today in the D.C. Circuit to stop the closure of the Venice Main Post Office.

VNC to Oppose Enforcement of Ban on Camping on OFW

Please Attend this Meeting and Voice Your Support for the Beach Curfew to End the Cesspool of Drugs, Alcohol, Public Inebriation, Intimidation and Late Night Noise along Ocean Front Walk

(Venice, CA/01-19-12)  The leadership of the Venice Neighborhood Council has convened a meeting to allow its allies to voice their opposition to enforcement of the existing City Beach Curfew.  This comes upon the heels of the City’s posting of signs that spell out the 12-5AM curfew and the determination of the City Attorney and LAPD to enforce it.

The Venice Neighborhood Council's Neighborhood Committee will hear from City representatives and residents about the newly posted rules that close Ocean Front Walk and the beach and grassy areas from 12 to 5AM. The meeting will be held Monday, January 23rd, at approximately 8:00PM, in the Oakwood Park Recreation Center, 767 California (enter from 7th Avenue).

The Neighborhood Committee is not elected from the various neighborhoods that comprise Venice, but are appointed by VNC president Linda Lucks.  As such, they represent Ms. Lucks views on Venice, not the broad majority of residents who have filed numerous complaints about the intolerable situation we all see on the Boardwalk.  The current population living on the Boardwalk and the park areas deprive the residents and visitors of their right to safely enjoy this public space.  The City is long overdue in taking the steps seen in nearby cities such as Santa Monica to stop camping in public parks.

Much of the crime in Venice, from car break-ins and home invasions to burglaries and vandalism, has its start in the lawless attitudes of those who live on Ocean Front Walk and the population of criminals and drug users/dealers that they attract to Venice.  Tell the VNC that you want it to stop.

Those residents who want to see the police follow-through on enforcement of the curfew should come to the meeting and speak up for enforcement.  We will need a good turn out to show the LAPD and Council Office that the majority of Venetians favor enforcement.