Hollyween II: A Dell Smash

the
T h e New sletter of t he Holly wood D e ll C iv ic A s s o c ia tio n Hollyween II: A Dell Smash
This years family-friendly Halloween celebration ratcheted up another level with
lighting, a stage and even more Dell spirit.
by Kirsten Hanson-Press
WI N TE R 2 0 0 7
Dell Art &
History Reception
The City and Councilmember LaBonge
recognized the Dell and Terri Gerger's
Leadership at the recent Dell event
by George Skarpelos
The Hanson-Press Family at Hollyween II. From right to left: Olivia, Eric, Maxine and Kirsten
October 31, 2006 marked our Second
Annual Hollyween extravaganza. The overwhelmingly wonderful response to last year’s
event inspired even more volunteers this
year and exceeded our expectations once
again. Kathy Kikkert, Cindy Renie and Tim
Lawlor created new signs with our unique
“Hollyween in the Dell” brand. This time
neighbors knew a good time was on the
way! Our street filled with the spirit of an
old-fashioned neighborhood block party. The
costumes were fantastic. This year we upped
the ante with an actual stage to anchor the
party, display the costume parade, and jam
to our Dell kids musician Melissa Szigalzy.
A huge coup was Dell resident and pro-
duction designer Matthew Holt volunteering his help with professional design…all
donated. John Moore neighbor and gaffer
brought in lighting so we could enjoy our
party. Councilmember Tom LaBonge’s office
graciously helped with our street closure so
that Dell neighbors could mingle safely for
a few hours. From 4:30 to 6:30 in the evening we enjoyed lots of food, drinks, music,
games, costumes, prizes, candy and more! On
behalf of the very successful summer HDCA
fundraiser we were able to make two $4000
donations to each of our fire stations. The fire
fighters came to the event and were overwhelmed at our gift. What a fantastic way
continued on page 4
On January 30 Councilmember Tom
LaBonge and the City of Los Angeles recognized the Dell and former President Terri
Gerger during a reception at the Hollywood
Neighborhood City Hall. The HDCA Art and
History boards from our July Fundraiser were
on display, wonderfully setup again by Jeanne
Marshall, and Matthew and Dura Curry.
Councilman LaBonge noted that what
makes the City of Los Angeles so great is
the venerable neighborhoods and the people
who inhabit them. Through the work and
commitment of neighborhood associations
like the HDCA, we are able to transform our
city from a mere georgraphical location into
a community.
Councilmember LaBonge then proceeded
to single out the achievements of Terrri
Gerger and all her wonderful efforts on
behalf of the HDCA. As most people in
continued on page 5
I N S I D E
Letter From the President
Beautification Efforts
Spring Clean
Reservoir Repairs
Dr. Les Remsen
Oh Rats!
p2
p2
p2
p5
p6
p7
N
otes
from your
President.
Happy New Year
everyone! 2007.
Wow! As they say,
time does fly!
There’s a lot
going on in the
Dell. Good, bad
and—to complete
the old film titlethe ugly. But I firmly believe that the Good
is winning out by leaps and bounds!
Have you seen the fabulous work being
done by our beautification committee?
Notice how some once ugly little pockets
are now bursting with new plants and landscaping?
Has a neighbor knocked on your door
recently asking you to sign a petition related
to preferential parking permits?
We are in the midst of growth and change.
The revitalization of Hollywood is affecting
us in many ways, which brings me back
to that good, bad and ugly thing. The good:
improved property values (even in this volatile market); a variety of fab new restaurants;
more shops offering greater selection and
convenience, and a wider range of entertainment venues—particularly for all you hip
clubsters.
We are also working closely with some of
the big Hollywood developers who really do
want our input and feedback about what is
happening down our hill in the new Tinsel
Town — and are willing to help us out with
things like traffic mitigation and what kind
of retail we would like and need to see go in
their new ventures — and perhaps a bit of
“beautification money” to smooth the way.
Personally, I don’t think that there is a
more fun or exciting place to live right now,
than right here in our peaceful Dell — above
the emerging new Hollywood below. BUT
(seems there’s always a big “but”)...
The bad part of it all is the traffic and con2
struction. Some of the building that is happening on our beautiful hillside is horrific.
The traffic getting into our neighborhood is
maddening – and the non-resident parking
going on by both Hollywood Bowl goers
and now the Clubbers is nearly unbearable.
Obviously, we have our challenges, and
our work is cut out for us. So what are we
doing?
As to on-street parking, we are attempting to transform more affected streets into
“permit parking only” venues. We now are in
the process of applying for such changes to
help restrict parking to residents.
Traffic poses additional problems, inasmuch as the solution requires the cooperation of builders and truckers. We are insisting
that builders work with us to help minimize
the effect of their projects.
The homes being built up our hill…. Well,
that’s an ongoing problem, which takes
awareness and diligence on all of our parts.
These developers will get away with whatever we will let them, so please be aware and
report any violations to the proper authorities. Pay attention to notices sent regarding
variances. We can make a difference — at
least a little. And where we have some influence, we can ensure that contractors follow
such dictates as NOT starting work before 7
AM; not hauling materials until the 7 AM,
etc.
So, lets work together to keep this the
magical place it is. If you haven’t already,
please join the HDCA. It’s the best $30 a
year you can spend because it’s for the good
of your neighborhood, your family, your
investment. Come to our monthly meetings.
Let us know what concerns you, and what
you want out of the HDCA.
It is our neighborhood and our organization. Both are whatever we make them to
be. Play a role in their future. I think that we
are all pretty darn GREAT! Let’s just keep
moving forward!
xox
Patti
PS – I can’t write an entire article without mentioning my beautiful pup Dora! If
you are surfing the web… (after going to
www.HollywoodDell.com of course) check
out the promo for Dora’s upcoming film
at www.adogumentary.com. I am such a
ridiculously proud stage mom… ;o) See ya
‘round the hood!
Winter 2007
HOLLYWOOD DELL
CIVIC ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Patti Negri
President
Terri Gerger
Vice President
Madeline Funk
Treasurer
George Skarpelos
Newsletter Editor
William
Webmaster
Tom Meredith
Hollywood Bowl Rep
Rudy Van Zyl
DWP Rep
Merle Singer
Secretary
Committee Chairs
Membership Committee
Patti Negri
Terri Gerger
Historian
Jean Marshall
Beautification Committee
Tammy Ehrenfeld
Cynthia Martinez
Steven Parker
Welcoming Committee
Kirsten Hanson-Press
Annual Fundraiser
Alexa Iles
Traffic and Roads
Jennifer Parker
HDCA is dedicated to enhancing life in the Dell, improving
Hollywood socially and environmentally, and protecting
our unique history as a neighborhood and community. We
represent Dell interests in governmental and commercial
issues and actions, and raise funds to support Hollywood
projects and charities.
Annual membership is $30 per household.
For more information, contact HDCA:
www.hollywooddell.com
HDCA, P.O. Box 93122
Hollywood, CA 90093-0122
This newsletter is published four times/year:
Hollywood Spotlight
Beautification Abounds
Spring Clean Planned
by Cynthia Martinez
by Jim Agazzi and David Brewer
The Beautification Team,
Tammy Ehrenfeld, Cynthia
Martinez, and Steven Parker,
have been busy in the Dell. After
placing rocks and planting succulents around the Dell welcome
signs on Odin and Vine they proceeded to tackle three other areas
Tammy contacted Robert Nagle
with Nieman Properties, Inc. to
ask them to donate rocks they
excavated from their construction site. They not only donated
the rocks, but they sent their
foreman, Louis and his construction worker, Joe, for four hours to
distribute them to various sites in
the neighborhood. Tammy also
contacted OSH who donated 14
bags of mulch.
Tammy, Cynthia, and Steven
spent one Saturday in January
cleaning up the copious trash,
dog poop, and weeds, then
planting plants, purchased and
donated, on the north and south
entrances to Holly tunnel.
The TV show “Without a
Trace” has donated and delivered
1000 pounds of white marble
gravel to us to use on the south
side of the Ivar tunnel. We thank
Janet Hoffmann for scoring that
donation. Cactus and Agave were
planted there on January 21st.
The corner of Rinconia Drive
and Weidlake Drive, a favorite
turning point for large trucks,
also got rocks and plants. We
hope this will discourage the
trucks from cutting the corner
and be attractive as well.
Volunteers worked hard and
we’d like to thank David Elliott,
Nathan Ehrenfeld, and Brian
Rullman for their help with
these projects.
Tammy has been hand carrying
water to water the Holly tunnel
and the signs. We’d love some help
with this maintenance since the
rainy season has yet to come.
The HDCA is planning its
First Annual Hollywood Dell
Yard & Garage Sale
It is slated to take place sometime this spring — most likely
April, subject to the Hollywood
Bowl schedule.
Currently we are in talks to
hold it at the Hollywood Bowl
parking lot area.
There are two ways to participate in this event:
1.Donation of items to be
sold by volunteer workers
— with all proceeds
to fund HDCA
Beautification/Safety plans
and projects.
2.Booth rental for those who
wish to make some personal profit and also add to
the HDC coffers ($25 fee
— Payable in Advance for
a space at the Hollywood
Bowl parking lot).
Currently, we are looking for
storage spaces (e..g., garages) to
store donations. We also need
volunteers to pick up and deliver
contributions to these spaces and
to take calls from donors and
field questions and contact info. We will also need
volunteers to make signs
advertising the event, put them
up and take them down.
For those who will purchase
space, you are responsible setting
up, selling your items and for
removing any unsold items at the
end of the day — choose your
goods with care.
At the end of the
day, we will need additional volunteers and hauling vehicles to
collect unsold items and distribute them to charities. This must
be done at the end of the day.
For more information on this
event, please contact either
Jim Agazzi or David Brewer:
[email protected]
Patti Negri and Tammy Ehrenfeldt at the Ivar tunnel beautification
Hollywood Spotlight
Winter 2007
3
Hollyween continued from Page 1
to support our community, help
keep the Dell safe, and in the
process enjoy socializing with
the amazing people that make
up our terrific neighborhood.
Our event was funded entirely by donations. Thank you to
all who gave generously. Those
of you who missed out on the
opportunity can still send checks
to HDCA and ask to ear mark it
for Hollyween. We can keep the
“tradition” going in the Dell.
Extra thanks go to the neighbors on the 2200 block of Holly
Drive!... including all of you who
let us plug in to your homes
providing more electricity to an
already powerful event!
This years event was chaired
by Kirsten Hanson-Press, Anji
Williams and Debra Gainor. Patti
Negri, HDCA President was, as
always, a tremendous support. So
much goes on behind the scenes
to prepare for this.
Madeline
Funk,
Susan
Polifronio, Jean Marshal and
Terri Gerger worked hard on
the enormously popular popcorn and cookie decorating
booth! Also, Madeline’s dona-
Making Clients for Life
tion of the popcorn machine
made it feel like a “real” carnival. Tammy Ehrenfeld and Jill
Burnham helped bake cookies.
Kelly Ziegler and Nestle who
once again donated TONS of
Nestle candy and waters.
Lisa O’Brien and Courtney
Watkins (cheered on by little Mary
in her bouncy seat) continue to use
their amazing creativity in designing games and décor for Hollyween.
Steve Parker donated water along
with the great golf game.
Jill Burnham donated the
inflatable Frankenstein.
Terri and Rick Gerger donated
our big Hollyween banner!
Andrew Glazier, Chambers
Stevens and Michael Ackerman
manned the grill. Great Job!
Photographers Adam Lipsius,
Molly Legg, and Erik Press provided great photos of our party.
Our welcome volunteers Linda
and Adam Lipsius (with little
Dorothy) and Michael Lyman
and Patti Negri.
continued on page 6
4
Winter 2007
Hollywood Spotlight
Art & History continued from Page 1
the Dell know, Terri Gerger has
worked tirelessly on behalf of our
neighborhood, attending countless meetings and representing
our community at numerous
meetings events.
Councilmemember LaBonge
then presented our committed
former president with a commendation from the City recognizing her contributions to the
community. The HDCA then
gave her an original Judy Kass
panoramic photo taken from the
bluff on La Punta Drive.
Reservoir Repairs in the Works
$3 Million in Funding Announced To Repair
Lake Hollywood Landslides
Councilmember Tom LaBonge
in December announced $3 million in federal funding, secured
with the help of Senator Dianne
Feinstein (D-California), to repair
damaged roadways and hillsides
on both the east and west sides
of Lake Hollywood that were
caused by the massive landslides
of 2005. The funds will come to
the Los Angeles Dept. of Water
and Power (LADWP), which
operates the complex of reservoirs and water storage tanks,
trating to the countless numbers of people who walk, jog
and cycle around its perimeter
and enjoy this oasis of nature
in the middle of the city,” said
Councilmember LaBonge.
The councilmember, on site of
one of the landslides on the west
side of Lake Hollywood, was
joined by LADWP officials, community residents and other stakeholders who have not had access
to the facility since the winter of
2005-2006 when torrential rains
Terri Gerger and Tom LaBonge at the Art & History Reception
The washed out, west side reservoir road after the record 2005 rains
through the Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS).
“This funding goes to the City
of Los Angeles to help in the
rebuilding of the beautiful hillsides of Lake Hollywood, which
were devastated by the catastrophic landslides of 2005. Lake
Hollywood will soon be accessible for all to enjoy,” said Senator
Dianne Feinstein in a statement.
“The fact that Lake Hollywood
has been closed for nearly two
years has been supremely frusHollywood Spotlight
Winter 2007
caused massive landslides that
destabilized the hillsides around
the complex.
In addition to the volume of
dirt that needs to be moved or
removed, the situation has been
complicated because the landslides occurred below a row of
single-family homes built along
the above ridge line. Work to
repair the landslide on both the
east and west sides of the reservoir are expected to begin by the
continued on page 7
5
The Passing of Les Remsen
Hollyween continued from Page 4
Dr. Lester E. Remsen (1918-2007) a longtime Dell resident and active
HDCA participant.
In failing health for some time,
Les passed away after a brief illness on January 31.
Dr. Remsen was a long-time
member of the Hollywood Dell
Civic Association, and a homeowner since 1959. As one of
the founding members of the
HDCA, he and his wife Dorothy
held many of the early fundraisers at their house and garden.
He will be remembered fondly by his family, many friends,
colleagues, and former students.
His life will be celebrated on
Saturday, April 14 at 2 PM
Hollywood Forever, 6000 Santa
Monica Boulevard,
Hollywood CA (east of Gower)
Masonic Room, 2nd Floor
administration building
Dr. Remsen in his garden where many Dell fundraisers were held
Drinks provided by Lisa
Meredith, Catherine Hagney
Brown, and Jeff Brown
More carnival games by
Audrey and Logan Barnett and
Valen Watson.
Rowan Katz and friends had terrific“create your own potion”table.
Melissa Sgilazy for letting us use
her PA and sound system plus
performing for free.
Danna Hyams for the moderating the costume parade.
Al, Diane and Alex Alancraig…
an extra big thank you for the
second annual donation of
zillions of prizes for the kids.
Erik Press for enormous support
of this event
The volunteer army was large
and I apologize to anyone inadvertently left off our thank you
list. We had so many volunteers,
friends, and neighbors that it
really showed with the attendance, smiles and overall enthusiasm for this event.
Dia and Ray
The #1 Agents in the
Hollywood Hills!
We have sold
more homes in
the Hills than any
other agent.
To sell your home for the highest price, call
(323) 461-5743
Anne Fitzgibbon
The #1 Top Producers in our office (RE/MAX Hollywood
Hills) In the Director’s Guild!
We own here, we live here, and we work and sell here!
We donate a portion of our commission to the Children’s
Miracle Network (Children’s Hospital) in your name.
Call us for a free market evaluation of your home today.
This is not intended as a solicitation if your property is currently listed.
6
Winter 2007
Hollywood Spotlight
Letters to the Editor
I read your article “The
Trashcan Menace” with excitement and joy. At last someone
was speaking up about these eyesores!
My partner and I moved to
Cahuenga Terrace last year from
Beverly Hills-adjacent and were
shocked to see so many trashcans
left permanently in the street.
Every day I drive home from
work and am appalled. Turning
off the Boulevard, I drive up
Cahuenga Terrace and at its fork
with San Marco is an absolutely
beautiful big white house. Too
bad there are FIVE trashcans
permanently on their curb (I
guess because the house is walled
in they don’t care). Next door
are another five. That makes for
TEN TRASHCANS in a row! It
makes this beautiful street and
house look like a back alley.
I continue down a few more
houses and there are THREE
more trashcans, always standing
there just off the sidewalk.
Look to the right up Pilgrimage
and in front of a lovely empty hillside (beneath the cross) is a row
of NINE MORE TRASHCANS.
It makes this tranquil attractive
street look like a downtown slum.
A neighbor told me that the
owner of the empty hillside has
been trying for years to get the
homeowners to not leave their
trashcans in front of his property,
apparently with no success.
After reading your article I
felt empowered. Armed with
the newsletter I was thinking
of launching a one-man campaign and go house to house
and ask the homeowners to do
something about these eyesores.
I quickly got cold feet, fearing I’d
instantly make a lot of enemies,
especially with the rumor that
the Pilgrimage hillside-owner has
been feuding for years with the
neighbors.
I don’t understand. These peo-
The one electrician who really knows
the Hollywood Dell is Paul Perez.
He’s fast, friendly and fairly priced!
Call (323) 634-0830 24-Hours a day or
(818) 469-2360 Emergency Line
Welcome to
Neighborhood Notes
This is community bulletin board
exclusively for HDCA members. It’s a
Hollywood Spotlight
great place to post special announcements or congratulations. Feel free to
celebrate a wedding, anniversary, birthday or announce a meeting, or the
formation of a new club. As an HDCA
member, you can submit announcements up to 8 lines for FREE! Send your
listing to Neighborhood Notes. HDCA,
Box 93122, Hollywood, CA 90093-0122.
Space is limited, first come, first served.
And be sure to include your phone
number if we have any questions. We
reserve the right to edit for length and
appropriate content.
Rats!
ple have beautiful houses in a
beautiful] neighborhood. Thanks
for letting me vent. Regrettably,
I feel I must leave this letter
unsigned, I’m afraid of being
branded a troublemaker. The reason I’m writing to you is maybe
you or others at the HDCA are
friends with these homeowners
and are able to talk to them
about this in a friend-to-friend
conversation, instead of it coming from me, a stranger.
Maybe if you have any advice
for me or others who feel as I do,
you could publish the advice in
the next newsletter. I don’t want
to report them to the police
either and get everyone fined
Thank you Terri for trying to
do something about these eyesores in the glorious Dell.
Signed
“Anonymous”
Reservoir continued from Page 5
spring of 2007 and, weather permitting, are estimated to be completed by the winter of 2007. For
the west side landslides, work will
be done in two phases. The first
phase is to install soldier piles to
stabilize the hillside and then the
second phase is to reconstruct
the slopes with compacted earth
fill and retaining walls. Roadway
access to the public during daylight hours will be periodically
halted in areas where construction is ongoing.
WELCOME!!!
Did you know that the Dell has a
Welcoming Committee? If you know of
anyone who has recently moved into the
neighborhood (and that includes you!)
call Kirsten Hanson-Press at 323.962.2087
or e-mail her at [email protected]. She
will make sure they receive a welcome
basket of goodies, including information
about the neighborhood, the HDCA and
“who to call for what”.
Make Your Point
If you have an idea or a point of view
Winter 2007
by Erin Fleming
I inquired with our exterminator about anything that can be
done to solve the rodent problem that many of us have been
experiencing recently. He felt
outdoor bait stations wouldn’t
provide us much relief.
He also said that I was “lucky”
to only have them in the
garage. Most of his clients in
the Hollywood Dell are getting
them in the house. YEESH! Our
problem is gone for now with a
new garage door. He gave the
following advice:
1.) Check the seal at the bottom of your garage door every
few days to see if they ate the rubber in the corners to gain entry,
2.) Keeping the doors to your
home tightly closed,
3.) Keeping your outside trash
can lids down, and
4.) Only store food in your
garage if it’s in glass containers.
Keep your cars in the garage is
also a good idea. One of his clients in Beachwood had $15,000
of damage done to his Ferrari by
the rats eating the wiring when it
was parked in a carport.
There’s also the old fashioned
way to handle it by getting a cat!
While the developers are still
destroying the hillside, these
creatures are just displaced until
construction/destruction stops.
Where is St. Patrick when you
need him?
that you would like to share with your
neighbors, consider writing something
for the newsletter. Whether you would
like to discuss neighborhood gripes,
gardening tips or the special qualities
of your two-year old, we welcome any
and all remarks.
The newsletter is published 4 times
a year. Whether it is text, artwork or
photos, it is of interest to us here at the
newsletter. If you have anything that
you would like to submit, you can email it to [email protected].
7
Consult our web site @ www.HollywoodDell.com
for e-mail addresses or use these names, numbers
and addresses if you’d like to make yourself heard.
City Councilman, Tom LaBonge, District 4
200 N. Main St., #430, Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-485-3337 fax • 213-624-7810
County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky, District 3
Hall of Administration, #821
500 West Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-974-3333 fax • 213-625-7360
State Assemblyman Paul Koretz
8490 Sunset Blvd. #542, West Hollywood, CA 90069
916-319-2042
LAPD Hollywood
LAPD Community Rep
Officer Mike Shea
L.A. Dept. of Transportation
Hollywood Beautification Team
Valley Council Office
Bulk Item Trash Pick-up (call day before)
Parking Enforcement
Street Use Inspector
Abandoned Cars
Lake Hollywood Footpath Hotline
DWP HWQIP Hotline
P.O. Box 93122
Hollywood, CA 90093-0122
www.HollywoodDell.com
Joining the HDCA...
A great way to meet
your neighbors
and improve
your neighborhood.
213-485-4302
213-793-0710
213-485-4282
213-243-9601
818-755-7630
800-773-2489
213-485-4184
213-485-3711
1-800-ABANDON
323-463-0830
213-367-4373
Want instant news?
Sign up for e-mail alerts!
Our e-mail broadcasts are keeping residents informed
of upcoming events and shared neighborhood incidents.
Our web site bulletin board also offers a way for neighbors
to share current events and news features. Signing up for
e-mail alerts at www.HollywoodDell.com and clicking on
“mailing lists”, and paying your dues is the best way to stay
connected in the Dell.
Want to make a difference?
Come to our Dell meetings!
Help us prioritize where we focus our time and money
on behalf of The Dell (usually the second Wednesday
each month). Please check www.HollywoodDell.com for
additional events and meetings.
Want to be heard?
Write an article or letter!
Send a letter to the editor, post a notice on the HDCA
Web site Bulletin Board, or contact a government official.