"Call your Councilman!" That was the first thing an LA firefighter said to Venice resident, Jeff Leahy, in a video https://bit.ly/31cY79I he recorded at the latest boardwalk encampment fire Monday night (October 12).
Please take a minute to do what the firefighter asked. Call Councilman Bonin's office at 213-444-3508.
According to Leahy, after he stopped filming the firefighter "came up closer to me and repeated it in earnest... The look in his eyes was genuine and I could see it was concern." As detailed in a recent NBC news report there has been a significant increase in encampment fires, threatening both the unhoused and housed: https://bit.ly/2Fwxsgk
I spoke with another firefighter several weeks ago at a different boardwalk encampment fire (which I wrote about here: https://bit.ly/2H1NYFW He had one clear message: Until the city gets people off the street and into a safe living environment, fires (both accidental and the result of encampment disputes) will continue along the boardwalk which currently has approximately 140 tents.
So let's do what the firefighters are telling us. Councilman Bonin's office is 213-444-3508
We have over 1,300 supporters on this petition who can make 1,300 calls. The Councilman's office keeps track of how many calls they get on particular issues. A large number of calls will have a big impact. A petition can be ignored and so far it has been despite 1,300 supporters and articles in YoVenice https://bit.ly/358EUHp and The Venice Current https://bit.ly/3439e6L I have not received a reply to my follow-up emails and neither has either reporter.
The Councilman is banking on you signing this petition and forgetting about it. Following up with a phone call shows that we are going to be persistent. Once again, Councilman Bonin's office is 213-444-3508 Please treat whoever answers with courtesy and respect. After you call if you would like to follow-up with an email you can contact Mike.Bonin@lacity.org and his Venice deputy, Nisa.Kove@lacity.org
The city's neglect and lack of communication has created a huge increase in public safety hazards and we need the city to help the unhoused and the housed to make this neighborhood safe for everyone.
Thank you to everyone signing and sharing, please keep it up.
-Alex
VenicePublicSafety@gmail.com