2024 Alma Park Neighbors Accomplishments
Hello neighbors,
As 2024 comes to an end, the small but mighty group of Alma Park Neighbors coordinators got together to reflect on some of our community’s great accomplishments.
Consistency
As in years past, consistency was the first thing that came up during our annual group reflection.
We held meetings every single month, with an average attendance of 18 neighbors!
Our monthly newsletter was released on time every month, with an average readership of 120 people per month!
Alma Park Picnic
There is no doubt that this year’s Alma Park Picnic was the best yet, bringing 300 neighbors together for music, fun, and a great meal. We had a some amazing support from our local businesses, and the feedback we got from attendees was extremely positive.
The check in table at the 3rd annual Alma Park Picnic!
Neighborhood kids waving at a drone during the picnic!
An overview video of all the picnic highlights can be viewed here.
For a full list of community supporters, visit our 2024 picnic page!
Community relations
Throughout the year, Alma Park Neighbors worked hard on supporting our local small businesses. We presented certificates of appreciation to two local businesses that really stepped up to help keep our group going, Happy Diner, who catered 300+ hamburgers and tens of thousands of french fries at our annual picnic, and Colossus Bread, who celebrated their 5 year anniversary in the Alma Park neighborhood this year, were both presented with certificates of appreciation.
Happy Diner receiving a certificate of appreciation from Alma Park Neighbors!
Colossus receiving a certificate of appreciation from Alma Park Neighbors!
In addition, our group has had a positive collaboration with a number of city agencies this year. The list includes:
LA Recreation and Parks (LARAP), who has partnered with us to ensure the park is kept in good condition. Our community was diligent in remediating small acts of vandalism, picking up trash, and reporting larger issues that we couldn’t handle ourselves for remediation.
The LA Police Department, who helped us do a welfare check on a neighbor in need, and responded to numerous requests for services. We also provided information that was used to help arrest a local vandal who was carrying a fire arm.
We have worked with Council District 15 (CD15) to facilitate a number of neighborhood improvement projects.
Tim McOsker attended the annual Alma Park Picnic and posed with some of our volunteers.
Park and neighborhood
The group reported 50 acts of vandalism in the form of graffiti throughout the neighborhood this year. 19 of these were major acts of vandalism that occurred in the park. Using donations, we purchased cans of spray paint, gloves, and graffiti removal solutions that were used to clean dozens of other small pieces of graffiti in the neighborhood.
We spent months tracking down the party responsible for fixing the lights in the north side of the park, which were out of service. With the help of CD15 we were able to get the lights repaired.
Upon the request of Alma Park Neighbors, LARAP spent three days trimming the trees throughout the park. The result was greater visibility, especially at night as many of the trees had grown around the street lights.
For over a year, the dog poop bag dispensers throughout the park had been empty. Part of our daily park inspection checklist now includes checking the dispensers and requesting replenishment from LARAP when needed.
We reported numerous outed street lights throughout the neighborhood.
Emergency prep
For the past few years, we have conducted earthquake response drills out of Alma Park. This year, we held our drill in April, and while the drill itself was similar to the past ones, this one used equipment from our very own emergency response staging kit! Also notable about this drill - we did have several participants from other areas, but for the first time we had enough locals to fill the staging team and a field team! We also helped our neighbors in Pt. Fermin perform the first earthquake response drill in their neighborhood. Beyond drills, we saw the placement of a 2nd emergency staging area kit in our neighborhood, giving us better coverage for helping our neighbors after a disaster.
Neighbors prepare for an emergency prep simulation.
Volunteerism and conclusion
And of course we couldn’t have accomplished what we did without the help of our neighbors who volunteered their time, money, and energy to keeping our community clean, safe, and welcoming. A huge thanks to the 20+ volunteers who helped bring our annual Alma Park Picnic together. And a special shout out goes to the small team of Alma Park Neighbors coordinators. This group of dedicated neighbors meets weekly to plan events and activities related to neighborhood wellbeing.
As we wrap up 2024, we are grateful to live in such a wonderful community, and we look forward to 2025 being a year of continued community engagement. We hope you will help us continue to grow by bringing friends and neighbors to meet members of our friendly community.
