Letter from the President - Mitchell Frank
December 2008
Dear Members,
What a year 2008 has proven to be - with the State of California and the City of Los Angeles trimming its budget and being on the brink of an economic meltdown the Echo Park Chamber of Commerce needs to keep its head high, hunker down and get to business for the overall business community and the neighborhood it represents.
The Executive Committee are extremely proud to list some of goals and accomplishments for 2008 and they are:
1. Property Owner based BID – Three years ago we set out to get a Business Improvement District under way upon the request by LAPD, CD13 and local property owners. We are now seeking neighborhood support and seed funding.
2. New Membership Drive and existing member payment – this chamber cannot exist without members paying their dues as well as making a commitment to meeting regularly. It would be fantastic to get both from all of our members.
3. Holiday Decorations and parade – This year we helped finance the decorations because a couple of Council Districts pulled back funding of these decorations.
4. Enterprise Zone – we have been working closely with CD13 in extending the enterprise zone to encourage new business growth in our neighborhood and offer tax breaks to new businesses.
5. Film LA – Worked closely with CD13 on Film guile lines for filming throughout Echo Park.
6. Parking Initiative – We are in process of hiring Civic Industries to create a parking plan similar to Eaglerock; also we are trying to get access to the Meter Parking Funds for our area to create new parking lots; and finally trying to get larger parking lots to open their lots up to the business district.
7. Public Furniture Program—we have moved forward on getting a public street furniture program moving forward with funds derived from Film Production Company, CD13 and CD1. Look for benches coming to a corner nearby.
8. Lake/Shut Down – Please be advised that the Lake will be shut down sometime in 2009 for Prop 0 renovations.
9. Camera initiative – If you would like to assist in Crime prevention, the LAPD North East Division has offered to monitor cameras that we fund the installation of. All it takes is a dedicated WIFI and $ for camera + Installation. More news to follow
10. HPOZ/ICO – We’ve worked closely with City Planning to help sort through the possible HPOZ for business owners. More information to follow.
11. New Business Growth: Stories—a bookstore café; Prado a Beer Bar with Wine to come; Two Boots Pizzeria ; City Sip wine shop and tasting; 826 Travel Mart – walk in tutoring; Elf restaurant; K9 Loft -- for dogs; Park restaurant; Lot 1 restaurant; 15 Restaurant; Studio Number one gallery.
12. Angelus Temple Parking Structure Task Force – We assisted in negotiations between Angelus Temple, CD13, and LA City Planning and EPHS.
13. Holiday Decorations- We raised funds from CD1, CD13 general fund and members to put up holiday decorations.
14. Holiday Parade – We Sponsored a VIP Parade pre-party
Goals for 2009:
1. PBID submission
2. Public Furniture Installations
3. Neighborhood Alliances
Mitchell Frank, President
Echo Park Chamber of Commerce
Right click to Download as a PDF
Right click to Download 2008 as a PDF
Right click to Download 2007 as a PDF
