Westwood Business Improvement District works to clean up the Village
By Anna Shen
Oct. 27, 2011 12:00 a.m.
From 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Marguerite Bogosian sweeps the streets of Wilshire and Westwood boulevards, taking out overflowing trash bags and picking up cigarette butts.
Bogosian is one of 14 employees who have been hired by the Westwood Village Business Improvement District to clean and patrol the streets. The team, clad in identical blue shirts, began work in the Village Oct. 17.
The program is one of the first steps taken by the BID since it was created in August to beautify Westwood and attract potential business and homeowners, said Andrew Thomas, the executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association.
Bogosian said she takes pride in the work.
“(These changes) will bring more shoppers, empty office fronts will be rented and students will want to come and do stuff in the Village,” she said.
The employees, called “ambassadors,” are divided into two crews ““ general maintenance and public service.
The general maintenance group pressure-washes gum off sidewalks, trims trees, fixes electrical infrastructure and puts up lights to clean and revitalize the Village.
The public service crew, riding on Segways, acts as the “eyes and ears for police” and keeps watch for low-level crimes, Thomas said.
The public service crew does not have the authority to enforce laws, but can advise people in the Village if they are committing a misdemeanor offense, such as littering.
These programs are funded by a $700,000 budget drawn from Westwood property tax revenue, Thomas said.
After more than a week of BID-related activities, Thomas said the results have been like “night and day.”
He no longer sees overflowing trash cans, trash in the streets or overgrown trees, he said.
Thomas said he has also received positive feedback from Westwood merchants.
Ken Hovsep, a jeweler for Morgan & Company Jewellers on Glendon Avenue, said he has seen the ambassadors cleaning near his store.
Beyond that, though, he said he has yet to see major changes in the Village.
“We like that it’s cleaner, but as far as that goes, we haven’t seen anything besides that,” he said.
Hope Allen, a third-year sociology student, said she sees both positive and negative aspects of the programs created by the BID.
“I think that these changes will help Westwood with cleaning up,” said Allen.
“But I also think that the idea of policing is a bit too much control,” she added.
The BID is saving $150,000 from its $1 million budget for holiday decor for next year.
The remainder of the budget will be put into management of the organization, maintenance programs and future BID programs, including a new website and remedies for Westwood’s parking problem.
“We’re going through this entire process to announce to the community and to potential businesses (that) we’re open, we’re here and we want people to come,” Thomas said.
