Central Los Angeles

LIGHTS AT LAST: The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved by a vote of 13 to 0 the installation of lighting on Future Street in Cypress Park, including a section that meets Isabel Street, where the infamous wrong-turn shooting of 3-year-old Stephanie Kuhen took place in September.

However, Councilman Mike Hernandez stressed that the Kuhen murder had nothing to do with approval of the project, which has been in the works since 1993.

“On Future, the owners asked for those lights and they were willing to pay for them,” said Hernandez. “There’s a lot of improvement that can be done in Isabel Street, including lighting, but one reason it hasn’t been done is because owners have not requested assessments to their properties.”

Owner indifference is particularly important in streets such as Isabel, where many of the residents might be tenants, says Hernandez.

“But if I can get additional funding, we could initiate street lighting [on Isabel] without charging residents, although this would be very difficult because it’s precedent-setting,” he said.

The Future Street lights should go up in about four months and will cost owners about $1,100 each, which, paid over a 10-year period, will amount to $15 a month.