Sunday Safety Update: 11/22/2015 to 11/28/2015

Disclaimer: Please note these maps are meant to show which direction crime is trending, areas to keep an extra eye on and places to remain vigilant in order for Central Long Beach residents to remain safe. That said, previous trends don't guarantee future trends will repeat in the same direction and patterns. Also, an absence of crime in one area, does not guarantee an absence in the future.

The darker the arrow, the stronger the trend.

So this week, in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood, there was a steep drop off in crime. There is more tagging, both reported and unreported. There is an attempt by the taggers to try and claim Fire Station 10 and the alley behind the U-Haul Station. Because of this, both will be monitored every single day until it stops.

There is a trend of property crime leading into some thefts from cars along the east side of Junipero. I will remind everyone again to keep your cars locked and read this article. While on the phone with a friend who works on Anaheim; she had to shut down the business for theft from a car to get investigated. The car was unlocked. You may think you have nothing of value, but these crooks left with sunglasses. Once they're inside, they don't want to leave empty handed.

Whenever I do clean ups, I find lots of cars with windows open. There were at least 10 on 14th Street last week. Please be very careful with your cars anywhere near Rotary Centennial Park or Orizaba Park, as car thefts and thefts from vehicles tend to cluster there.

There is a much stronger trend of assaults just south west of our neighborhood. If this map is extended a little west, they start to get bad. So please keep safe in the south end of the Poly Neighborhood. Additionally the trend of assaults identified did move east as predicted, and that does make the tagging in the alley behind the U-Haul much less surprising. 

Because of this, an eye will be kept on PCH between Alamitos and Cherry for the next two weeks, whenever possible.

Other Shootings

There has been an officer involvded shooting since the last reported shooing. The suspect is currently in the hospital in stable condition.

Long Beach police officers responding to a call of an assault late Thursday shot a man holding a meat cleaver who turned out to be the person who reported the attack, authorities said Friday.

An officer arrived at a residence in the 300 block of East Sunset Street about 11:20 p.m. after receiving a 911 call, according to a police statement. As the officer approached the front door, “a male exited the residence holding a meat cleaver in a threatening manner and confronted the officer.” - Full Story

The next Community Watch Meeting:

Linden-Roosevelt Neighborhood
Monday, December 7th
7 – 9 pm
Roosevelt Elementary Room A101
1574 Linden Ave   
  
The Central Long Beach Neighborhood Alliance
Community Watch Meeting
12/13/2015
4pm - 7pm
Events Page
Fox Coffee House
425 W Willow St, 
Long Beach, CA 90806

There is also a meeting some people will be attending regarding Long Beach PD wearing body cams. I would have liked to go, but I have three separate meetings on that day. I will still let you know what comes of it.

Wednesday Safety Watch: Neighborhood Expansion

What the map shows is a steep drop in crime this week within the MacArthur Park Neighborhood. There were some assaults just outside of the AOC7 to the west heading North East into the Poly/ Central neighborhood. Be real cautious in this area as there was a homicide there not long ago. The two for one were car thefts at 11th and Molino, this trends towards a robbery just outside our neighborhood towards vandalism at 14th and Dawson.

There is increased crime in the Franklin/ Altimois Beach area. Be aware of thefts begining at 7th and Almond that trend South West towards Altimois Blvd and the beach. Also the property damage in and around Franklin occured on Monday, which is incidentally the first day the students were on break.

There is increased crime in Central Wrigley, specifically along Cedar. These are mostly car thefts that begin at 9pm or later. If you're in the area pleas join Wrigley Community Neighborhood Group to stay in the loop on Wrigley crime trends.

Off the map there are also a high volume of assaults taking place west of Alamitos Blvd. Please be cautious around Myrtle Avenue and 7th Street, especially when you are on 7th between Long Beach Blvd and Atlantic Ave.

Sunday Safety Update: 11/15/2015 to 11/21/2015

Disclaimer: Please note these maps are meant to show which direction crime is trending, areas to keep an extra eye on and places to remain vigilant in order for Central Long Beach residents to remain safe. That said, previous trends don't guarantee future trends will repeat in the same direction and patterns. Also, an absence of crime in one area, does not guarantee an

Within the borders of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood not much is happening. It's been very quiet around the park itself. And thanks to our neighborhood resource officers, the park itself and the alleys are spotless. When I passed by for today's clean up, the other side of 14th was worse than the park itself.

There is a weak trend of assaults at PCH and Alamitos heading northwest towards fifteen, where a slightly stronger trend of unrelated crimes dips south back into the neighborhood. Be vigilant around PCH and Alamitos by the college and by Alamitos and 15th. Also be very careful if you're in the north end of the neighborhood just to the east of us.

There is a weak trend of car thefts heading from the AOC7 around Hoffman and 11th heading North East towards Gaviota an Anaheim. In that same neighborhood last night at around 10th and Vina, the streets were blocked off and a police helicopter was in the area.  I know due to neighborhood contacts, I have not yet learned the reason. I will share as soon as I do.

Within pour neighborhood there is a lot of activity around Junipero that starts with strong trends heading East or West and weaker trends heading South East or North West. If you're in the area around Anaheim and Junipero, please keep your items locked. There have been increased breaking and enterings, which will get worse as we approach the holidays. Also, there is a strong trend of different kinds of crime around Spaulding Street. Anywhere on Spaulding west of Junipero keep an eye out for your friends and neighbors.

Because I have a few off days, there will be extra neighborhood walks, Go Long Beach Requests, and Josephine A Villaseñor and I are going to work on a more structured version of a Community Watch that would allow better communication between neighborhoods and better training on conflict deescalation, disaster preparedness and and self defense.

14th Street Clean Up: Cherry to Walnut Done

There was an announced clean up of 14th Street today in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood. We started at Cherry and 14th and got as far as 14th and Walnut. Because, the original intent was to get 14th all the way to Orange, we will be continuing the clean up tomorrow. Some things I notched: #1, the neighbors seem a lot friendlier. #2, the street is much cleaner than last time.

Also, due to the recent wind storm, most of this trash is leaves and palms the city has not picked up yet. So minus that, this is the cleanest I have ever seen 14th. Thank you to Josephine A Villaseñor for plugging the clean up in the Wrigley Community Watch Facebook Group. And thanks to the neighbor on 14th who was kind enough to bring bottled water to me as this clean up was wrapping up.

Update: 14th is now finished from Walnut to Orange. Thanks to the neighbors who showed an interest in getting involved, the ones that brought me bottled water and thanks to the LBPD for dealing with an undressed/ incoherent homeless lady at MacArthur Park who was just out of the hospital and still in hospital attire for showing a level of kindness and dignity that should be a model for all police departments nation wide.

MacArthur Park Neighborhood Clean Up 11/21/2015: 10am

MacArthur Park Neighborhood clean up this Saturday 10am: Starting at 14th & Cherry heading down 14th towards Orange.

District One: Brings Graffiti Clean Ups to Weekend & Expands Alley Lighting Initiatives

Yesterday I went with District Six Candidate Josephine A Villaseñor at the District One Willmore Community Watch Meeting. Some great news from the meeting. Graffiti reports will now be handled on weekends too. In other words, if tagging happens, you no longer have to wait until Monday for it to get painted over. Also, Rep Lena Gonzalez initiative to light up the alleys in District One, may spread to all of Long Beach, with an initiative coming up before City Council in December. Thank you to Lena Gonzalez and District One from the MacArthur Park Community Association.

The next Community Watch Meeting:

Linden-Roosevelt Neighborhood
Monday, December 7th
7 – 9 pm
Roosevelt Elementary Room A101
1574 Linden Ave   

Josie & I will also be hosting one at Fox Coffee House this December with everything we've picked up including starter packets early in December. 

District One Meeting: El Niño Preparedness

There was a meeting tonight at Drake Park sponsored by Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez. While the meeting focused on Community Watches, there was also time spent on the Go Long Beach App, Homeless Services and El Niño. 

Because we covered Community Watches in a previous meeting, we'll be focusing tonight on being prepared for El Niño in this write up.

El Niño is a change in weather patterns that stands to change temperatures and weather patterns in cities like Long Beach. Where our average downpour is around 12 inches, El Niño can double the down pour. This usually comes in the form of four storms. One major storm brings about an inch and a quarter of rain, the rest resemble your average winter shower. 

While an inch and a quarter of rain doesn't sound like a serious issue, in addition to flooding it can cause extensive erosion and rip tides. Tonight's meeting, as it relates to El Niño was all about knowing what to do before, during and after the storm.

BEFORE THE STORM

• Clear rain gutters
• Have lumber, tarps, duct tape to repair leaks as they occur
• Cover patio furniture
• Keep at least 1/4 of gas in your tank
• Have an emergency kit.
• Have important identification in plastic bags
• Have copies of phone books that are not in cell phones.
• Prepare for special needs: IE Autistic kids/ insulin etc
• Have sand bags in flood areas
• Use Nixle/ Social Networking and stay connected
• Find a weather service and pay attention.

DURING THE STORM

• Listen to news that can help
• Avoid water above ankles
• If water comes up to top of your tires it isn't safe to continue
• Stay on familiar train
• Avoid down power lines
• If you see downed lines call 911

AFTER THE STORM

• Pay attention to news about drinking water
• Sewer breaks may require you to boil the water
• Have water purification such as bleach tablets in emergency kits
• Avoid disaster site seeing.
• Don't handle downed power lines
• Replenish emergency kits

The City of Long Beach also has a plan for the coming storms. This plan will include the clearing of 5300 basins, testing 28 pump stations and having the Fire Department make sand and sand bags available to the public. Sand will be available at 1651 San Francisco. Sand bags are available at Fire Stations 7, 12, 13 and 14.  Additionally, Parks and Recreation will be creating berms and clearing rain gutters for all government facilities. Fire will identify places where the Swift Water Rescue Response team may be needed. Police may be called on to alter traffic control patterns and activate search and rescue teams when needed. 

Also, while El Niño will help the drought in California, it is unlikely to undo it.

Wedensday Safety Watch: Spike Around Raymond And Anaheim

The MacArthur Park Neighborhood: Notice there is a trend of burglaries around Anaheim and Raymond in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood heading South East out of the neighborhood. Thefts from cars seems to be trending south from Rotary Centenial Park towards Orizaba. Also keep an extra eye open around Anaheim and Obispo.

Neighborhood Expansion: 
Today We're Watching Out For Wrigley

Neighborhood Expansion is when this site/ MacArthur Park will be doing three things to look out for neighboring communities including: mapping crime trends, aiding in clean ups and doing Go Long Beach Runs for that neighborhood. As of today it moves from being a response to bad things happening, to something that will happen every week. This week MacArthur Park is keeping an eye on Wrigley in support of Wrigley.

Auto thefts begin around Hill and Earl then trend South East based on the time of day. They seem to begin at 8pm, then another one happens about an hour later. From 20th Street, the there are a few more incidents trending north east based on the day, that includes theft from a car on Sunday and property damage on Monday. 

Keep an eye on 22nd and Cedar where three things happened in one night, including a breaking and entering at 8pm, another one in the same area an hour later and a theft from a car later that night. Bare in mind these incidents are from about two weeks back.


Wrigley: For more community watch information go here to the Wrigley Neighborhood Community Watch: facebook.com/wrigleyneighborhoodwatch/  or join the Wrigley Group for a Better Wrigley.

Recap: The MacArthur Park Neighborhood Meeting

Tonight the MacArthur Park Neighborhood hosted its monthly meeting at the Mark Twain Library. The speakers included our neighborhood resource officer, Officer Gabriel Bentanzos and Jason Gallup from Sustainable Long Beach.

A Sustainable Long Beach

The second part of the meeting was a presentation by Sustainable Long Beach. The City of Long Beach Office of Sustainability was created to model leadership and supports practical solutions to improve the environment. Sustainable Long Beach began in 2008 when the City Council decided to go green and in doing so was tasked with developing a Sustainable City Action Plan. In a nutshell, these are attempts to more effectively cut down on waste by more efficiently using city resources. The program offers seven major services, this meeting focused on three of the seven.

Some of programs offered by Sustainable Long Beach include:

1. Free Mulch: As the city  moves away from grass longs to drought tolerant plants, the city has developed a program that delivers free mulch to residents. The mulch comes from city tree trimmings, that were once simply tossed in local landfills. Now instead of throwing the trimmings away, they are shaved down and turned into mulch, which when added to lawns, reduces weeds, adds nutrients to soil, regulates soil temperature and helps retain water.  To be eligible to receive you must be a Long Beach resident and a homeowner.
2. The Civic Garden: This was created to demonstrate how to get the most out of a small growing space. Located at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802. The garden is a great place to learn how to grow your own food in garden containers you create. Urban gardening itself is the idea that citizens can grow food no matter where they live, whether it's a high rise apartment, a tiny condo, or a house with no backyard. In addition to monthly classes in urban garden, you can also learn how to make your own containers to save space, like Earth boxes and vertical planters. 
3. The Rain Barrel Rebate Program: Long Beach Residents are currently eligible to receive rebates of up to $75 per barrel with a maximum of four rain barrels per home. These barrels collect rain for lawn irrigation without relying on the city's water supply. This program is not free, but the rain barrels you  purchase will run about $85 before the rebate. After getting $75 back, you are looking at a 55 gallon rain barrel for about $10. Additionally, the company that handles the rebates is also offering rebates on high efficiency toilets, sprinkler heads and clothes washers. 
   

Finally, Sustainable Long Beach is aggressively plugging the Cool California Challenge. This is basically a competition between twenty-two cities in California trying to outdo each other in saving on their water and energy bills.  Basically, you create an account and begin monitoring your energy and water bills. As the program gives you tips on how to bring those bills down, you earn points by using less energy and spending less money. If you are successful, your energy bills come down. And as you saves money, the city of Long Beach stands to win money which can be used to bring more energy saving programs back here.

A Brief Safety Update: The Shooting

Most of the safety update centered on holiday safety and some updated information on the fatal shooting at 14th and Gundry last week. For those unfamiliar with the shooting,  read the previous safety update. Here are additional details from tonight's meeting. The suspect is a 17-year-old juvenile. Because of this, despite being involved in this murder, he may be out by age 24. Also the suspect may be connected to other shootings in the area. During the shooting, the suspect was originally spotted on Gundry and fled south to 1136 Hoffman. Police are working with property owners to evict any gang members that may be causing long term problems for the neighborhood. 

A lot of the holiday safety information was common sense and has been covered in previous posts. Here's a brief recap. 

As we approach the holiday season, here are some safety tips.

1.  Ship items to a location where they will be personally received, and/or ask a trusted neighbor to collect and hold the item rather than leaving it in a common area.
2.  Request carriers to ship items to their local store or distribution center to be held for pick up.
3. Advise your local post office when you will be out of town so they can hold your deliveries until your return.
4. Track the progress of your anticipated delivery and if you don’t receive it as expected, contact the issuing company, and when possible request proof of delivery.
5. Remove valuables and holiday packages from your vehicle, and don’t use it as a storage area - More tips from the LAPD

MacArthur Park Neighborhood meetings for the MacArthur Park Neighborhood  are every third Tuesday and hosted through the Neighborhood Resource Center. The next meeting, unless the holidays interfere, should be on 12/15/2015 at 5:00pm.

Neighborhood Expansion Permanence Begins With A Wrigley Safety Watch

The Wrigley Community Watch Page a page for businesses and residents to post what is happening in the Wrigley Community. It's neighborhood surveillance program or group in which residents keep watch over each others' homes, patrol the streets, etc. 

In less than six months is has grown from just one to over thirty central Wrigley neighbors keeping an eye on each other and their neighborhood in an attempt to help prevent crime and protect neighbors.

Like this page to participate. This site will begin adding some neighboring communities and their watches with an Internet Watch to help inform those Central Long Beach Neighborhoods where eyes should be focused. In other words, Neighborhood Expansion is about to become a permanent thing instead of a response to bad things happening outside the MacArthur Park Border. ‪#‎SupportJosephine‬

https://www.facebook.com/wrigleyneighborhoodwatch/

MacArthur Park Neighborhood Meeting: 11/17/2015: 5:00pm

Long Beach residents are invited to the MacArthur Park/Whittier School Neighborhood monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 17, 2015, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library located at 1401 E. Anaheim St. in the Community Room.  Free parking is available at the library parking lot.

The Neighborhood Services Bureau in conjunction with the City of Long Beach Office of Sustainability will be holding an informative meeting on simple ways to conserve water, protect the environment, save a few dollars and make the most of  nature’s gifts.

Your attendance is greatly encouraged.  Not only will you gain some valuable saving tips, but you will have the opportunity to participate in the discussion by sharing some personal experiences and ideas with your neighbors.  

• Free Mulch
• CoolCalifornia City Challenge
• Save Money and Make the Most of Nature’s Gifts 

  

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Mark Twain Neighborhood Library (Community Room)

1401 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

For more information, please call  

Bryant S. Ben at (562) 570-1691 or email bryant.ben@longbeach.gov

Translation will be provided in Khmer and Spanish

 

The City of Long Beach intends to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities. Act of 1990.  If special accommodation is required or to request this information in an alternate format, Please contact Bryant S. Ben at (562) 570-1691, 48 hours prior to the meeting

Sunday Safety Update: 11/08/2015 to 11/14/2015

Disclaimer: Please note these maps are meant to show which direction crime is trending, areas to keep an extra eye on and places to remain vigilant in order for Central Long Beach residents to remain safe. That said, previous trends don't guarantee future trends will repeat in the same direction and patterns. Also, an absence of crime in one area, does not guarantee an absence in that same area later on. as well. The map has a slightly new feature. The darker the red arrow, the more predictive the trend.

This safety update has some bad news. Unfortunately, on Tuesday 11/10/2015 at about 9:10pm there was a homicide at Gundry and 14th Street. There is a string of assaults trending that direction. There is a suspect in custody. Thank you to the Long Beach Police. Here is the original article on the shooting.

A 19-year-old man was shot and killed in North Long Beach late Monday, police said today. The shooting was reported at 11:02 p.m. Monday in the 1200 block of East 52nd Street, near Orange Avenue, Long Beach Police Department Lt. David Faris said. - Read the Full Story.

The victim's father identified him as 26-year-old Jeffery Keo, a Poly High School graduate. The family came to the United States from Cambodia in 1984, living in the Bay Area and Southern California. This is a link to the Go Fund Me, for help with the family pay for their son's funeral. Please support them.

There's also a string of auto thefts trending towards the south end of MacArthur Park. Also the auto thefts around Rotary Centennial Park are moving towards 17th Street. The auto thefts starting at Orizaba Park trend the same direction. Please reread how to protect yourself from car theft if you reside near either park.

Also, in the attack on France that killed 300, people a CSLB student was killed. The university will hold a vigil at 4 pm on Sunday to mourn Gonzalez’s passing and to grieve for all the victims of the atrocious attack. More information about the vigil will be shared as details are finalized.

Update 11/15/2015: Major tagging last night. 15th and Walnut, south east side of the intersection on 15th. Also, the north end of Fire Station Ten was tagged. The taggers used green paint, and went all the way from the north end of the building to south along the fense, behind some trees. They would have needed to spend some time there. It likely happened after 9pm. Keep a community watchful eye on 15th to Anaheim and Rose to Peterson. If you see tagging in process call 911.

The Next Community Watch Meetings Are On:

Willmore Neighborhood
Thursday, November 19th
7 – 9 pm
Drake Park Community Room
951 Maine Ave

Linden-Roosevelt Neighborhood
Monday, December 7th
7 – 9 pm
Roosevelt Elementary Room A101
1574 Linden Ave  

There Will Likely Be Four Candidates Running For 6th District

Gardenia Street Is Clean from PCH to 14th Street

There was an announced cleaning of Gardenia Street starting at 1611 Gardenia. The clean up headed north and south down Gardnia. All dumped items, with the exception electronic devices such as TVs and an water heaters, were removed. In the end, the dumpster was filled in about one hour.

I have personally signed up for a large clean up on the 12th of December 2015. This will be a joint clean up with friends from the Wrigley Neighborhood. I intend to make this a slightly bigger clean up than we've don in the past. There will likely be food, prizes and other reasons for our neighbors to get involved. Stay tuned for details. #SupportJosephine

District One: Community Watch Meeting - The Break Down

Today I attended the District 1 Community Watch Forum. It was one of three 1st District Meetings sponsored by Council Woman Lena Gonzalez to help neighborhoods within the first district begin their own community watches. 

There are two more meetings in case you missed tonight's. While a lot of the information is common sense, it still applies to all Long Beach Council Districts.

In attendance was a good portion of the the police resource officers for West Division as well as First District Council Woman Lena Gonzalez. Community watches are formed when a group of neighbors come together, adopt a monthly meeting time and appoint a community contact member; that person is the one who attends police forums, and disseminates what they learn back to their community group.

For instance, as a Community Contact, I would be expected to attended the latest West Division Leadership Forum on Human Trafficking. I would take notes, collect hand outs and give that information to my neighbors. One question that was asked early was how many households should you need to start a community watch. While the police did say, it should start with at least three people, they also added it can grow from there. And some in attendance began their community watch groups with less.

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"I started my Wrigley Community Watch with just myself in April," said Sixth District Candidate Josephine Bañuelos Villaseñor. "Now I have 29 people."

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Roles of the Community Watch Contact include

•  Introducing yourself to your neighbors
• Scheduling the initial meetings
• Taking attendance/ minutes during the meetings
• Being in contact with your resource officer/ who deals in long term problems
• Disseminate crime trand Information to their community

Roles of the Community Watch Participants include:

• Getting to know your neighbor
• Reporting suspicious activity
• Identifying neighborhood issues
• Assisting community officials
• And developing plans of action where problems exist

The presentation centered on four specific areas: your own personal safety, reporting issues like graffiti and dumping [via Go Long Beach and other similar resources], literacy services and the Healthy Active Long Beach Program. Because each of these is important, we'll tackle them more thoroughly on other days.

 A lot of tonight's meeting focused on the fact that crime is like a three sided triangle. Take any one of the sides away, and the crime is less likely to occur.

In that sense, a lot of tonight's meeting focused on personal safety and taking away the opportunity to be a victim. Overall Officer Jose Flores who gave the presentation recommended that to stay safe one should always:

• Remain alert
• Avoid risky situations
• And trust your instinct - If something doesn't feel safe it probably isn't

Additional topics included street safety, vehicle safety, sidewalk safety and holiday safety tips. For instance, it is recommended you have your keys ready as you approach your car. While you are looking for them at the car door, you are giving criminals an opportunity to attack. In a later post I will cover every one of those topics in more detail. 

Street Safety/ Sidewalk Safety

• Walk in groups
• Walk with purpose
• Be aware of your surroundings
• Acknowledge people
• Carry a purse or hand bag close to your body 
• Walk in the middle of the sidewalk
• Avoid narrow openings between buildings
• Avoid overgrown hedges
• Stay in well lit areas
• Avoid suspicious people by going into businesses or crossing the street

Additionally, Council Woman Lena Gonzalez also used the meeting as an opportunity for the community to suggest which alleys needed lighting the most, as she has set aside $20,000 to light up the First District Alleyways that need lighting the most.  

The Next Meetings Are On:

Willmore Neighborhood
Thursday, November 19th
7 – 9 pm
Drake Park Community Room
951 Maine Ave

Linden-Roosevelt Neighborhood
Monday, December 7th
7 – 9 pm
Roosevelt Elementary Room A101
1574 Linden Ave