PicFair Village

Not just neighbors, but a community

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Remove Graffiti Fast!

The most effective way to combat graffiti is to remove it IMMEDIATELY, before the vandal's 'message' can be seen. Report any graffiti on public property or your own private property using the on-line Anti-Graffiti Request System, or call the graffiti hotline at 3-1-1. The graffiti will be removed for FREE within 4 business days.

Boulevard Without Borders

Three artists who live near Pico have initiated the Boulevard Without Borders project to document the people and places along this culturally diverse corridor. The project brings teenagers together from Pico's ethnic and religious communities in a collaborative process of photographing their own and other neighborhoods along the boulevard.

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July 2010

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MidTown Asks for ANOTHER $19.2M!

Written by David Zahniser
Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:27
Developer asks city for another loan, of $19.2 million! CIM Group says it needs more money to complete Midtown Crossing, a long-delayed shopping center anchored by Lowe's. The loan would be repaid from various taxes generated by the project. Stung by the recession, one of the most prominent developers in Los Angeles is turning to the city for an additional $19.2 million to bring a long-delayed Lowe's Home Improvement store to Mid-City. CIM Group — owner of the Hollywood & Highland mall, investors in renewable energy and a prospective bidder on 10 city-owned parking garages — has asked officials for a new 20-year loan to help it complete Midtown Crossing, a shopping center at the junction of Pico and San Vicente boulevards. Under the proposed agreement, CIM Group would be allowed to pay off the loan by tapping property, sales, utility and business taxes that would be generated by the project once it opens. The proposal would allow the city to keep at least 51% of the sales, utility and business taxes generated by the shopping center. Up to 49% of the remaining proceeds could be used by CIM Group to repay its loan. That arrangement drew fire from one neighborhood activist who pointed out that sales, utility and business taxes normally go into the city's general fund, which pays for basic services such as police, parks and libraries. For months, city officials have been coping with a projected $485-million budget crisis by paring back both the workforce and city services that are supported by that fund.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:28 )
Read more: MidTown Asks for ANOTHER $19.2M!

Weigh In on Spending Cuts

Written by Scott McNeely
Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:27
Weigh In on Runaway Gov't Spending YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project - is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington's culture of spending into a culture of savings. Click here to learn more about our first week's winning item, a $2.5 billion spending cut House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) says that Uncle Sam needs to go on a diet. Cantor (seen at left) launched a new project today that he hopes will "force Congress to begin to confront the difficult, but unavoidable realities of our fiscal situation." It's called YouCut. It allows anyone to vote on a project that they think Congress should cut. Republicans will suggest possible cuts each week and will try to bring the winning cut to the House floor each week for an up or down vote. Check it out, see what you think and cast your vote! -end
Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:28 )

Official Election Results

Written by Scott McNeely
Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:27
The Official Results Are In! The city clerk has published the official results to the recent elections to the Pico Neighborhood Council. However, June 1st is the deadline for challenges and recounts. Barring no challenges or recounts the results are as follows: Factual Basis At-Larger (1 seat): J. David Riva. Business Representatives (2 seats): Carmen Salindong, Nikki Legesse. Non-profit Representatives (3 seats): Rayna Saslove Senior Citizen Representative (1 seat): Sue S. Beidleman South Carthay Representative (1 seat): Lloyd Robinson Wilshire Vista Representative (1 seat): Scott McNeely Wilshire Vista Heights Representative (1 seat): Adam Pergament Wilshire Highlands Representative (1 seat): Camille Bettis PicFair Village Representative (1 seat): Claudia Bayard Neighbors United Representative (1 seat): Mary Ann Yurkonis Employee Representative (1 seat): None. * Education Representative (2 seats): None. * Carthay Square Representative (1 seat): None. * Redondo Sycamore Representative (1 seat): None. * Pico Park Representative (1 seat): None. * CONGRATULATIONS to all those who gained a seat on the board! The community looks forward to another year of good work! * Unfilled seats will be available through board appointment once the new board has been seated.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:28 )

Downtown Central Park?

Written by Ryan Vaillancourt
Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:27
Dreaming of Downtown’s Central Park Another Go-Round in the Effort to Cap the 101 Freeway in the Civic Center by Ryan Vaillancourt DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - New York has Central Park. In Chicago, there’s Millennium Park. San Francisco boasts Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. Then there’s greater Los Angeles, and while the region has some 75 miles of coastline and beloved open spaces such as Griffith Park, the city’s center lacks the kind of iconic green space that urban dwellers flock to and visitors come to associate with their stay. A coalition of planners, urban designers and government agencies are hoping that changes with the latest revival of a proposal that seems audacious in scope: a plan to cap a segment of the Hollywood (101) Freeway that runs through Downtown, and build a park over the area where thousands of cars speed by every hour. It is clearly a mammoth undertaking. “The last time we’ve done something as grand as this was building Bunker Hill,” said Vaughan Davies, director of urban design with AECOM, a planning and engineering firm working on the project. A 101 park plan dates back to the mid-1990s, when Nick Patsaouras pushed the proposal. The current version, dubbed Park 101, was formulated in 2008 by a group of international student interns working with AECOM staff. Their vision, which will get a public airing at a Downtown meeting this week, addresses the eight-lane road that slashes through Downtown, severing the Civic Center from Chinatown, El Pueblo and Union Station. The proposed park would stretch from Grand Avenue to the Los Angeles River; its heart would cover the quarter-mile trench that sits roughly between Grand Avenue and Alameda Street. Capping the freeway, officials say, would create pedestrian friendly linkages among various government buildings. It would also convert some 100 acres currently covered in freeways or parking lots into green space, Davies said.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 May 2010 13:30 )
Read more: Downtown Central Park?