Friday, September 19, 2008 was Park[ing] Day LA and the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council and community partners hosted the first-ever downtown block party to celebrate. Winston Street became a temporary urban park with Skid Row 3-on-3 Basketball, g727 interactive cityscape, live art by Crewest, live music by Little Radio and their featured artists, a community table, and a dog park by the Pussy and Pooch and their partners. You can check out image from the event here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/parkingdayla2008/sets/72157607436752181/
We thought the event was a great first attempt at a block party and many of our neighbors involved and participants agree. Gunnar Hand (Director, Area-Wide Work-Force, Public Sector) and I (Director, Area-Wide Work-Force, Private Sector) will be issuing a final summary of the event and hope this will encourage the success of many future events to come. Thank you to all of our sponsors and participants. We look forward to more fun and community outreach over the next 22 months of our term!
Community Events Calendar
Send an event posting to sustainability@dlanc.com
A Call for Volunteers
Please get involved with the new Sustainability Committee - now approved by the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council. Submit your qualifications and interest today!
The Sustainability Committee will work to develop a building-by-building greening strategy for Downtown Los Angeles. Through partnership and planning, we will develop the tools necessary to get the participation of all downtown stakeholders – whether residential tenants, building owners, business owners, or homeless. We will make resources available to all stakeholders to foster a healthy, sustainable neighborhood and assist our community in establishing their own sustainable goals.
A website will be maintained to facilitate the distribution of information, accessibility and compliance with the Brown Act, and engage the community in this project. The intent is to plan and design the program over the first 9-12 months. Implementation will follow with a period of review and revision before the completion of the 2008-2010 Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council term. A project summary and committee recommendations will be published with the hope that the program will continue in the hands of the community.
Local chapters of organizations such as the USGBC (United States Green Building Council), headquartered Downtown, have already expressed interest in participating and we continue to solicit interest from all stakeholders for this exciting project and opportunity for involvement. We want this committee to broadly represent and reflect the needs of our community (public and private sector employees, business owners, residents, property owners, homeless, students, and those who have an active role in an organization downtown) as we work towards a better future for our neighborhood.
The committee will meet once a month to develop the building-by-building greening strategy and there will be many opportunities for your involvement. Please contact us at with your qualifications or interest and contact information – this will become part of our project as we appoint members of the committee, volunteers for outreach and awareness, and participants in the greening of our neighborhood. You can contact me either by completing our form, posting to this blog or by emailing me directly at ashley.zarella@gmail.com.
We look forward to working with you. In the meantime, check out our initial blog and post your ideas at http://downtownsustainability.blogspot.com/ Thank you Downtown!
The Sustainability Committee will work to develop a building-by-building greening strategy for Downtown Los Angeles. Through partnership and planning, we will develop the tools necessary to get the participation of all downtown stakeholders – whether residential tenants, building owners, business owners, or homeless. We will make resources available to all stakeholders to foster a healthy, sustainable neighborhood and assist our community in establishing their own sustainable goals.
A website will be maintained to facilitate the distribution of information, accessibility and compliance with the Brown Act, and engage the community in this project. The intent is to plan and design the program over the first 9-12 months. Implementation will follow with a period of review and revision before the completion of the 2008-2010 Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council term. A project summary and committee recommendations will be published with the hope that the program will continue in the hands of the community.
Local chapters of organizations such as the USGBC (United States Green Building Council), headquartered Downtown, have already expressed interest in participating and we continue to solicit interest from all stakeholders for this exciting project and opportunity for involvement. We want this committee to broadly represent and reflect the needs of our community (public and private sector employees, business owners, residents, property owners, homeless, students, and those who have an active role in an organization downtown) as we work towards a better future for our neighborhood.
The committee will meet once a month to develop the building-by-building greening strategy and there will be many opportunities for your involvement. Please contact us at with your qualifications or interest and contact information – this will become part of our project as we appoint members of the committee, volunteers for outreach and awareness, and participants in the greening of our neighborhood. You can contact me either by completing our form, posting to this blog or by emailing me directly at ashley.zarella@gmail.com.
We look forward to working with you. In the meantime, check out our initial blog and post your ideas at http://downtownsustainability.blogspot.com/ Thank you Downtown!
Labels:
introduction,
recruitment,
volunteers
What do you envision for a sustainable downtown?
I have had several conversations with people from around our neighborhood about sustainability and how it might impact their daily lives. Now I'm asking for your feedback too -- what would you like to see? What can the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council do to help you meet your own sustainability goals?
One of the first items on my list: RECYCLING.
One of the first items on my list: RECYCLING.
Labels:
community feedback,
Survey
Sustainability Committee Chairs
Downtown NOW... I was recently elected as Director, Area-Wide Work-Force Private Sector to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council. This committee is an extension of my personal commitment to making a more sustainable future for our neighborhood through collaboration, outreach, and public participation. I hope to work with members of the community to develop tools for that we may all use to enhance not only our personal environment but that of the community at large. I believe that sustainability can be a fundamental part of how we live, work and play downtown and I hope we can lead the way for Los Angeles towards a greener future.
Recent work experience... I currently work downtown for AECOM, an architecture/engineering firm with a strong corporate commitment to sustainability - both in how it practices and what it designs. With their help, I recently became a LEED Accredited Professional which has given me an even more in-depth understanding of the steps we can take in the design and construction of better buildings. Previously, I worked as a design and marketing intern with Atelier Ten , a New York City environmental consultancy that uses tools such as daylight simultion and energy modelling to help designers understand the impact of their buildings.
Education... I graduated with honors from the Master of Architecture program at the Pratt Institute where I championed on-campus sustainability intitiatives as the Graduate Student Trustee. I have an undergraduate degree in political science from McGill University and am originally from Hartford, Connecticut. I have lived in Montreal, Toronto, Brooklyn, Rome, New Orleans and now Los Angeles where I have fallen in love with the historic buildings, natural density, and diversity of Downtown. I look forward to working with you over the next two years and encourage you to engage me as often as possible as we look to address the issues facing our neighborhood.
"Sustainability" as an idea to be explored... I believe sustainability is inherent to good design and healthy living. I believe we are all responsible and capable of contributing to the preservation and rejuvenation of our urban environment for future generations. I believe all stakeholders (see how this is defined in the Downtown Neighborhood Council bylaws) can and should be included in planning the future of our community. I believe Downtown Los Angeles is unique and this is where we can really work together to address the challenges facing our urban environment TODAY.
The Sustainability Committee has nominated two public vice chairs: Tamara Gishri and Pamela Tuttle. To be confirmed by Board of Directors January 12, 2010.
Tamara Gishri
Tamara is a special advisor on clean technology at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Her responsibilities include forging strategic water and energy partnerships with local universities, the development of a clean technology research campus, and advocacy of federal grant opportunities. She is also the primary liaison with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Prior to working at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, she worked in the Office of Mayor Villariagosa as a policy analyst on the Economic Development team, helping to create the CleanTech Los Angeles organization and establish a clean technology cluster in LA. Before returning to Los Angeles, she was a bilingual teacher and tutor to an elementary school and adult education program in Barcelona, Spain.
Tamara, also a resident of Downtown, received her Masters of Urban Planning with honors from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Emory University.
Recent work experience... I currently work downtown for AECOM, an architecture/engineering firm with a strong corporate commitment to sustainability - both in how it practices and what it designs. With their help, I recently became a LEED Accredited Professional which has given me an even more in-depth understanding of the steps we can take in the design and construction of better buildings. Previously, I worked as a design and marketing intern with Atelier Ten , a New York City environmental consultancy that uses tools such as daylight simultion and energy modelling to help designers understand the impact of their buildings.
Education... I graduated with honors from the Master of Architecture program at the Pratt Institute where I championed on-campus sustainability intitiatives as the Graduate Student Trustee. I have an undergraduate degree in political science from McGill University and am originally from Hartford, Connecticut. I have lived in Montreal, Toronto, Brooklyn, Rome, New Orleans and now Los Angeles where I have fallen in love with the historic buildings, natural density, and diversity of Downtown. I look forward to working with you over the next two years and encourage you to engage me as often as possible as we look to address the issues facing our neighborhood.
"Sustainability" as an idea to be explored... I believe sustainability is inherent to good design and healthy living. I believe we are all responsible and capable of contributing to the preservation and rejuvenation of our urban environment for future generations. I believe all stakeholders (see how this is defined in the Downtown Neighborhood Council bylaws) can and should be included in planning the future of our community. I believe Downtown Los Angeles is unique and this is where we can really work together to address the challenges facing our urban environment TODAY.
The Sustainability Committee has nominated two public vice chairs: Tamara Gishri and Pamela Tuttle. To be confirmed by Board of Directors January 12, 2010.
Tamara Gishri
Tamara is a special advisor on clean technology at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Her responsibilities include forging strategic water and energy partnerships with local universities, the development of a clean technology research campus, and advocacy of federal grant opportunities. She is also the primary liaison with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Prior to working at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, she worked in the Office of Mayor Villariagosa as a policy analyst on the Economic Development team, helping to create the CleanTech Los Angeles organization and establish a clean technology cluster in LA. Before returning to Los Angeles, she was a bilingual teacher and tutor to an elementary school and adult education program in Barcelona, Spain.
Tamara, also a resident of Downtown, received her Masters of Urban Planning with honors from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Emory University.
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