Recently in Neighborhood Council Valley Village Category

This is the 25th anniversary of the National Night Out program and there is a large regional observance planned from 5-9 p.m. Aug. 5 in North Hollywood Park, according to the Neighborhood Council Valley Village's Web site.

The park is located at 11430 Chandler Blvd., North Hollywood.

Several neighborhood councils in the area will join with the North Hollywood Police Department for the event, which heightens awareness and strengthens participation in local anti-crime efforts.

To sign up for electronic crime updates, alerts and other public safety information, register at www.lapdepolicing.org.

The annual Independence Day parade in Valley Village had thousands of people lining the streets to see their neighbors showing their patriotic spirit.

This year, the parade included 12 Arabian horses with their riders dressed in Revolutionary War attire.

The parade is sponsored by the Neighborhood Council Valley Village and Valley Village Homeowners Association.

To read more about it and see photos, go to a story posted by NCVV member Suzanne Lewis at valleynews.com.

Neighborhood Council Valley Village is re-invigorating its Neighborhood Watch program, which it's now calling the Neighborhood Safety Network.

There are still block captain and grid captain spots available.

To register, visit www.myvalleyvillage.com and click on the "Neighborhood Watch" link at the top of the page.

In other Valley Village news, the Valley Village Homeowners Association will hold its annual Fourth of July Parade, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

To join the parade, meet at Colfax Elementary School, 11724 Addison St., North Hollywood.

The parade will head west on Addison, then north on Ben Avenue, east on Ostego, go across Colfax, head south on Irvine, east of Hesby and end at Valley Village Park.

A Neighborhood Safety Network is being started in Valley Village, with a focus on emergency preparedness and Neighborhood Watch.

Neighborhood Council Valley Village, in partnership with the Valley Village Homeowners Association and the office of L.A. Councilmember Wendy Greuel, will hold a town hall meeting about the new program from 6:30-9 p.m. tonight at Colfax Elementary School, 11724 Addison St.

The meeting will have a Community Emergency Preparedness Team (CERT) overview and information on the next training sessions necessary to become a member of the CERT program.

Expected speakers include Manny Arreygue, senior lead officer with the North Hollywood Police Department, Ken Saito, neighborhood prosecutor, Evan Roosevelt, from Councilwoman Greuel's office, Bill North, CERT coordinator for the Valley Village CERT program, Tony Willis, Valley Village CERT 3 coordinator, as well as Robin Ibrahim and Wayne Kartin, CERT coordinators for Battalion 14.

"With the recent earthquakes in China and other natural disasters around the globe, this is a wake-up call for all of us," said Dorothy Apple, NCVV board member and organizer. "Our goal is to protect Valley Village and make sure that our stakeholders are as prepared as possible for any natural disaster, and that we continue to watch out for each other as part of an effective neighborhood watch crime prevention program."

The meeting is open to all Valley Village residents.

The new board of directors for the Neighborhood Council Valley Village was sworn in a few weeks ago and board membes are inviting residents to let them know their concerns and opinions.

Mansionization in Valley Village was a hot-button issue in the election last October, which saw a record 1,000 stakeholders vote and a board that does not support mansionization was elected.

Last April, the previous neighborhood council board passed a motion to exempt the area west of Laurel Canyon Boulevard from an anti-mansionization ordinance that the Los Angeles Planning Commission later approved and the L.A. Council will consider soon.

Some residents in the Valley Village area have been constructing large, multi-story homes or expanding existing ones, often building right up to their property lines.

The Neighborhood Council Valley Village meets at 6:30 p.m. every fourth Wednesday at Colfax Elementary School, 11724 Addision St., North Hollywood.

For more information, visit www.myvalleyvillage.com.

BY SUZANNE LEWIS
Member, Neighborhood Council Valley Village

A record number of residents showed up at the polls Oct. 17 to elect eight members to the Neighborhood Council Valley Village who have promised to stop mansionization.

A total of 995 votes were cast, with seven provisional ballots. The polls were at Colfax Elementary School.

The new board of directors – which ran as the “Slate of Eight” - are: member at large- Paul Hatfield; business owners Richard Gauthier, Annalisa Engelback and Andrew Sacher; community service-based organization representative David C. Engelbach; and renters Tony Braswell, Suzanne Lewis and Steven L. Stokes.

The new board members vowed to protect local neighborhoods and put a halt to mansionization, which has been a significant issue in the community.