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Hollywood Social Contract
Prepared by: Ed Schwartz
Institute for the Study of Civic Values
August 23rd, 2001
We the people of greater Hollywood–homeowners and renters, business and institutional leaders, and
all those who have a stake in our community --pledge to work together to build a Hollywood that is attractive, safe, economically prosperous and a decent place to raise our children.
We affirm that all people who live and work in the greater Hollywood area are part of “we the
people” with the rights and responsibilities of members of a free society.
We will work to protect the rights of all those who constitute the greater Hollywood community, but
also work to foster an ethic of personal responsibility in insuring that Hollywood remains a decent place to live, work, and support our families.
We will work to develop relationships, build trust, and foster respect within the greater Hollywood
community, so that everyone in the greater Hollywood area–irrespective of race, nationality, even language -- can “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
We pledge to ‘promote the general welfare’ of greater Hollywood through building Neighborhood
Councils committed to four basic goals:
To Keep Hollywood Clean and Attractive;
To Make Hollywood Safer;
To Build a Prosperous Hollywood Community; and
To Support Hollywood’s Children, Youth, and Families
To this end, we pledge to support the following social contract between ‘we the people’ of greater
Hollywood and the City of Los Angeles:
To Keep Hollywood Clean and Attractive
We pledge to support those plans for the future development of greater Hollywood that will enhance
the appearance of our neighborhoods, streets, and business districts, and respect the need for open space to sustain a livable community. We expect the City of Los Angeles to support us in adopting this framework
for development as well.
We pledge to work with the Department of Public Works to insure that Hollywood receives its fair
share of City investment in resurfacing and repairing streets and sidewalks, and in planting and trimming trees.
We pledge to encourage all residents and businesses to report building code violations in a timely
fashion and to hold the Department of Public Works accountable to its pledge to respond to at least 75% of these complaints within 72 hours.
We pledge to insure that Hollywood benefits from the 150,000 first-time inspections that the
Department of Public Works intends to conduct each year.
We pledge to seek the integration of City services in greater Hollywood currently being implemented
in 20 neighborhoods under the Healthy Neighborhoods Program to abate visually blighted properties; to remove illegally dumped items and illegal billboards; to operate coordinated bulky item pick-up programs; and to
coordinate youth clean-up programs that provide after-school jobs to teenagers.
We pledge to support the ongoing effort needed to expand the water resources available to Los
Angeles, but we will work to insure that all such efforts be pursued in ways that preserve our natural and physical environment.
To Make Hollywood Safer
We pledge to work in partnership with the Divisions of the Los Angeles Police Department serving
greater Hollywood to achieve their major goals – to reduce violent crime and juvenile crime; to increase the overall number of crimes cleared by the Department; to cut down on the number of serious traffic accidents
and collisions; to reduce the number of blighted enclaves through reduction of graffiti and improvement in street lighting; and to relocate the homeless from unsafe and illegal locations on our sidewalks and streets
to service agencies and programs that can give them needed support.
We pledge to reduce narcotics trafficking in greater Hollywood, especially among our young people,
through drug education, treatment, and active reporting of illegal activity to the Mayors’ Narcotics hotline.
We pledge to resist the indiscriminate awarding of liquor licenses in greater Hollywood, without
regard for their impact on alcohol abuse and public drunkenness.
We pledge to undertake an active campaign to expand the number of Block Captains working with the
Police Divisions in greater Hollywood. We further pledge to develop an email network enabling these Block Captains to receive timely crime reports from the L.A.P.D.
and to communicate their concerns in response. We expect to receive training and support from the Senior Lead Officers in the development of this system of Block Captains throughout greater Hollywood.
We pledge to expand participation in the Hollywood Community Police Advisory Board in its efforts
to promote auto safety, to eliminate graffiti, and to address problems affecting young people.
We pledge to support the Police Department in its ongoing effort to recruit talented new officers
who will be responsive to the needs of the community. We expect the LAPD Divisions serving greater Hollywood to reinforce these efforts through ongoing training for senior lead officers in the principles of
community policing
To Build a Prosperous Hollywood Community
We pledge to support strategies and programs for economic development in greater Hollywood that
will bring prosperity to all segments of our community.
To this end:
We pledge to work with the area businesses, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, local unions, human
service agencies, faith-based institutions, and community organizations to create an economic development agenda for greater Hollywood that creates new economic opportunity for all the people who live and work here.
We expect the City of Los Angeles to help us develop and achieve this broad-based economic agenda for greater Hollywood.
We pledge to support the historic preservation movement in Hollywood, as exemplified by the work of
organizations dedicated to preserving Hollywood’s historic architecture and buildings associated with Hollywood’s film and entertainment industry. We expect the City of Los Angeles to support these and other efforts
to preserve the historic legacy of Hollywood, as a critical element in shaping the economic, cultural and social character of the City as a whole.
We pledge to provide ongoing support to our Business Improvement Districts and to insure that the
businesses within these Districts receive the support and services that they need.
We pledge to work with the City of Los Angeles to reduce traffic congestion and to broaden
transportation opportunities so that all residents and people who work in Greater Hollywood can travel throughout the area in a timely fashion. We will also work with the City of Los Angeles to insure that there is
adequate parking for the thousands of people who live, work, and visit Hollywood throughout the year.
We pledge to support efforts on the part of area unions to fight for jobs, adequate income, and
benefits for all residents of Los Angeles and specifically to protect the thousands of Hollywood residents working in the entertainment industry from losing jobs and income as a result of runaway production.
We pledge to support the use of Community Development Block Grant and federal housing funds in Los
Angeles to expand the supply of affordable housing in greater Hollywood and to prevent the displacement of low-income residents caused by economic and residential development.
We pledge to work with the City and County of Los Angeles–along with other levels of government –
to expand job training opportunities within the greater Hollywood area, so that all residents can gain the skills needed to succeed in the new economy. We further pledge our ongoing support for the Los Angeles City
College located in greater Hollywood for the critical role that it plays in this area, and we expect the City of Los Angeles to provide continued strong support for the College as well.
We pledge to work with both the City and the County of Los Angeles, along with human service
agencies and organizations, to help those at risk in the Hollywood community – the homeless, welfare recipients and single-parent households, people living on fixed incomes, senior citizens, and all those facing
economic hardship – to gain the economic support needed to achieve self-sufficiency.
To Support Hollywood’s Children, Youth, and Families
We pledge to work with City and County agencies and all levels of government to increase the
overall number of day care centers and facilities in greater Hollywood available to the children of working families.
We pledge to build a new partnership between the organizations, active citizens, and parents in
Greater Hollywood to improve quality of education in our schools. We expect that as our public school system, the Los Angeles Unified School District, its principals, and its teachers will make a special effort to
work with us, so that all Hollywood families will take pride in the high levels of performance that our public school students will ultimately be able to achieve.
We pledge to support expanding the collections, programs, and services provided by the Los Angeles
Public Library, especially at the Goldwyn/Hollywood Regional Library, the Cahuenga, Fairfax, Fremont, Wilshire and other branches serving Greater Hollywood.
We pledge to support the continuing development of Los Angeles’ parks and recreation centers,
especially the Hollywood Recreation Center and others serving our immediate area. We expect the Department of Parks and Recreation to fulfill its commitment to ongoing program development and maintenance of these
important centers for our young people and families.
We pledge to work with the Libraries, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and human service
agencies to expand the number of after-school programs available to all children and youth in greater Hollywood and to insure that the services available to at-risk young people in our area are able to meet the
community’s needs.
We pledge to work with area agencies, institutions, and unions to increase the number of mentors
available to at-risk young people in greater Hollywood.
We pledge to seek an expansion of the open space in Greater Hollywood available for children to
play.
We pledge to work with the Commission for Children, Youth, and their families to increase the
number of young people participating in civic leadership activities, such as the Commission’s Youth Council and Hollywood neighborhood organizations
We pledge to work with the Hollywood Police Division to expand the number of young people served by
the Police Athletic League and participating in Youth Advisory Committees created within the Los Angeles Police Department.
We pledge to work with the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Hollywood Arts Council, Hollywood
Heritage, and Hollywood cultural organizations to support an ongoing program of cultural events and activities for Hollywood residents and their families.
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