West Division Leadership Forum: 06/22/2016

Please join Commander Robert Smith and his staff for this informative meeting on Wednesday June 22, 2016 at 6:00pm. at 205 E. Anaheim We will be having presentations on different programs available to Juveniles.

For further information please contact, Neighborhood Services Specialist Jose Vazquez, at 562-570-3461 or via email LBPDwest@longbeach.gov

****Spanish translation will be available****

Vengan acompañar al Comandante Robert Smith a una reunión comunitaria El Miercoles, 22 de Junio a las 6:00 de la tarde en el 205 E. Anaheim Tendremos varias presentaciones sobre diferentes programas disponibles para Juveniles

Para obtener más información favor de llamar a Jose Vazquez, al 562-570-3461 o mande correo electronico a

LBPDwest@longbeach.gov

*****Tendremos traducción en español disponible*****

West Division Leadership Forum 04/20/2016

Happy Easter: To The Neighborhood

Ribbon Cutting At MacArthur Park

There was a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at MacArthur Park. The ceremony featured a speeches from the current Sixth District City Council Man Dee Andrews, the directors of Parks and Rec, local poets and performances from dancers at the Homeland Cultural Center. 

The new playground is cast in vibrant purples, greens and yellows. The varied color scheme was meant to show reverence to the different cultures within the neighborhood. In addition to the renovations to the playground, there were also about $500,000 in renovations to the cultural center where free classes in: Bokator, Hmong Arts Belly Dance, Graf Murals, Youth Writing & Improv, African Dance, Aztec Dance, Cambodian Dance, Hip-Hop Dance, Guitar/Bass and Micronesian Music are held. That list is not exhaustive of all classes held at the theatre.

A break down of exactly where the money came from for the renovations came from will be published around Monday. I have a request in to Parks and Rec for a detailed break down.

The poetry reminded those in attendance that through the theater graffiti has morphed into art. Gangs have morphed into street dance. And that in many cases, the alienated have been given a voice. 

The bad news: There is no money left for the badly needed renovations of the restrooms, which does contradict earlier reports on how far the money would go. 

Grand Opening MacArthur Park Playground

From NextDoor: There will be a grand opening ceremony at MacArthur Park this Saturday, March 26, at 10 am to celebrate our new playground equipment and our newly renovated facility. The morning's activities will include entertainment by the Afrikan dancers and Street Dance Crew from Homeland Cultural Center, and the reading of a poem especially written for the occasion. The public is invited to attend the ceremony, and to tour the facilities afterwards.

Jim Ruggirello
Supervisor, Homeland Cultural Center at MacArthur Park

There Was An Announced Clean Up: Walnut Anaheim to 15th Street

There was an announced clean up in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood of Walnut from Anaheim to 15th Street. South of 15th, Walnut is usually very bad, especially by the apartments south of 14th Street. It took two days. But here are some before and after pictures. Next week we'll be getting 15th Street starting at Orange and get as close to Junipero as time will allow.

We also helped support the AOC7 clean up on Saturday. It was impressive, because earlier, Mary said she was worried that everybody else seemed to have something to do that day. Despite that, look at the turn out below. Am incredible turn out left places that we intended to clean the next day so immaculate, we had to go somewhere else and clean our own neighborhood instead.

The Incredible Turn out for the Neighborhood Clean Up This Weekend

City Council Candidate: Meet and Greet: 03/20/16 Ernest McBride Park

Sunday Safety Update: 03/06/16 - 03/13/16

Here are the crime trends for this week in the MacArthur Park Neighborhood. The map is almost empty this week. There was property crime that trends towards some auto thefts, that trend North East towards 17th and Orange. Be careful at the south end of Orange and Anaheim, the property crime is in the same place as an encampment that was just removed. In Cambodia Town East, there were also some property crime along St Louis and 11th that trend up towards St Louis and Anaheim where some assaults took place. The car thefts around Rotary Centennial Park appear to be heading away from the neighborhood this week.

There is a ton of tagging and dumping in an alley that spans Gaviota to Rose. The alley is just behind Anaheim. As part of our Neighborhood Expansion program this week we clean half of that alley and reported all the tagging for clean up. We also did a Go Long Beach Run through our own neighborhood and the AOC7. The AOC7 has a clean up next week. 

The map now shows where the dumped items are, so if the city doesn't pick it up before the clean up, AOC7 can just hand that map to Public Works. 

There have not been shootings since the last round. However, the one that took place in North Long Beach at Artesia and Butler, now has identified the victim. Authorities Tuesday identified a man killed in a possible gang-related shooting in Long Beach that also left another man wounded. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. Thursday near Butler Avenue and Artesia Boulevard, said Long Beach police Sgt. Brad Johnson. Tyrone Douglas, 19, of Long Beach died at a hospital, said coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter. We are trying to identify victims, to prevent any shootings in Central Long Beach from being statistics as opposed to names/ real people.

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.

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

Happy Veteran's Day to our all Long Beach Neighborhoods

Rennovation Begins at MacArthur Park

The following post was from Jim Ruggirello at the Cultural Center of MacArthur Park on Next Door: "The long-awaited and much-needed renovation of the main building at MacArthur Park, the home of Homeland Cultural Center, will begin Monday, September 28. The entire building will be shut down for a week for asbestos abatement. During that time some classes will be held in the Manazar Gamboa Theater, others will be cancelled. After that, work will begin on the room that used to house the Mark Twain Library and most of our regular schedule will resume. The entire project, including work on the rest of the building, the playground, and the restrooms, should be complete by the end of the year."

At the 6th and 7th District Budget meeting earlier this year Andrews stated that there should be enough money left over to renovate the restrooms. Bare in mind, the entire budget for this project was provided by the state of California. The City of Long Beach is not contributing to the restoration of MacArthur Park. I would encourage all neighborhood residents to visit all nearby parks. It is very eye-opening to see how much money the city will invest in the neighborhoods where Central Long Beach residents do not live. Compare the civic center at Drake Park to the one at MacArthur Park. Compare the condition of the streets in Bellmont Heights to the conditions anywhere in Central Long Beach. What you will quickly learn, is for Central Long Beach it's a battle to get a pothole filled, a tree trimmed or a mattress picked up. In Bellmont Heights, the city will build what is nearly a billion dollar pool.

Sunday Safety Update: 09/06/2015 to 09/12/2015

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. 

09/02/2015 - 09/12/2015: This update shows a very scattered pattern. The only big pattern, which isn't clear above, is a lot was going on Wednesday 09/09/2015; this is the same day as the fatal shooting at 2100 Pasadena listed below. 

Starting with the map itself there is a robbery on the Whittier Elementary Campus, the next day there is a theft in the same area. This would have been at 17th and Walnut where kids and adults cross to the school. These incidents happened between 7:43am, when school starts and noon, likely when kindergarten lets out. Just remain very observant in the area. 

Beginning at Cherry and Anaheim there is a robbery leading up into assaults at either end of Cherry and the Spaulding alley as well as Cherry and 17th. The first is likely a dark alley at night, the second is where the smog check/ and a somewhat less than uninviting hotel is situated at the corner of PCH and Cherry. I would be very careful in either of those areas, at all times. That hotel does not screen their guests, and that alley is a little dark and claustrophobic for my tastes.

There is a single theft from a car by Rotary Centennial Park, I expected a lot more; maybe the How To Prevent Car Thefts post is helping. There also looks like there might be some more car thefts converging around MacArthur Park. I think they're probably trending from the AOC7 towards MacArthur Park, but there isn't quite enough information to predict a trend yet. 

There was an officer involved shooting on Thursday. Neither the officer nor the suspect was hurt. No additional information has been released since I first reported what happened. Oddly, that shooting does not even appear on the Crime Reports map. Everyone I know, is simply grateful that neither the suspect nor the officer were hurt. It would be nice to see a few more stories end that way.

There were two fatal shootings outside our neighborhood:

2100 Block of Pasadena Avenue. 09/09/2015: Officers responded to a shooting call around 12:41 a.m. in the 2100 block of Pasadena Avenue, police said. They found an adult man on a sidewalk suffering at least one gunshot wound to the upper body. An officer began life saving measures until Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived. Paramedics transported him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

400 Block of 5th Street: Officers were called around 9:51 p.m. to a shooting in the 400 block of West Fifth Street, according to information the Long Beach Police Department provided.
Officers found a male adult victim suffering gunshot wounds in the upper body, police said. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics responded and took the victim, in critical condition, to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

There was also a nonfatal shooting in the Wrigley area on Friday. A fatal shooting in the St. Mary's area, has resulted in an arrest. 

I am going to create a solved/ unsolved homicide page very soon. The goal is to keep the victims as names instead of statistics, I think that will make us a little more likely to keep perusing justice in their names. 

Meeting on Starting a Community Watch Next Tuesday

Long Beach residents are invited to the MacArthur Park/Whittier School Neighborhood monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 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 City of Long Beach Neighborhood Services Bureau in conjunction with the Long Beach Police Department will be holding an informative forum on the importance of and how to form a community watch program. This session will provide residents and community leaders alike an overview of a community watch program including the benefits vital to maintaining a safe community.

Long Beach residents are invited to the MacArthur Park/Whittier School Neighborhood monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 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 City of Long Beach Neighborhood Services Bureau in conjunction with the Long Beach Police Department will be holding an informative forum on the importance of and how to form a community watch program. This session will provide residents and community leaders alike an overview of a community watch program including the benefits vital to maintaining a safe community.

Community watch programs not only allow for the empowerment of residents in safeguarding their communities, but it also assists in building a stronger bond between residents. Community watch programs also afford residents the opportunity to share experiences, and collaborate ideas and preventive measures for a safer community.

Your attendance and involvement is greatly encouraged. Attendees will have the opportunity to exchange information directly with law enforcement personnel. Your shared concerns and input can be valuable in developing a more comprehensive approach to community safety. Please come join us:

Concilman Dee Andrews To Host Budget Summit Tonight.

Long Beach City Councilmembers Dee Andrews and Roberto Uranga will host budget summits for the Sixth and Seventh Districts on Monday, August 10 at 6:00PM at Veterans Park in Long Beach, their offices announced yesterday.

According to a release, Andrews and Uranga are using the meeting as a means of reaching as much of the community as possible before the commencement of the City Council Budget Sessions regarding the 2016 Budget. All residents of the 6th and 7th District are welcome to attend. And attending in our often overlooked neighborhoods would probably be a very good idea.

Sunday Safety Report: 07/20/2015 to 07/26/2015

This map shows a cluster of activity. I have added a new category vehicular loitering because a large number of trailers have begun parking on Orange and around MacArthur Park. In many cases, they are simply dumping their trash onto the street I would suggest that Long Beach City Council place the "No Parking: Vehicles Over Six Feet," around the park and on Orange.

There is also pedestrian loitering still at Anaheim and Walnut as well as to a slightly lesser degree on 17th street. I have followed through with a request to trim the trees around the street lights.  In case you're wondering why, I am including a pic of what is common place on 17th Street. The light you see here is at Gundry and 17th. Clearly it's not serving its purpose if it's so badly surrounded by tree branches.

Now, all the street lights between Gundry and Alamitos that have been obscured have been photographed and reported. Also, notice on the map above a trend of thefts from vehicles that had multiple incidents over multiple days. If you live by Stanley and 15th, please read about keeping your car safe.

The orange triangle just above 14th is a residence being operated as a casino. Like the loitering on 17th, this is common knowledge in the area, so just be aware of the extra traffic and safety issues that it creates.

Also notice that all activity clusters to the east and then trends in that direction. So most of the loitering is near the park, And then the thefts, thefts from cars, breaking and entering and assaults all seem to move east over the next few days. 

The above map is the worst the MacArthur Park Neighborhood has seen. And I think with the money, community organizations coming together and great people cleaning up central Long Beach it's a very good time to meet your neighbor, connect and start looking out for each other. 

We'll do an midweek update on Wednesday.

Brief Experiment: 

I wanted to try creating an animated Gif that might show a little better how crime is trending in the area. The one you see below shows it trending from Monday 07-12 to Sunday 07-18.

 

A list of Positive Changes in Central Long Beach

Sometimes, admin things we can't control we lose focus on some on the positive changes that time has brought to us. So I just wanted to create a list of things your neighborhood groups, district representatives, citizens groups, businesses and volunteers have brought to Central Long Beach.

1. AOC7's annual Literacy Fair
2. The West Division Leadership Program
3. Building Healthy Community Meetings
4. The Cambodian New Year Festival 
5. The Citizen's State of the Union
6. Neighborhood Leadership 
7. MacArthur Park's Weekly Clean Up
8. The Joint AOC7/ MacArthur Park Clean Up
9. Almost 200 Central Long Beach Residents on Next Door
10. Community Nights Out
11. Free movies in the park
12. Drought Resistant Planting Rebates
13. The Go Long Beach App
14. The Newly Created Jenny Rivera Park
15. I DIG Tree Plantings 
16. Friend's Fest - Drake Park  
17. Free classes at the the Gamboa Theatre
18. The Home Improvement Rebate Program
19. The Business Improvement Rebate Program
20. The LB/LBUD Free Summer Lunch Program 
21. Pacific Gateway Job Fair
22. 100+ New Neighborhood Watches
23. WESCA alley wide clean ups with the crusher
24. Wrigley's monthly barbeque
25. The ROCK Renewable Hope Thanksgiving Feeding Project 
26. District Six Youth Job/ Intern Fair
27. The Anaheim Re-Visioning
28. The AOC7's 10 Street Beautification
29. The Gundry Resurfacing/ Sidewalk Replacement
30. The forthcoming Night Market/ Community Garden

We will be adding to this list as time passes. If I left any positive change you have seen come to Central Long Beach off this list, just email it to shaynem@hotmail.com.  

1st MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association Meeting:

MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association Meeting: 04/17/2015: 6:30pm. El Sauz Restaurant. 1616 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90813. [close to Walnut and Anaheim]

FB: Events Page

https://www.facebook.com/events/615387511924811/

1st MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association Meeting

Tomorrow at 6:30pm

1616 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA 90813

14 Street Clean Up Cherry to Orange Is Done

It took a little longer than I wanted, but 14th street is litter free. At least for now. I still have enough supplies for more neighbors to get involved. Every clean up participants will be provided with gloves, rolling cans, iron claws, bottled water and soda if you request request it. Next week I will be getting Peterson and Warren. The starting location will be Peterson and 15th at 10am on Saturday 04/18/2015. 

I also encourage all my neighbors to partner with the AOC7 for their cleanup on 11th street which is happening the same day at 8:30am. There are no before and after pictures because 14th street was clean enough, even by MacArthur Park there was no place to get a great shot. In other words, the neighborhood is starting to clean itself up a little.