Mid-Town North Hollywood Neighborhood Council Meets

A general meeting of the Mid Town North Hollywood Neighborhood Council was held at the Senior Center at on Wednesday night.

The meeting was catered by Don Scott of , providing wonderful soul food for the meeting – fried chicken, collard greens, mac & cheese, bread pudding and more. Appreciation of this fine food was the first unanimous decision of the evening.

President Mary Garcia called the meeting to order, and praised -- as did many who spoke after -- the .

Officer John Catalano, the senior officer for the Noho Arts District, talked about crime to people and property in North Hollywood, which he said is down 10 percent. Still, certain clusters of crime persist, including parts of Lankershim Boulevard, and at the MTA stop at Lankershim and Chandler Boulevard, where people with both drugs and weapons have emerged to cause problems in the neighborhood.  

Officer Catalano also reported that more than 200 bicycles have been stolen in Noho since Jan. 1, but two recent arrests have made a significant impact on the problem and theft reports are down to next to nothing. (Editor's note: an earlier version of this story did not mention the arrests and impact it had made on the problem).

Board member -- who also blogs and does for Patch --  spoke of the series, which he has launched with board member Mary Mann, and is presented on the first Saturday of each month at the T.U. Studios, 10943 Camarillo Street, around the corner from Odyssey Video. The next one will be October 1, 2011 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

Mshak Ghazarian, a representative from Councilman Paul Krekorian’s office, reported that the former Coco’s chain restaurant at Lankershim and Kittridge, which has been closed for a long time and an eyesore to the neighborhood, has been demolished. A Carl’s Jr. will be constructed on the spot.

He also spoke about how redistricting will change the borderlines of our neighborhoods, although these changes will not be effected for many months. For information, he said residents can go to www.WeDrawtheLines.Ca.gov