Progress in Rebuilding L.A.

In recent weeks, there have been many questions about how government is responding to the upheaval which rocked our city in April. On Oct. 29, the Los Angeles City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Recovery and Revitalization released its six-month report. It is an attempt to inform our citizens about the progress of their city’s recovery work.

I can sympathize with the concerns of many citizens that recovery work has been slow. However, that does not mean that nothing has been done. As chair of the ad hoc committee, I can assure you that the city has mounted an unprecedented effort to respond to the most tumultuous event in our urban history.

In six months, the recovery committee held 25 meetings including eight recovery public hearings for our citizens. Our body adopted 65 city motions and supported seven key state laws aimed at speeding the rebuilding of Los Angeles.

Our committee worked closely with federal and state officials to seek ways to monitor and improve the delivery of immediate recovery aid to our citizens ranging from business loans to emergency food stamps. The city started an emergency loan program to assist business owners having trouble receiving federal aid. The City Council’s work included a streamlined permit process to aid rebuilding and approving a five-year utility rate discount for businesses in devastated areas.

We must clean up our city before we can rebuild. The city contracted with the Los Angeles Community Partnership, 80% minority-owned, to oversee the process of cleaning up 500 destroyed or damaged buildings. The partnership has cleaned up over 100 sites using local contractors and workers from the neighborhoods hit hard by the devastation.

We realize our first six months of work is only the first phase of rebuilding our city. However, this crisis has resulted in a new level of coordination between all city departments. In January, we will launch two key projects aimed at stimulating jobs and business ownership in South-Central Los Angeles. The South Central Financial Resource Center will open its doors before the end of the year and be followed by a multi-bank Community Development Corp. capitalized with $5 million. These projects are the result of 18 months of work by the City Council and the Los Angeles Community Reinvestment Committee.

The problems that led to the burning of our city developed over years and will take time to address. But as elected officials we “signed on for the job” and we must respond to this unprecedented challenge. We can be proud of our efforts so far. But we must also recognize our work has just begun.

MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS

Los Angeles City Council