Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Volunteers Show up in Force for CD 14 Community Cleanup


This Saturday, over 1,000 volunteers, City workers and contractors came out to beautify El Sereno, Boyle Heights and Northeast Los Angeles in our effort to improve Council District 14. Collectively, we worked on 40 separate projects, including removing graffiti, bulky items and overgrown weeds in pathways, schools and parks. It was refreshing to see so many hard working people (especially all the young people) who gave up their Saturday morning and showed real community pride. To highlight just a few of the many projects, in the Northeast, members of two local Girl Scout troops and Victory Outreach came out in full force and swept up streets and cleaned major corridors; in El Sereno, our award-winning cheerleading squad, Pride All Stars, cleared weeds and picked up trash outside Farmdale Elementary School and El Sereno Middle School; and in Boyle Heights, students at Roosevelt High School repainted benches around the trees in the school’s quad area. I painted over some graffiti on Blueberry Hill (under the supervision of Graffiti Busters!) and joined several young students collecting trash around the Evergreen jogging path. Also, we trimmed trees as part of my effort to fund the trimming of more than 1,500 trees throughout the district and we placed 110 additional trash receptacles throughout CD 14, improving the overall quality of life in our community.

Reminder: Besides City’s regular Bulky Item program, CD 14 Bulky Item pickup:
El Sereno: every 2nd Saturday
Boyle Heights: every 3rd Saturday
Northeast: every 4th Saturday

Please call any of my district offices or 311 to report potholes, graffiti or bulky items. A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported the Community Clean Up, including the following agencies, organizations and concerned residents who lent a hand. My apologies if I miss anybody. You all did a wonderful job!

Enjoy the pictures!



City of Los Angeles and partners:
Department of Public Works Commissioner Cynthia Ruiz, Enrique Saldivar, General Manger Bureau of Sanitation, Nazario Sauceda, Assistant General Manger Bureau of Street Services, Urban Forestry, Office of Community Beautification, Department of Transportation, Northeast Graffiti Busters, Clean and Green and the Los Angeles Conservation Corp.

Community groups and organizations:

Northeast Los Angeles
Victory Outreach, Girl Scouts (Troops 216 and 330), Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, Glassell Park Improvement Association, Mt. Washington community members, Eagle Rock Kiwanis Club, San Pascual Neighborhood Watch and the North Highland Park Neighborhood Watch.

El Sereno:
L.A. 32 Neighborhood Council, Semillas del Pueblo Charter School, Rose Hills residents, El Sereno Stallions Football Program, Wilson High School Football team, Hollenbeck PALS, Barrio Action, Calvary Chapel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Monterey Hills Federation, Club Deportivo, Hillside Village Homeowners Association, University Hills Homeowners Association, Pride All Stars, Mi Casita Parent Organization and Plaza de La Raza.

Boyle Heights:
El Centro de Ayuda, Youth Opportunity Movement, Aliso Pico Girl Scouts , East Los Angeles Community Corporation, YMCA Camp Whittle Volunteers, Gang Alternatives Program, Roosevelt High School (including Football and Basketball Drill teams), People who Care, Salesian Boys and Girls Clubs, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, La Purisima Neighborhood Watch, LA Voice at Talpa Church and Abuelitos de Boyle Heights.


And special thanks to our sponsors: Charlie’s Trio Restaurant, Jarritos Sodas, El Mercado Restaurant, Cafe De Leche, CVS Pharmacy, Ellis Paints/Pacific Resource Recovery, Italiano’s Pizza and Occidental Plaza.