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Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe that it has been two years since I was sworn in to represent Council District 4 – a place I love and care about so deeply. So much has happened in that time, from welcoming new neighborhoods into the district (Hello Reseda, Encino, and Studio City!), to enacting some of the boldest climate legislation in the country and decarbonizing all new building construction in the City of Los Angeles. For the past two years we’ve been building the kind of office that looks really different from how the rest of the City has traditionally operated. We’ve been setting the pace for change.
Click the image to watch our 2022 in review video!
Following the accomplishments of our first year, our remarkable team worked tirelessly to build a Los Angeles we are proud to call home. This year, our experts on housing and tenant policy moved the needle to create some of the strongest tenant protections in decades, using the lessons learned from the City’s eviction moratorium. Our homelessness team complemented that work, bringing hundreds of people indoors through our encampment-to-home projects and through the establishment of a permanent interim housing shelter. And via our legislative work, we introduced new policies to build more affordable housing and build it faster than ever before.
We suffered some difficult losses this year, particularly the passing of Andrew Jelmert – an avid cyclist who lost his life after being struck by a vehicle in Griffith Park. With renewed urgency, my team and I set in motion a transformative plan to implement safety improvements across the district, and we saw the first of these come to fruition this summer with the permanent closure of a stretch of Griffith Park Drive to personal vehicle use. Cycling, walking, and rolling in this City should never be a life or death calculation, and we will continue to work to prevent tragedies like this from occurring.
We also attended to constituents across the district, repairing damaged sidewalks, installing new traffic lights, removing hazardous waste, and trimming trees. We hosted food giveaways and backpack drives, family movie nights and summer gatherings. We knocked on hundreds of doors to inform you of upcoming events, your rights as a renter, and how the city can best serve you.
This is an office in a city on the precipice of major change. After a year rocked with scandal, we have been at the forefront of the movement to change how the City Council operates and to hold its members accountable. I know that together we can achieve these goals.
I invite you to read through our 2022 Annual Report for a full look into our work of the last year.
READ OUR 2022 ANNUAL REPORT HERE!
With love and hope in this new year,
Councilmember Nithya Raman
I. Office Updates — Storm Repair & Preparedness
II. Community Events — Lunar New Year Celebration, Free Organics Recycling Pail Pickup, Organics Recycling Town Hall, P-22 Memorial Wall, Greater LA Homeless Count
III. Public Meetings & Comment Period — Metro Budget Town Hall, Al Fresco Draft Ordinance Webinar, LA Youth Development Department Survey
IV. Construction & Closures — Mulholland Drive, Nichols Canyon, Upper Old Zoo Trail
V. Other Helpful Links
REPAIRING STORM DAMAGE & PREPARING FOR FUTURE STORMS
The past few weeks have been a challenging time for Angelenos – and the entire state – with intense wet weather events happening at a frequency and intensity we haven't seen in a while.
Surveying the damage from rains in Laurel Canyon and on Mulholland Blvd with neighbors and City staff.
Though the impacts are far and wide throughout the basin, our hillside communities here in CD4 and throughout the city are especially vulnerable to the impacts of severe rainstorms, with effects including extreme erosion, mudslides, and road degradation. This has brought an urgency to our work to bring attention and resources to address damages and prepare for future rainstorms — which is only possible with the invaluable partnership and on-the-ground work of so many City departments.
As the storms persist I want to remind you of a few ways you can stay safe and informed:
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Sign up for alerts on NotifyLA.org
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Heed all closures and directions from traffic officers.
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If you spot a dangerous storm impact such as flooding, or downed power lines, call or text 911 to report an emergency.
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To request non-emergency City services, call 311.
And, as always, you can connect with us! CD4 residents can call us at (213) 473-7004 and stay updated on social media @cd4losangeles (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook).
CELEBRATE THE LUNAR NEW YEAR AT THE LA ZOO! | JANUARY 14-22 | MORE INFO
Starting January 14, come celebrate the Lunar New Year at the LA Zoo with us, Mayor Bass, Council District 12, and AAPI LA, with a wall of well wishes, crafts, food and performances through January 22.
For more information, visit aapila.org.
FREE ORGANICS RECYCLING PAIL PICKUP | JANUARY 15, 21, 22, 29 | MORE INFO
Big news, Angelenos! In compliance with CA Senate Bill 1383, all single-family homes and apartments with four or fewer units served by LA Sanitation will soon be able to participate in organics recycling! All food scraps and food-soiled paper will be able to be discarded into your green bin for the city to compost.
To make this process easier, LA Sanitation and LA City Council District 4 are providing FREE dishwasher-safe countertop pails! Stop by our Studio City outposts at any of the following locations and dates to pick one up!
Thank you to all the residents who helped make our first food scrap pail distribution a success!
Studio City Recreation Center/Beeman Park (12621 Rye St)
- Saturday January 21st, 10 AM to 1 PM
Studio City Farmers Market (2052 Ventura Pl)
- Sunday, January 15th, 8 AM to 1 PM
- Sunday, January 22nd, 8 AM to 1 PM
- Sunday, January 29th, 8 AM to 1 PM
For more information and to RSVP, visit cd4.lacity.gov/events
BEYOND THE PAIL: AN ORGANICS RECYCLING VIRTUAL TOWN HALL | JANUARY 30 @ 6-7:30 PM | RSVP
To learn more about the organics recycling process, and what the new requirements for food scraps and food-soiled paper are, join our office for a virtual town hall! Hear from local climate organizations and experts from LA Sanitation and the California Climate Action Corps about helpful recycling tips, and seize the opportunity to have your questions answered. To RSVP, visit bit.ly/cd4beyondthepail.
P-22 MEMORIAL WALL | NOW-JANUARY 17 | MORE INFO
Join our office, the LA Zoo, and Save LA Cougars in celebrating the life and legacy of P-22 with our interactive tribute wall! This commemoration is open to all community members to leave a personal message about P-22, and what he meant to you.
WHERE:
Los Angeles Zoo
5333 Zoo Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90027
WHEN:
NOW- Tuesday, January 17, 2023
10 AM-5 PM
You can watch a video of our visit to the tribute wall HERE!
VOLUNTEER FOR THE GREATER LA HOMELESS COUNT | JANUARY 24, 25 & 26 | MORE INFO
Register now for the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, taking place January 24-26, 2023! Over three nights, volunteers will spread out across the 4,000 square miles of Los Angeles County to identify how many people are experiencing unsheltered homelessness in their communities. This data is critical in informing where services are most needed, and in securing resources from the federal and state government to deliver these services.
This year, our office is co-hosting Studio City’s count on January 24 at 8 PM, at the First Christian Church of North Hollywood (4390 Colfax Ave) — you’re invited to join us here, or in your neighborhood. To see a full list of counts in District 4 neighborhoods, click HERE.
To register and learn more, visit theycountwillyou.org.
PERMANENT AL FRESCO DRAFT ORDINANCE PUBLIC HEARING | MORE INFO
 In May 2020, the City introduced LA Al Fresco to allow for expanded outdoor dining activities for qualifying food establishments —and now, the draft Permanent Al Fresco Ordinance for outdoor dining on private property is open for public comment. In addition, a fact sheet providing a summary, background and frequently asked questions is also available for the public's review.
City Planning will be hosting an informational webinar on the draft Al Fresco ordinance on January 18 at 12 PM via Zoom. It will provide an overview of the draft proposal and will include a Q&A session. To register, click HERE.
For more information on the Al Fresco program and next steps, click HERE. To sign up for updates, obtain information on the current status of the draft Ordinance, or provide feedback, please email [email protected].
LA YOUTH DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT’S YOUTH SURVEY | MORE INFO
The Los Angeles City Youth Development Department is gathering information about what issues LA City youth care about and how the new City of Los Angeles Youth Development Department (YDD) can support them! This feedback will shape the YDD’s first 3-year strategic plan by helping the City better understand the concerns, needs, and desires of youth in the City. City of LA residents between the ages of 12 and 25 are encouraged to fill out the form HERE.
METRO FY2024 BUDGET TELEPHONE TOWN HALL | JANUARY 17 @ 6 PM | MORE INFO
Metro invites the public to provide feedback about the agency’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget process during a live, interactive Telephone Town Hall on Tuesday, January 17, from 6 PM to 7 PM. The Town Hall will invite participants to share their comments and feedback on Metro’s initiatives, including reimagined public safety, enhanced cleaning and the improvement of customers’ experience using Metro transit services. Public participation and input are important so that the budget under development reflects the needs and priorities of the public.
To register, click HERE. Alternately, the public may also join the meeting using the following toll-free phone numbers (please only call on the specific date and time of the meeting):
- English: 888-400-1932
- Spanish: 888-400-9342
To stay up to date on the latest closures, follow @LADOTofficial on Twitter, and check out their updates page.
STUDIO CITY & HOLLYWOOD HILLS
Mulholland Drive Storm Repair Closure
Date/Time: Until further notice
Location: Mulholland Drive between Laurel Canyon Blvd and Coldwater Canyon Drive
Details: Following storm activity, LADOT has implemented road closures on Mulholland Drive. Traffic Officers are deployed to assist residents within the closure area to navigate safely. Commuters are advised to avoid the area and to heed signage and Traffic Officer instructions if traveling near closure points.
Nichols Canyon Storm Repair Closure
Date/Time: Until further notice
Location: Nichols Canyon between Wattles and Willow Glen
Details: Following storm activity and due to debris, mud in roadway., LADOT has closed Nichols Canyon to through traffic. Please use alternative routes.
LOS FELIZ & GRIFFITH PARK
Upper Old Zoo Trail Closure
Date/Time: Ongoing
Location: Upper Old Zoo Trail, between Fern Canyon and Bill Eckert Trail
Details: Due to significant erosion and underground pipe damage, Griffith Park Rangers and Park Maintenance are closing Upper Old Zoo Trail, between Fern Canyon and Bill Eckert Trail. Barricades with ''Trail Closed'' are placed, and equestrians are advised to heed these warnings.
Our Office:
Services + Resources
Alerts
- NotifyLA — Sign up to receive urgent notifications about local emergencies by phone, email, and/or text message.
- LAFD Alerts - Sign up for alerts on fires and evacuations in your area.
- LADWP Outage Info — Sign up for outage alerts in your area.
- StreetsLA Street Sweeping — Register for notifications about sweeping in your neighborhoods
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