VAN NUYS : Merchants’ Group Holds 1st Meeting

Hoping to bring a sense of community to merchants in Panorama City and Van Nuys, the Van Nuys Boulevard Business Watch held its first meeting to organize area leaders.

Tuesday night’s session exceeded the expectations of organizers, drawing 30 representatives of businesses along Van Nuys Boulevard from Oxnard to Nordhoff streets.

“I was more than happy,” said Dr. Barry Leonard, an optometrist who founded the group. “It was a little of everything, so it was good in that way.” The businesses included markets, hardware, printing, tire companies and banks. Also present were representatives from City Councilman Marvin Braude’s office and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division.

The focus of the meeting was to organize block captains and allow merchants to air their concerns, which ranged from graffiti to illegal street vendors.

Monika Rye, branch manager of First Interstate Bank who attended the meeting, hoped that the new business watch will install a sense of community even as it combats crime.

“What we are really trying to accomplish is like the neighborhood watch,” she said. “I don’t want to just open the bank and close it at 5 o’clock and go home. I want to feel like a part of the community.”