Council President De La
Fuente's
District 5 Connection
Fruitvale Glenview
San Antonio Tidewater Jingletown
Issue
#8 October 2007
Dear Oaklander,
Many thanks to all who attended the District 5 Community Picnic that I hosted in partnership with Peralta Hacienda Historical Park on September 8th. Over 800 Oaklanders of all ages showed up for tacos, BBQ, ice cream, live music,
sports, face painting, the fire truck, and tours of historical Peralta Hacienda park. It was great to see the familiar faces of community leaders and
meet new people who are making this City great.
These events are more than just fun and games – they connect our diverse communities and build strong relationships. I was also pleased
to highlight Peralta Hacienda Historical Park. We are working hard to make this a great resource for the District 5 community.
Special thanks to PG&E both for sponsoring the event and for donating hundreds of energy saving CFL light bulbs, to Dreyer’s Grand Ice
Cream for their ice cream donation, Saag’s Sausages for their delicious donation, and of course, my hard-working staff that made this event
possible.
On another note, I welcome Claudia Jimenez’s new baby, Xared Burgos, who was born on October 2nd. Claudia is our much-valued policy
analyst and community liaison. She will be sorely missed while enjoying some well-deserved time at home with Xared until January.
I am always interested in hearing from you. See you around the neighborhood!
Warmly,
Ignacio De La Fuente
Councilman, Oakland District 5
President, City Council
District 5
News
For
more information, contact Edith Guillen at 238-7051/eguillen @oaklandnet.com
Investing in District 5 Schools: It is our goal to use some of our District 5 discretionary funds at each of our public school campuses.
All students deserve a safe, quality school environment and we therefore choose projects that will have a big impact. Past projects include yard
improvements at Edna Brewer Middle School, a turf soccer field at Think College Now, playground
lights at Manzanita Elementary, and new seating and lighting at Hawthorne Elementary. We are already working on projects at the follow school
campuses: Glenview Elementary, United for Success Academy (at
Calvin Simmons), Delores
Huerta Learning Academy, Urban Promise Academy, Manzanita
Community School and SEED School. We are also interested in doing projects at Fremont High School, Jefferson Elementary and Lazear Elementary. If you have ideas for
improvements at these schools, please contact us.
New Face for the 400 Club: The 400 Club, now known as El Potrillo Restaurant (400 29th
Avenue), will be participating in the City’s Facade Improvement Program. See the
design concepts that have been presented to the property owner for review. We will be holding a community meeting to get input from neighboring
residents soon.
Making Fremont Pool Beautiful: On September 27 at the Melrose High Hopes 27X NCPC meeting, my staff presented the conceptual designs and
plans for the Facade Improvement at Fremont Pool, funded by Redevelopment funds. Several designs and color schemes were chosen by the community. More
information on this project will follow in the coming weeks.
Union Pacific Railroad through Jingletown: Union Pacific Railroad has a plan to reactivate train service on the Glascock Spur that runs through the
Jingletown neighborhood. While working to assure that construction impacts are minimized, we are also carefully analyzing the impacts of having an
active rail spur through this dense and dynamic neighborhood. If you wish to stay updated on this project, please contact us.
Fixing up the Fruitvale Business Corridor: Community members, businesses, and non-profit organizations worked in partnership to develop strategies
in improving the Fruitvale Business Corridor on International Blvd. between 25th Ave-High Street. On August 23, 2007 we had a kick off event where streets were swept, weeds were pulled, trees were
trimmed/pruned, graffiti was removed, street lights were repaired and wattage increased, potholes were filled, curves were painted, the Pocket Park
on 35th Ave and International was cleaned, abandoned autos were towed, illegal dumping was removed, nuisance and blighted newspaper stands were
removed, and crime and illegal activity prevention was strictly enforced by OPD.
OPD continues to do enforcements along the project area which has resulted in 30% decrease in strong armed robberies. I would like to thank
the following departments and my staff for assisting in these efforts, without their help this would not have been accomplished: Mayor’s
Office, City Administrator’s Office, Community and Economic Development Agency, Public Works Agency, Keep Oakland Beautiful, Litter
Enforcement Officers, Oakland Police Department, Neighborhood Services Division, OPD Problem Solving Officers, OPD Traffic Unit, OPD Beat Officers
and OPD Walking Officer.
Fruitvale Orchards on Wattling Street: (between 37th and 40th Avenue) There is a proposed new multifamily residential development of 18
condominium units and 62 attached single-family homes. The proposed project, which also includes construction of a triple-sided static billboard,
will go before the Planning Commission’s Design Review Committee on October 24th (4pm). For further information, contact case planner Heather Klein at 510-238-3659 or
by email at hklein@oaklandnet.com.
City
Hall Update
Central Waterfront Specific Plan: The Nov. 13th
CED Committee will discuss preliminary plans and financing for a Central Waterfront Specific Plan. The goals include modernizing the infrastructure,
introducing waterfront access in the area, and creating jobs.
Land use Plan for the Army Base: The
Oct. 23rd CED Committee will consider a land use plan for the 165-acre Gateway portion of the Oakland Army Base that the City Redevelopment Agency
received in 2006.
Solving California’s Transportation Dilemma:
While I’m working to achieve goals for District 5, I believe it’s important to be involved
in statewide issues that impact our city. That’s why Mayor Ron Dellums joins me to co-sponsor a resolution at the October 16th City Council
meeting urging the State to implement a High Speed Rail system that services the East Bay and Oakland.
High speed rail would be a modern, clean, and reliable way to commute around the state while relieving
freeway congestion, reducing pollution from commuter airports, and improving the economy of both Oakland and the greater Bay Area. The 700-mile
system would connect the Bay Area, Central Valley, and the major cities of Southern California with trains that operate up to 220 miles per hour. You could be in Los Angeles in two and a half hours without the hassle of airport
security.
On October 12th the MTC Planning Committee recommended alignments (routes) for the high speed rail system, and
the full commission is slated for discussion on Oct. 24th. I’m making high speed rail through Oakland a priority to create jobs, build our economy, improve the
environment, and provide a fast and safe transportation alternative.
For more information on the
Regional Rail Plan or high speed rail, visit http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/rail/ or http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/.
The City Council meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at
6pm.
Council committees meet on
the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays as follows:
Public Works, 12:30pm, Finance/Management, 2pm, Community Economic
Development (CED), 4pm, Life Enrichment, 6pm, Public Safety, 7:30pm.
For Council Agendas and Reports, please click here, and choose “online
agendas/reports/minutes.”
Public
Safety
Happy Halloween Safety Tips:
1 Walk
with a flashlight so you and your children can be easily seen.
2 Use
makeup instead of a mask or instruct children to take off masks before crossing streets.
3
Consider turning your PORCH LIGHT OUT by 8pm to discourage late night activity from taking place. After 8pm vandalism, destruction of property and harassment of younger children by older,
bigger kids occurs.
4 Parents
or older relatives should accompany Trick-or-Treaters.
5 Remind
children to NEVER enter a stranger’s home.
6 Plan
the trick-or-treat route ahead of time, choose well-lit streets.
7 Cross
at corners only, not between parked cars or midway through blocks.
8 If
there are no sidewalks, walk facing traffic.
9 Parents
should check treats before kids eat anything.
Announcements and
News
Coro Fellow Lucas Botello:
Ignacio De La Fuente hosted Coro Fellow Lucas Botello
for a four week period in September. During those four weeks Mr. Botello focused on crime reduction and crime prevention.
Specifically, he focused on successful organizational and operational strategies implemented by police departments in other cities such as
New York City, Los Angeles and San Diego. He suggested that Oakland Police Department could
better fight crime if they held small units of police officers accountable for specific geographic locations within Oakland. This organizational strategy, coupled with the use of
information analyzed by CRIME STOP, could be used to conduct transparent weekly reviews of police officers’ performance. He also recommended
that the city invest in Lojack subsidies for new and used cars as well as PDA’s for police officers. These investments in technology would
empower Oakland police officers to
recover stolen vehicles and to identify criminals more efficiently.
Mr. Botello is a Stanford graduate from Redondo Beach, California. He received his B.A. in Public Policy with Honors. He is continuing his education by participating in
a fellowship in public affairs sponsored by the San Francisco Coro center. Coro is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization that trains leaders through
experiential learning. The Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs is an intensive nine month fellowship that consists of seminars twice a week and a
rotation of six internships that are each four weeks long.
The Oakland Waterfront Plan: The City's Strategic Planning department will hold a public meeting to discuss the proposed Specific
Plan for the Oakland Waterfront. The proposed specific plan area is bounded by I-880, the Estuary, 19th Avenue, and 54th Avenue. This Site includes
the Tidewater area, Kennedy Tract, and Brooklyn Basin. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the proposed Oakland Waterfront Specific
Plan, review an initial work plan to complete the Specific Plan, and consider alternative governing structures to guide the development of
the proposed Specific Plan (steering committee/task force). Anyone concerned about the future of the Oakland Waterfront is encouraged to attend.
Date: Thursday, October 25th
Time: 6:30-8:30pm
Location: Lazear Elementary School
(824 29th Ave)
We look forward to meeting residents
in In San Francisco Magazine:
Oakland is the
focus a 30-page spread in the October issue of San Francisco Magazine. The article highlights Oakland neighborhoods and locales that we Oaklanders have come to know as great,
including Glenview
(“Craftsman architecture and a mix of neighbors”). You can find this large and interesting Oakland Feature Spread in San Francisco
Magazine at your newsstand or www.sanfran.com.
Central and East Oakland Community Based Transportation
Plan:
The Alameda County Congestion Management Agency is working with communities
in Central and East Oakland to
identify their transportation needs. The efforts are part of the Central and East Oakland Community Based Transportation
Plan, funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The goal of the plan is to learn the community’s top
transportation needs, estimate how much they cost, and what funds may be available. The Community Based Transportation Plan is a
collaborative planning process that involves residents, community and faith-based organizations, city agencies and transit
operators.
The project team has collected surveys throughout Central and East Oakland, which identified key
transportation issues that the community would like to address. Next, during the week of November 12th, the team will
come to community meetings to learn of the community’s priorities. Detailed meeting information will be available the week
of October 29.
District Five Jewel
Everything Old is New Again at the Altenheim!
At the north end of the
Diamond District, where MacArthur Blvd. jogs left towards downtown, is a vintage Oakland jewel –The Altenheim. Hidden from the hustle of modern Oakland and surrounded by two acres of gardens, this senior residence
has a large white-columned porch and verdant walking paths that remind one of the days when this district was once a bucolic, serene area of
Oakland.
Founded in 1890 by prosperous San Francisco Germans (Adolf Sutro, Mortimer Fleischacker, Fritz Rosenbaum among others) for their aging
relatives, the Altenheim has been a center of senior living and culture for the German American Community in the East Bay for 117 years.
At the turn of the millennium the structures of this historical landmark, mostly dating from the 1910s, had become tired, outdated and below
current seismic standards. The facility closed in 2002. Then in 2006, with the help of the District 5 office and after extensive meetings with
several neighborhood groups, the Altenheim Association partnered with Citizens Housing and the City Redevelopment Department to restore the campus
and grounds. The final product included 93 studio and one-bedroom apartments. The facility has over 10,000 square feet of community and service space
to house on-site supportive services and programs for residents. A second phase of construction will add 81 additional units of new senior housing by
2009. After both phases are complete, the newly restored campus will consist of 174 senior housing units available to seniors
earning 20% to 55% of the area median income.
The Altenheim Association, now called the Excelsior German
Center at the Altenheim has once
again dedicated itself to “connecting with German language” and it will maintain its school and office at the facility.
Important City of Oakland
Contact Numbers
Police Emergency
9-11
(Crime in progress or about to happen)
Police Emergency from a Cell Phone
777-3211
Police Non Emergency
777-3333
Graffiti Removal 238-4703
Street Maintenance
615-5566
To start a Home Alert Neighborhood Watch Call
238-3091
To anonymously report drug activity
(voicemail) 238-DRUG
To report Street Light outage
or flickering lights 615-5430
