This year the Empowerment Congress Southwest Area Neighborhood Development Council has restructured and brought the community together to improve our quality of life.

In May, we gained seven new, enthusiastic board members through the neighborhood council election process. Since then we have been organizing and moving forward bringing speakers to our community to address topics of importance to our stakeholders.

This year the Empowerment Congress Southwest Area Neighborhood Development Council has restructured and brought the community together to improve our quality of life.

In May, we gained seven new, enthusiastic board members through the neighborhood council election process. Since then we have been organizing and moving forward bringing speakers to our community to address topics of importance to our stakeholders.

In August, the Vermont Collaborative spoke on their partnerships to decrease violence and improve living conditions. Food & Water Watch invited us to work with them to ensure a moratorium on fracking in Los Angeles. Bethelwel Wilson, our new Neighborhood Prosecutor provided information on the process to address nuisance properties. In September, we hosted speakers on Proposition 47, which passed in the November elections, redefining some nonviolent crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Over the last few months, we have introduced various candidates for the City Council District 8 seat to our stakeholders in informal presentations.

Our intrepid treasurer, Margaret Peters, created a Sidewalk Survey to gather public opinion on how the City can move forward to repair our sidewalks. We coupled this with a well-attended Sidewalk Summit including a panel from Urban Forestry, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, and Council District 8. The survey results and further information from the City Administrative Officer can be found on our website: www.SouthwestNC.org.

We have also been leading the charge on addressing the impact of street vending in our community by submitting a Community Impact Statement.

We sponsored community clean ups with the Vermont-Manchester Collaborative and the Manchester Square Neighborhood Pride Day.

ECSWANDC encouraged residents to be informed and speak up about Sassony Commercial Development’s proposal for Vermont between 84th and Manchester and to create a sustainable plan to address the inundation of car clubs at the intersection of Manchester and Western on weekends.

“We are excited about the momentum we have gained in empowering our community, encouraging activism and addressing the concerns of our neighborhood. We invite you to join us as we renew our community in 2015,” said ECSWANDC President Joy Enix.

The Empowerment Congress Southwest Area Neighborhood Development Council meets on the 3rd Monday of the month at the Constituent Services Center, 8475 S. Vermont Ave, 6pm. See our website and calendar for further details.

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