More bistro lights are coming to Larchmont Boulevard, thanks to the generous support of the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society. Next month, the Larchmont Village Business Improvement District (BID) will be installing string lights on steel cables from the light posts in the Larchmont Village surface parking lot at 209 N. Larchmont Blvd. Installation of the new lights is expected to start in mid-July.
Installation of lights in the parking lot is the second phase of the project started last year with the installation of lights on Larchmont Blvd. Next week, the BID’s contractor, Pacific Event Services, will be out to service the lights and troubleshoot the curious behavior of the first four strands that seem to turn off and on sporadically. The lights are connected to the sensors in the city street lights and are set to turn on with the street lights.
“Thanks to the generosity of the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society we will have the lights up in time for programming evening summer events in the parking lot, like a night market, concerts, outdoor movie screenings, and other community building events,” Larchmont Village BID Executive Director Heather Duffy Boylston told the Buzz.
“We are delighted to support the improvement and beautification of Larchmont Blvd,” Richard Battaglia, Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society President told the Buzz. “The Historical Society is excited about organizing events celebrating our historic street and making the parking lot a community space too.”
A “lighting” ceremony is planned for July 21, the evening before Larchmont’s first ever Pickelball Tournament, planned for Saturday, July 22. The tournament is being organized by local community leaders with support from Beyond Yoga. Stay tuned for more information on how you can participate.
Local community leaders have long had the idea for the lights, and the idea surfaced again during the Larchmont 2021 Community Conversation (organized by LBA and the BID and neighborhood leaders), which highlighted the community’s desire to beautify the street and create opportunities for more community interaction.
“Neighbors who participated in our Larchmont 2021 conversations told us they would like to see improvements to the street,” Boylston said. “We took that to heart and started investigating high-impact ideas like these lights that will transform the street. It will be safer, more festive, and more inviting to residents and visitors.”
More than 1,000 residents who participated in a survey following the conversations described the condition of the street as ok, but said it also needed care and beautification.
The Larchmont Bistro Lights project is a joint effort of the Larchmont Village BID and the Larchmont Boulevard Association. Thanks to the generous donations of the following donors who contributed to the first phase of the project and got the first set of lights installed along the Boulevard: American Commerical Properties, Wayne Hughes/Marvin Lotts; ARBA Group; City Council District 13 (under former City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell), Christina Development; Arash Danialfar; Hancock Park Homeowners Association; Thomas Kneafsey; the Larchmont Buzz; Meyer/Blumenthal Family; Mick McCullough; Mizrahi Family; Muto-Little Costume; the Rubinfeld Family; Simms Development Company; Wilshire Rotary; and the Windsor Square Association.
Additional funds were raised last May at a special event where nearly 60 patrons gathered for one last dinner at Vernetti restaurant to celebrate the venue and the Vernettis, who raised the bar for dining on Larchmont Blvd. As a final act of generosity and community, Steve Vernetti agreed to offer a last night fundraiser to continue the next phase of the bistro light project, installing lights in the city parking lot. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and made donations to support the event, including: Dennis and Dia Kim, Michael Goldberg, Judie and Ken Jaffe, Kiel Fitzgerald and Jeff, Susan and Sean Kneafsey, Judy and Gary Gilbert, Romi Cortier and Recio Young; Patricia Carroll, Katharine DeShaw, Carmela and David Bosko, Diana Buckhantz, Thomas Kneafsey, Melissa Farwell, Edie Frére, Sharon Sweeney, Jeffrey Barry, Carolyn Ramsay and Andy Goodman, Amy and Brendan Malloy, Angeline Szentgyorgyi, Daniel and Zoe Corwin, Jennifer Levin and John Eisendrath, Abby Wolf-Weiss and Daniel Weiss, Jennifer DeVore, Doreen Braverman, Diana Knox, Betsy Malloy, Paulette Light and Jeff Rake, Scott Sale, Isabel Beers, Emily Simon and Dan Alanis, Ilene Rosenzweig and Rick Marin, Frances Hoge, Nancy Baron, Suzanne Rosenblatt, Natalie Seaver, and Terroni Restaurant.
(If we left anyone out please email us, so we can thank you properly!)
