Preserving Our Green and Open Spaces

By Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu, 4th District

Urban parks and open space serve many benefits to our communities — they improve our physical and psychological health, strengthen our neighborhoods, and make our communities more attractive places to live, work, and visit.

I am proud to serve a district with such a wide array of open spaces. The Los Angeles Council District 4 stretches from Sherman Oaks through Silver Lake to Miracle Mile, encompassing diverse and vibrant communities. These unique neighborhoods are surrounded by such beautiful and iconic parks and recreational spaces as Griffith Park, Runyon Canyon, and Franklin Canyon Park.

These places serve as gathering spots where neighbors meet, share ideas, and build stronger ties to their residential neighborhoods. The recreational spaces provide a space for youth and residents of all ages to enjoy leisure and social activities. Urban parks are not only important for the humans they serve, but also for the wildlife and their surrounding habitats. As Los Angeles continues to grow and build, we must do more to prioritize the sustainability of these treasured spaces for future generations.

We must also recognize that far too many Angelenos are unable to enjoy the benefits of urban green spaces -- only 30 percent of residents in the City live within walking distance of a nearby park. I firmly believe that this should not be the case. Access to green and open spaces are closely tied to the financial income of a family.

Access to parks make residents happier, healthier, and more connected to the environments they live in. We need to continue to champion our green spaces to ensure that children in our neighborhoods are able appreciate to green spaces and to live healthy and prosperous lives.

In the past seven months, I’ve met with numerous neighborhood and advocacy groups such as the Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife (CLAW) and Friends of Runyon Canyon to discuss ideas to protect and preserve our City’s open spaces. Whether the vision is to purchase a mountain or hire a park biologist for Griffith Park, we will continue to work together to make these spaces more sustainable -- enhancing the user experiences for hikers, residents, and wildlife alike.

Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu, 4th District

Los Angeles City Councilmember David E. Ryu represents the 4th Council District which includes the neighborhoods of Sherman Oaks, Toluca Lake, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Miracle Mile, Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Larchmont and a portion of Koreatown.

On July 1st, 2015 Ryu became the first Korean American to serve on the LA City Council and only the second Asian American.

Getting To Know You: Christopher J. Barton

A series of interviews with the FHCP Board of Directors

Christopher J. Barton is Executive Vice President of Development and Capital Investments of Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (HPP), a New York Stock Exchange listed real estate investment trust based in Los Angeles, California. He currently oversees the company’s development, construction, and capital investment projects in Southern California, Northern California and Seattle and also oversees the company’s studio properties in Hollywood, California. Mr. Barton was also formerly Executive Vice President of Operations from Years 2011-2015. Prior to the formation of HPP, Mr. Barton served as Vice President of Construction & Development of its predecessor, Hudson Capital, LLC, where he was responsible for property operations including budgets, staff management and contract administration. He also managed development and construction at Sunset Gower and Sunset Bronson Studios. With 20 years of experience in office, industrial and residential projects, Mr. Barton has developed over 3 million square feet of commercial property, from conceptual site plan analysis and entitlements through completion.

From 1997 to 2006, Mr. Barton served as First Vice President for Arden Realty, Inc. and was responsible for conceptual development, land entitlements, financial analysis and construction management for all real estate developments, including the 2.7 Million square foot Howard Hughes Center in Los Angeles, California. Before his tenure at Arden Realty, Inc., Mr. Barton was Project Manager at Beers-Skanska Construction Company where he managed large scale construction projects in the southeast United States, including the Celebration Place office building complex for Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Florida.

Mr. Barton holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and Master of Business Administration degree in both Real Estate and Finance from the University of Georgia.

President Laurie Goldman sat down with FHCP Board Member Chris Barton on all things Hollywood:

LG: Chris, you are the former Chair of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, a member of FHCP Board, and a member of so many other organizations – what drives you to be so involved in your community?

CB: Because I love this community, and I love what we’re doing. Any firm that decides it is going to invest in the community on a long-term basis should look beyond their specific investments and be focused on the common good – be an ideal corporate citizen. We strongly believe in aligning our interests with the community’s. Therefore, it’s beneficial to not only focus on your specific investment, but also on the overall well-being of the community. It is also just the right thing to do. If you are in a unique position to make a positive difference in the lives of those around you, you need to do that.

LG: As an FHCP Board Member, please share with our readers how and why you chose to get involved with the Hollywood Central Park? How the Park interacts with your properties?

CB: The Park will be transformative. It will benefit every stakeholder in Hollywood. It will create a better quality of life for those who live and work in the community and visit the park. Those who have investments in the community will potentially benefit as well. Hudson Pacific has properties that are generally located in close to the park. I felt it was essential to make a positive contribution to this effort.

LG: The primary goals of the Hollywood Central Park are to unite communities separated for more than 60 years by the construction of the Hollywood Freeway and to provide the disadvantaged communities surrounding the freeway with green open space. With your extensive background in real estate, how do we simultaneously preserve and create affordable housing and stimulate the local economy through development?

CB: Development brings investment to maintain and grow the affordable housing stock. The positive impact will work in two ways in the neighborhood. First, the park should attract more development investment for new affordable housing. Second, investment will translate into more affordable housing or funding to maintain and preserve existing affordable housing. An equally important benefit is that more affordable housing potentially provides a local workforce available to help meet employment needs of investors.

LG: What are the essential ingredients in making Hollywood a livable and sustainable community?

CB: Hollywood will thrive if it is a live/work/play community. That is a well-understood urban planning model. To achieve this goal, we have to balance each component. If any one aspect is lacking, as a community, we need to put more emphasis on it and bring it into balance with the others.

LG: As a community of residents and businesses, what can we do to create a common vision for the future of Hollywood?

CB: We need to identify and promote common goals that create both a better neighborhood for residents to live and raise their families and allow businesses to grow. It is important that businesses are self-aware of their impacts to community residents. At the same time, it is important for residents to recognize the full scope of economic benefits that businesses bring when they do invest in communities.

What We've Been Up To

By Laurie Goldman, President

Happy Spring to our readers! It’s hard to believe that the first quarter of 2016 is just a memory. Here’s a recap of FHCP’s exciting first quarter activities;

2016 began with our seventh annual For the Love of Hollywood Gala at the Taglyan Cultural Complex held on January 7th. Mayor Eric Garcetti, renowned celebrity cake artist Duff Goldman and more than 600 guests helped host Tom LaBonge honor the 2016 Real Stars of Hollywood. This year’s honors went to Mike Sullivan, owner of LAcarGUY, Children’s Hospital LA, and Paul Hirsch, principal of the STEM Academy at Helen Bernstein High School, for their work to shape the park’s progress and help transform the dream into a reality.

(l to r: Gala Co-Chair Jose Malagon, honoree Paul Hirsch, Mayor Eric Garcetti, honoree Gail Margolis, honoree Mike Sullivan and Gala Co-Chair Dave Gajda)

The undeniable highlight of the evening, however, was the 9-foot-long cake specially created for the occasion by Goldman and his Charm City West bakery in West Hollywood that depicted Hollywood with Hollywood Central Park among the community’s landmarks. See details below for the Food Network’s Cake Masters episode featuring the FHCP cake presented at Gala!

(l to r: LAUSD School Board President Steve Zimmer, Council Member Tom LaBonge (Ret.), Duff Goldman, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Council Member Mitch O’Farrell, Assembly Member Richard Bloom, FHCP President Laurie Goldman, Gala Co-Chair Jose Malagon and Gala Co-Chair Dave Gajda)

For the Love of Hollywood is the principal fund-raiser for the Friends of Hollywood Central Park and was made possible by the generous support of our many sponsors.

Planning has already begun on next year’s event to be held on January 12, 2017. Please mark your calendars now! We promise you a unique venue, good fellowship and exceptional food, wine and entertainment – all for a good cause.

To view Gala event photos visit the gallery!

FHCP has moved to the Folb family-owned building located at 6464 Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. Brian Folb is an FHCP Founding Board member and serves as FHCP Vice-President. Board Members Jeff Briggs and Dixon Slingerland also call 6464 home!

Note our new address and phone number:

6464 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 770
Hollywood, CA 90028
(O) 323.380.3306
(F) 323.380.3304

Our email addresses remain the same:
Laurie Goldman: laurie.goldman@hfcp.org
Alfredo Hernandez: alfredo.hernandez@hfcp.org

Spring means it is time for FHCP’s annual Washington DC Advocacy trip. For three days, April 18th -20th, our delegation of 12 FHCP Board members and Park supporters (who pay for their own transportation and accommodations) will meet with federal agencies and elected representatives to discuss how the Hollywood Central Park will create a sustainable community by integrating policies related to land use, housing, transportation, human health, the economy and the environment. The Hollywood Central Park is a demonstration project for the six livability principles* and informs the work of President Obama’s mission to prioritize ecosystem restoration in urban areas and connect urban youth with the outdoors.  

The Washington DC trip is one of two FHCP annual advocacy trips; the other is our August trip to Sacramento. If you are interested in joining either or both of our advocacy trips, please contact Alfredo Hernandez by email at Alfredo.hernandez@hfcp.org – All HCP supporters are welcome!

*Six Livability Principles

1.  Provide more transportation choices.  
Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.

2.  Promote equitable, affordable housing.
Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.

3.  Enhance economic competitiveness.
Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.

4.  Support existing communities.
Target federal funding toward existing communities—through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling—to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.

5.  Coordinate policies and leverage investment.
Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.

6.  Value communities and neighborhoods.
Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

Planning is in full swing for the return of FHCP’s successful “Haute Dog” Party. Lead by FHCP Board members Susan Polifronio, Todd Warner and Thad Smith, this is definitely Hollywood’s FOMO event of the summer! (FOMO: fear of missing out).

Two levels of sponsorship will be available:

1. Haute Dog with Everything - $500
2. Haute Dog - $250

For sponsorship details, email Laurie Goldman, laurie.goldman@hfcp.org

Enjoy a Hollywood summer night under the stars with your Friends!

• Surprise Culinary Emcee
• Celebrity Chef Challenge featuring the Gals from Grub, Chef Betty Fraser
  and Chef Denise DeCarlo, paired with our local elected officials
• Haute Dog Bar and Champagne
• Musical Entertainment
• More delicious “Haute Dog” Party details coming soon

IOBY (In Our Back Yard)

By Manny Rodriguez

I See It Everyday!

Hollywood California is home to me for about the last 24 years, I had a two-year work engagement that took me elsewhere. However, my heart has always been here. I consider myself a true fan of everything that makes up Hollywood CA…the glitz, the grit, the fast pace, the growing/changing community and the new businesses and development that hold the potential to make Hollywood a top place to live, work and visit. What’s missing is a great park.

I travel east on Fountain Avenue from Western Avenue daily from home to work and drive by the overpass that overlooks the 101 Freeway (St Andrews). I don’t see what probably most people see when traveling here. It’s possible they see what is literally there, hardscapes that support cars traveling to and from work or on a day trip to meet friends. Many may also see a ditch that once was a neighborhood and that now divides one part of Hollywood from another. I’m not sure, however, I want to share what I know is possible and necessary. I see trees, green spaces, people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds walking and breathing fresher air produced by a so needed park. I see families prepping birthday parties in the middle of the day, exercise clubs holding events, musicians playing instruments, people reading books on benches, couples walking hand in hand and a community whose well-being is improved by a piece of nature that currently does not exist. I say… “bring it”.

In My Backyard-Hollywood Central Park! Please make it happen.

I invite everyone to get involved and become a part of probably one of the most important projects needing support in the greater Los Angeles area.

Manny Rodriguez,
Executive Director
La Fuente Hollywood Treatment Center

Manny Rodriguez is the executive director of La Fuente Hollywood Treatment Center, a treatment center for men in the heart of Hollywood, CA that offers an integrated approach to overcoming drug and alcohol addiction through clinical therapy, 12-step involvement, nutrition, fitness and community support.

Manny has been immersed in the Los Angeles recovery community for most of his adult life. What initially began as a personal road to wellness became a calling to help others battling addiction to reclaim their own lives.

Prior to working in treatment and wellness, Manny gained a wealth of management and operations experience. He developed several small businesses and served as a marketing executive for various companies, including a subsidiary of two major motion picture companies. He also served as a board member at the Hollywood Studio District Neighborhood Council and Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing.

Manny earned a BFA from the Juilliard School in New York City and toured the world extensively with Paul Taylor Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico of New York, Ballet Atlantique – Régine Chopinot and Nicholas Rodriguez’s DanceCompass. He lived and worked in Paris and Barcelona for several years, speaks French and is fluent in Spanish.