This story has been updated after a spokesman for CD5 told the Buzz, that the requested parking restrictions should be coming online as well, according to District Director George Hakopiants.
Residents of Hancock Park are calling on local leaders to help prevent damage from flooding on Rossmore Avenue and Lillian Way. Fortunately, the rain storms this week have been mild and so far the storm drains have been effectively draining the streets in this part of the neighborhood.
But residents at 585 N. Rossmore aren’t taking any chances. They installed barricades at the building’s entry on Wilshire and their parking garage on Clinton Street, hoping to keep out the water that routinely floods their underground parking garage.
In October, we reported that residents at 585 N. Rossmore circulated a petition asking the city to take action before the winter rains begin. The homeowners association at The Rossmore has gone a step further and recently filed suit against the City of Los Angeles for flood damages resulting from the deficient city storm drains.
“We have been asking for a meeting with city officials since last year and were recently told city officials can’t meet with us because of the pending lawsuit,” said Cindy Chvatal-Keane, president of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association. “This lawsuit wasn’t filed by all the residents in the neighborhood, what about the rest of us?”
“The Council Office has been and will continue to work with the community to address their concerns,” CD5 spokesman Leo Daube told the Buzz. In addition, Daube said the requested parking restrictions should be coming online as well, according to District Director George Hakopiants. We also asked the City Attorney’s office for a comment but did not hear back when we posted this story.
Residents like Adam Greenfield who has lived on Lilian Way for sixteen years, told the Buzz, that the flooding is a regular occurrence. Now that the flooding is getting more severe, he’s frustrated because the city isn’t taking proactive action.
He shared the photo above on the right in an email to staff at CD5 asking, “Does this look like something that needs fixing to you? I stopped a woman who was trying to get into that white car. What do you think would have happened if someone wasn’t there to talk her out of trying to move her car?” wrote Greenfield.
“At the very least, knowing what’s coming, we need to be proactive so we can keep our residents safe,” Chvatal-Keane told the Buzz. “We are suggesting a simple solution – put up signage that alerts people that this area is prone to flooding. It’s only an interim solution until we can address the infrastructure solution, but at least we can put up signs to tell people not to park there.”
On behalf of the homeowners association, Chvatal-Keane wrote to CD5 Councilmember Katy Yarsolavsky and other elected leaders asking for street closures and No Parking signs to be put in place in the quadrant of “Rossmore to Cahuenga-Melrose to Rosewood. Rosewood should remain open to provide an exit from the immediate area.
Appropriate signage indicating the roads are closed and there is no parking on the surrounding block.”
Currently, the rain is expected to taper off this afternoon and the area flood watch will soon expire, although this morning the National Weather Service tweeted that rain shower cover and intensity are increasing across LA county. The strongest storms are currently over San Gabriel Valley between Walnut and La Puente, where several lightning strikes have been observed with a potential for brief heavy downpours that could cause local roadway flooding. Light rain is forecast for Saturday and then dry weather for the next few days.
The break in the rain should allow city officials time to put up some signage before the next rain storm.
Thank you Patty and the Buzz for the article! Good to have a light shined on a situation like this! Thank you to all the residents, neighbors, HPHOA Board and Block Captains who have been trying to work with our elected reps and City Departments to fix the infrastructure and correct this problem!