A Done Deal.
2009 June 23
There never was any doubt in my mind that the annexation of the Posoville neighborhood of Van Nuys would eventually be approved by Wendy Gruel.
There is no bloc of voters OPPOSING it, so if enough homeowners want it, they will surely get it. Why would any politician want to anger an organized constituency?
This area certainly looks more like tony Sherman Oaks, than neglected Van Nuys, so the move is quite logical.
FYI, the final vote of approval occurred on July 14, 2009, and it was 10-2 in favor.
I know, I was there. I am sure everyone was aware by the time you posted.
The unfortunate thing is that people, particularly now, are so tired and just trying to survive. How is it possible to motivate a movement big enough to rival the attention that this group has managed to?
They wrote hate mail and ganged up on people who disagreed with them, making any kind of intelligent discourse nearly impossible.
They wanted their way and now they will get it.
It’s amazing what a group of upper-ish middle class mostly causacian (looking at the photos on their site, no too many non-white faces) people can accomplish when they have the money and the time to fight for a cause that only helps to increase their wealth.
It really is sad that people can be so motivated to fight for their own personal gain and fail to see the bigger picture.
Is there a bigger picture? If so, what does it look like? And who’s sharing this vision?
As someone who lives in this area, I would love to invite you to come visit. I think your take on our area being “upper-ish middle class mostly caucasian” would change.
It’s extremely dangerous to classify an extremely large area into one demographic/racial classification without raising questions over your personal views on race. I would also like to gently remind you that diversity takes many forms — not just skin color but religion, country of origin and sexual orientation. I haven’t seen the website, but I am sure many of many neighbors would be amused & saddened at your classification of them.
Let’s keep this discussion/debate focused on politics
I live very close to your area and am very familiar with your neighborhood. I have friends that live there and are opposed. They don’t want to talk about it to their neighbors who are pro change because, since they are not, they fear that it will cause rifts.
I am not trying to classify your entire neighborhood as caucasian. I am well aware that your neighborhood is diverse, as is mine. However, the people who are pushing for this change appear to be mostly white. Statements have been made in various places from those that state to represent this group that areas of Van Nuys make them feel “uncomfortable.” It has been said that it is a class issue, that they, the members of this movement, do not care for places that do not speak primarily English. What is that supposed to imply?
I feel that these people are making vast statements about the whole of Van Nuys without legitimacy. There are problem areas here, that no one will deny, but there are really fantastic neighborhoods as well with people who work very hard to maintain them.
As far as a bigger picture, how is this effort supposed to do anything to improve the area. The problems that are immediately north of your neighborhood will not cease to exist solely because of being called something different. I would have really liked to have seen the same amount of effort that has been put towards this, put instead towards a campaign that could have brought attention towards the need for improvement.
Any improvement in the area will become nearly impossible if parts of Van Nuys continue to be parceled off bit by bit. It just seems that terms like “identifying with Sherman Oaks” have been tossed around, veiling what that actually means.
People in this neighborhood knew it was Van Nuys when they purchased their homes, so what is it besides property value increases and an ability to tell people that they live in Sherman Oaks and not filthy Van Nuys, are they fighting for?
So how did the City Council vote? I’m in that disputed area and would gladly have voted against this proposal if I had been able to attend the council session.
I don’t know that it has happened yet.
write an e-mail to your councilperson if you are opposed
councilmember.greuel@lacity.org
councilmember.cardenas@lacity.org