A summary of selected City Hall actions last week affecting Central Los Angeles.
CITY COUNCIL
* MAIN STREET APARTMENTS: Authorized $3.5 million in loans to the nonprofit organization Beyond Shelter for the construction of the 30-unit Main Street Apartments. The apartments, located at 73rd and Main streets, are to be rented to low-income families. Construction is expected to begin within a month.
* WILLOWBROOK LAND SALE: Approved the sale at public auction of the city-owned property at 11516 Willowbrook Ave. The minimum bid will be $22,000 for the 4,930 square-foot parcel. Because of the site’s proximity to the Metro Rail Blue Line, the property is unsuitable for family housing. The auction will be held July 21 at 1 p.m. Room 350 of City Hall.
* LITTLE LEAGUE: Approved the use of $1,000 in city money to help support South Los Angeles’ first Little League program. The games are being played at Harvard Recreation Center at 62nd Street and Denker Avenue but will move to Martin Luther King Jr. Park as soon as the baseball field there is ready.
* COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION FUNDING: Approved the use of $2,123 in city money to help fund four community service organizations. The groups and the money allotted to them are the Watts Chamber of Commerce ($500), the Boys and Girls Club of Watts/Willowbrook ($500), the Silver Lake Improvement Assn. ($423) and El Centro del Pueblo, the after-school program at Elysian Heights Elementary School ($700).
* CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL: Approved the closure of Hope Street between First and Temple streets from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday for the 25th annual Children’s Festival at the Music Center. The free event attracts about 30,000 students to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
* LAPD HELICOPTERS: Instructed the Los Angeles Police Department to develop a program that would require the replacement of helicopters after a certain mileage. Currently, several of the department’s helicopters have over 30,000 miles, which experts said is the equivalent of 600,000 car miles.
HOW THEY VOTED
How South-Central and Eastside City Council representatives voted on selected issues.
* AID PROGRAM: Authorized the city attorney to submit a $56,989 grant application to the State of California for a program initiated three years ago to assist Korean American victims of the 1992 riots. The program would assist robbery and assault victims in the Korean community in recovering from the emotional stress and, when applicable, the financial losses incurred during the riots. Passed 10-0. Voting yes: Jackie Goldberg, Nate Holden, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Rudy Svorinich Jr., Rita Walters. Absent: Richard Alatorre, Mike Hernandez.
