Relocation of Parole Office Is Protested

Saying residents here are still reeling from the bloody shootout last week, two Los Angeles city councilmen are protesting the relocation of a parole office to the same bullet-scarred neighborhood.

Richard Alarcon and Joel Wachs plan to join forces with North Hollywood residents today to condemn state officials for moving a parole office from Sherman Oaks to a building a few blocks from the site of the bloody shooting.

“This is a community that is reeling in the aftermath of the bank robbery and I don’t think we need to do anything else to cause them concern,” Alarcon said.

Parole officials have been planning for months to move the office to North Hollywood but only put those plans into action recently.

In fact, Alarcon and Wachs only learned Wednesday afternoon that the parole office on Monday had already relocated to North Hollywood--a fact that infuriated both their staffs. “It’s a grossly insensitive maneuver that shows blatant disregard for the feelings of the community,” said Paul Neuman, an aide to Wachs.

State parole officials did not return calls.

The parole office had originally been in North Hollywood. Then last April state officials moved it to 5121 Van Nuys Blvd. in Sherman Oaks to take advantage of larger facilities.

But Sherman Oaks residents protested and urged state officials to get rid of the office. They also pointed out that the office was situated across the street from a neighborhood recreation center, an apparent conflict with state laws.

“This facility was in violation of the rules for being next to a park,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., which vehemently opposed the parole office. “It wasn’t moved because it was Sherman Oaks and all the political clout of the community.”

But some North Hollywood residents disagree.

Ann Hoyt and Jenny Pelton, two longtime North Hollywood residents, said the office was relocated to their community because North Hollywood is considered the city’s “dumping ground.”

Pelton and Hoyt said they fear the parole office will attract the “criminal element” to a community that is still shaken from last week’s attempted bank robbery.

“I’ve been here 58 years and I want to move,” Hoyt said.

The office was moved to its original offices in North Hollywood at 6736 Laurel Canyon Blvd., only blocks from the site of the shooting that injured 11 officers, six civilians and ended with the shooting deaths of the two bank robbers.

In the past, parole officials have estimated that between 30 and 70 parolees would visit the North Hollywood office each day.

Police who patrol Sherman Oaks have said they could not tie any increase in crime in that community to the parole office.

Alarcon argued if the parole office caused no problems in Sherman Oaks there should be no reason to move it elsewhere.

A Wachs aide also blasted the move for financial reasons, saying the state spent up to $2.5 million to convert the Sherman Oaks facility into a parole office and will not benefit from those expenses.