20th Anniversary Meeting
June 20, 2009 - LILA School
To celebrate our twentieth year the FHRA returned to its meeting roots, the LILA school with the Shakespeare Bridge in the background. Both are City Historic Monuments.

Outside the meeting former FHRA President Adam Weisman (striped shirt, center) showed off his  experimental all electric Mimi Cooper as neighbors arrived and checked in for the mid day meeting.

The unique car wasn't the only treat outside the meeting. Neighbors lined up to savor Mayview resident Vivian Shea's latest batch of made from scratch cookies and brownies. A scrumptious meeting tradition for many years.

Breaking with tradition this year's meeting was on a Saturday and began at 11am and it looked like someone put out the word that shorts were the uniform of the day.

Inside, Mary Frances Smith-Reynolds, whose dedication over six years saw the completion of the Hoover Walk Mural  after over coming many obstacles presented a plaque received from the city to the FHRA.

FHRA President Charley Mims thanked Mary Francis and all the volunteers for their hard work on the Hoover Walk and Myra Ave. Murals which your donations to FHRA helped to finance and facilitate.

Mary Francis, after knocking on wood, reported that since the mural was finished in March 2009 it's been graffiti free, while nearby walls are tagged almost daily.
Capt. William Murphy, who commands the LAPD Northeast Division, reported  Part I serious crime down 37% in the Franklin Hills over the same period, Jan.-June, in 2008. But there were exceptions. The number of violent crimes increased from 6 to 11, aggravated assaults were up from 3 to 8 and robbery increased from 2 to 3. Thefts from  motor vehicles and other property crimes were down from 130 to 86.
High among residents' concerns at the meeting was the late night noise from changed production needs at Prospect Studios. Studio manager, Manie Ellis (left), promised changes in operation during the 10pm-7am hours so that trucks would have to do less maneuvering, be parked father from homes, drivers would be reminded to reduce noise and backup generators would be sound baffled. Ellis said noise complaints can be phoned to studio security 24/7 at 323-671-4554. Prospect resident James McEwen, who has led the effort to reduce noise from the lot, said residents can call 323-285-5150 to report noise problems (see Overview #37 pg. 17). There were also questions about the use of such large heavy trucks on neighborhood streets where the posted weight limit is 6,000 pounds. Councilmember Tom LaBonge (right) promised a meeting in the fall with FHRA, McEwen and Disney to review the problems and assess the effectiveness of Disney's mitigation efforts.
Councilmember LaBonge also introduced his new deputy for our area, Mary Rodriguez (center). The Tracy street resident really needed no introduction as she has been active  in the neighborhood for years and has worked hard at improving local schools, especially King Middle School, for many years. She is a former President of the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council and also FHRA member.

During the meeting raffle winners won books, Zoo and movie tickets and $75 dinner certificates donated by Sila Bistro and Michelangelo Ristorante.

After the meeting everyone was a winner as we were all treated to a delicious catered lunch provided by our generous hosts at the LILA school.
A good time was had by all as the FHRA came back to the location where it was founded on October 2, 1989, by residents concerned about plans to possibly expand with new high rise buildings what was then ABC TV Center and is now known as Prospect Studios.  But just as those problems from 20 years ago were long ago resolved, let's hope that history once again repeats itself with a quieter neighborhood for all for the next 20 years and beyond.