Citizen About Town

By Nancy C. Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

E-mail address: nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

Fax: 626-307-9081

Here we are in December getting ready to celebrate Christmas and Chanukah.

Our economy is not very strong however people will still be buying gifts for their family and friends.

Monterey Park residents will again have to leave our hometown to do the bulk of their shopping.  We still don’t have brand names stores doing business is our city.

The mixed-use project at Atlantic and Hellman is not ready to be occupied. The projected date for commercial occupancy has been moved back to February 2010.

The famous Market Place, the old OII site, is still a dirt lot being cleaned up for safe occupancy.   The projected date of construction has been estimated to be in March 2010 but time will tell if this project will ever move forward.

Alhambra residents are very concerned that two of their former Councilmembers Mark Paulson and Paul Talbot are involved in the Market Place.  Mr. Paulson and Mr. Talbot started a firm called Gateway Consultants that finds developers for various properties.

Gateway Consultants have found a New Jersey developer called Edgewood Properties who has been named as the new developer of the Market Place.

Residents in the area are concerned about a possible conflict of interest in this business arrangement.

Monterey Park Councilmembers Frank Venti and Betty Tom Chu represent the city’s interest in the meetings with the Trust (property owners), New Cure (the agency cleaning up the site) and the EPA (government agency overseeing the Super Fund site).

For all the money that has been spent on this project and all the hours of staff time the city only owns the easements surrounding the property.

Monterey Park residents know that someday this property will be developed and we own the rights of ingress and egress.  We will still get a good return on our funds as this site is landlocked and any developers will have to pay us for access to their project.

Hopefully we will have brand name shopping in the next few years. This has been a wish of longtime residents since we lost many of our brand name stores in the 1980s when our hometown became the first Suburban Chinatown.

At the November 4 Council Meeting a local resident, Lynn, addressed the Council about a ticket she received from the Monterey Park Police Department during a Pedestrian Safety Decoy Operation held on Garvey Avenue at Moore. She stated that she was caught in a sting to raise funds for the city.

At the November 18 Council Meeting the Council addressed the issue on the Pedestrian Safety Decoy Operation.  The Council listened to the presentation by the police department and watched a videotape of one of the operations. One resident stated the lights on Garvey were green as the decoy stepped into oncoming traffic. Lynn again presented her facts to the Council.  She was waiting for her day in court.

Lynn advised Council that the Chinese immigrants step into traffic without looking.  They expect the cars to stop for them. These people need to be educated on traffic safety.

Her statement reminded me of a conversation I had with a fellow American at LAX in September who just returned from China.  The traveler stated that she had been in China for the last two months. She was amazed all the signs with in Chinese and English in the little northern community where she stayed.  She commented that in China all the people just step into the street without looking for cars. It was the only way that cars stopped for pedestrians.  She said she was afraid to cross the street at first.  She later joined the crowd and just walked into the street, as is the custom in China.

I agree with Lynn that the immigrants must be educated on American traffic safety.  They must learn to obey the laws to save their own lives.  I am interested to know if the courts will uphold the city’s traffic sting as more and more drivers sue the city.

At the Monterey Park Council Meeting on December 2 a discussion was held on the fate of the city’s Play Days Parade.  The tight budget and a low turnout of residents to watch the parade bouncy castle for sale caused the Recreation and Parks Commission to suggest that the 2010 parade be cancelled.  It would save $10,000. The parade has not been well attended in the past.  Council discussed the pros and cons on canceling the city’s birthday celebration parade.  They voted to keep the parade tradition and are looking for more donations from local businesses and residents to keep the tradition alive.  Interested parties may call the Recreation and Parks Department at 626-307-1388.

At the same meeting the Council discussed the fate of the annual Chinese New Year’s Lunar celebration.  It seems that no one answered the RFPs that was sent out as it restricted the types of merchandise that could be sold.  Some Councilmembers did not want the booths selling the very same merchandise as the stores.  This action would have reduced the profit margin of any party producing this event.

Council voted to allow the BIDAC members to decided if they wanted to go dark this year and have a bigger and better production in 2011 or have the business owners approve the booths selling their same wares.

All the Councilmembers wanted to keep the Lunar New Year celebration alive and not go dark.

The BIDAC should have a final decision for the Council by the December 16 meeting.

Please remember all of our men and women in the military stationed around the world to protect our freedoms this Christmas and Chanukah season.

May all the joys of the season be yours!

Wishing you and yours a Blessed Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Holidays and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.