Press
2024
Volunteers came together in front of the El Rey Theater after Operation Sparkle, which resulted in hundreds of pounds of trash being removed. (photo courtesy of the MMRA)
“Approximately 50 community members helped beautify the Miracle Mile on April 13 during Operation Sparkle, a cleanup on Wilshire Boulevard organized by the Miracle Mile Residential Association, the Mid City West Neighborhood Council and The Mirabel. Volunteers filled dozens of bags with hundreds of pounds of trash along the Wilshire corridor.”
“Volunteers bring a sparkle to Wilshire Boulevard”
Beverly Press
April 17, 2024
“Having vibrant businesses within Mid City West is a huge benefit to the community, especially in that area, as we see more revitalization coming through with the addition of the Academy Museum [and] with LACMA getting renovated – it’s really going to be important for us to have businesses to support the tourists and the locals that come to our area to see these world class museums that we have here on the Miracle Mile,” Mid City West Neighborhood Council chair Sara Griebe said. “So, we’re very excited to have something in that space [and] it’s no longer sitting vacant. We hope that more businesses will come to the mid-Wilshire area to help support the infrastructure that’s coming in.”
“Liquor license OK’d by neighborhood council”
by Rance Collins
Beverly Press
March 13, 2024
“We’re very excited and honored to be able to work with our neighbors once again for the Mid City West portion of the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count,” Mid West Neighborhood Council board member Julian Stern said. “Obviously, the count is vital in terms of understanding the scope of the problem we’re tackling and qualifying L.A. County for federal funding. But, as a Neighborhood Council, we also value it as a first point of contact with many neighbors looking to be engaged. We hope that, whether folks are able to volunteer with us this year or not, they reach out and attend future committee and board meetings.”
“Annual Homeless Count begins in L.A. County”
by Rance Collins
Beverly Press
January 24, 2024
2023
“[MCWNC Board President Lauren] Nichols also highlighted Mid City West’s Homelessness Connect Days, which are held every Thursday afternoon from 1-4 p.m. in the Gardner Street parking lot at Pan Pacific Park, in the 100 block of South Gardner Street. Homeless individuals can take showers in a mobile unit and receive information about resources that are available. Nichols said she plans to connect people from the encampment on Sixth Street with those services.
‘The mini-connect days are one of the things we are doing and I hope people are using it […] With the homeless count, there are more than 30 census tracts we will cover, including that encampment. That will be one of the zones, and ideally, we can increase the response there.”’
“Tents along Sixth Street continue to raise concerns”
by Edwin Folven
Beverly Press
January 18, 2023
2022
“The Mid City West Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee approved support for a transformational project at the Television City campus during a virtual meeting on Aug. 15… The TVC 2050 project, proposed by Hackman Capital Partners, which purchased the Television City complex from CBS in 2018, will expand facilities within the 25-acre property near Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, creating 1,874,000 square feet of sound stages, production support space, office space and retail space on the site.”
“Mid City West panel supports TV City project”
by Edwin Folven
Beverly Press
August 17, 2022
“[Miracle Mile Residential Association President Greg] Goldin said that personally, he has had positive encounters with the individuals staying in the [La Brea Tar Pits homeless] encampments so far. He said his family walks Hancock Park daily and converses with the people staying there.
[But] Lynda La Rose, Mid City West Neighborhood Council’s Homelessness, Renters Rights and Refugees Committee chair, said she has not seen or heard of any outreach being done with people in the encampments, though the encampments are relatively new.
‘I mean, there are a lot of issues at play,’ she said, adding that the council may soon look to re-implement programs that supported individuals experiencing homelessness prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘There will be different projects that we want to take on.’”
“Encampments form in Miracle Mile”
by Aaron Blevins
Beverly Press
July 20, 2022
“Juneteenth is a moment where we step back and try to understand the concept of freedom through the eyes of Black people. Through the holiday, we can begin to examine, acknowledge, and address all of the issues, past and present, tied up in the issue of slavery. At [Melrose Trading Post], we plan to honor the liberation and resilience of Black Americans through art created by Black Angelenos, be it through spoken word, dance [and] music.”
- Sara Griebe, MCW Social and Racial Equity Committee Outreach & Civic Engagement Liaison
“Community organizations celebrate Juneteenth”
by Rance Collins
Beverly Press
June 16, 2022
June 5, 2022 ribbon-cutting ceremony at Rosewood Gardens. This clip first aired on Sunday June 5 on KTLA's 'Live at 5pm' program.
Mid City West runs CD5 Virtual Candidate Forum 3/9/22
Appearing in
DAILY BRUIN “Los Angeles City Council District 5 Candidates Discuss Policies at Public Forum“ (3/11/22)
BEVERLY PRESS “CD5 Hopefulls Sound Off” (3/16/22)
LARCHMONT BUZZ “Mid City West CD5 Candidate Forum Highlights Major Issues” (3/19/22)
2022 LAHSA Homeless Count
“MCWNC created a new model for conducting the Count during the pandemic including: conducted trainings online, and hosting the event outdoors with a drive-thru models for volunteers.
It is clear that the grassroots Homeless Count that was hosted by MCWNC and other community based organizations in 2021 became a model for how LAHSA is rolling out the 2022 Count.”
Lynda La Rose
LAHSA homeless count site coordinator and MCWNC Homelessness Committee Chair
MCWNC Homeless Count volunteers Amy Goldenberg (HRRRTs secretary) and Lynda La Rose (HRRRTs chair and LAHSA site coordinator)
Volunteers for the Homeless Count, including board members Madeline Liebreich (HRRRTs committee member), Lindsay Chase García (HRRRTs committee OCE liaison) and Shem Bitterman, and former MCWNC Chair Scott Epstein
“Volunteers from GWNC and Mid City West Neighborhood Councils Conduct Homeless Count”
by Patricia Lombard
Larchmont Buzz
February 25, 2022
“The Mid City West Neighborhood Council has now announced the ‘re-launch’ of its Neighborhood Purpose Grant program, which will this year be funded on an ongoing basis through the end of its current fiscal year…applications submitted by the 15th of each month will be reviewed…on a monthly basis by the MCWNC Executive Council.”
“We’re excited about the opportunity to create a regular way for our local nonprofits and schools to get some extra support throughout the year.”
Lauren Nichols
MCWNC Chair
Artist rendering of utility box artwork at Carthay School of Environmental Studies Magnet, where the Mid City West Neighborhood Council funded school garden enhancements through a 2021 Neighborhood Purpose Grant.
“Mid City West Neighborhood Council Opens New Iteration of Neighborhood Purpose Grant Program”
by Elizabeth Fuller
Larchmont Buzz
February 1, 2022
2021
“Wednesday Walks” covered on CBSN Los Angeles
September 2021
Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nithya Raman, 4th District, and Paul Koretz, 5th District, helped distribute food to people in need on July 31 during an event hosted by the Mid City West Community Council at Television City in the Fairfax District.
“One of the things that we have talked about in this cycle that I want to champion and bring on is really looking at ourselves as an organization [and] moving to become actively anti-racist as an organization… we’re a large board and we do have diversity on the board, and I’m proud of that [but] We can be doing more.”
Lauren Nichols
MCWNC Chair
“New MCWCC Chair
Hopes to Empower Neighborhood”
by Justin Sayers
Beverly Press
April 22, 2021
“I think we all realize that homelessness is at a crisis level throughout the city.
It felt wonderful to be involved and part of the solution.”
Lauren Nichols
MCWNC Chair
“MCWCC Count Illustrates Change in Homelessness”
by Edwin Folven
Beverly Press
May 20, 2021
“Our community is not monolithic and cares about all these issues [equity in land use, transportation, sustainability, etc.] I think the council is really well-positioned to be an active voice on a wide range of issues… we’ve created a constructive attitude that allows space for people to do new things and to be responsive to the community.”
Scott Epstein
Former MCWNC Chair
“New MCWCC Chair
Hopes to Empower Neighborhood”
by Justin Sayers
Beverly Press
April 22, 2021
“At the end of the day, with the closing of Olympia hospital… it seems like this is not only a good project, but a needed project.”
Daniel Schoorl
Former MCWNC PLUC Committee Chair
“Cedar expansion heads to planning commission”
by Aaron Blevins
Beverly Press
August 11, 2021
“The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the citywide homeless count this year, but in several communities, activists and concerned neighbors decided the information was too important to forego, and scheduled their own counts of unhoused individuals in their neighborhoods.
One of these groups was the Mid City West Community Council, which organized a count of its 37 local census tracts in March, using methods previously established by both LAHSA and the Hollywood4WRD coalition…”
“The Mid City West [Neighborhood] Council homeless count provides us with important information... This effort, and others like it elsewhere in my district, remind us that solving the problem of homelessness needs to involve the whole community working collectively and constructively. I’m grateful to them for undertaking it.”
Councilperson Paul Koretz
5th District
“[T]here were no supportive housing facilities or shelters within the Mid City West area in 2018… but since then, because previous homeless counts showed these things were necessary, the [Mid City West Neighborhood Council] supported a new 50-unit supportive housing project in 2019, and the conversion of an existing property to supportive housing in 2020.”