Penny Meyer – Here in Van Nuys

There was a “block party” on Sunday, June 26th in the Archwood St./Katherine Ave. neighborhood.

Put together with the support of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council and overseen by longtime member and Katherine Avenue resident Penny Meyer, the ambitious party featured live music, a dunking pool, popcorn, hot dogs, and burgers; free tree adoptions, a petting zoo with a pig, a turtle and a ferret; and many social and law enforcement agencies including: the Red Cross, the LA Dept of Recreation and Parks, the LAPD, their cadets and uniformed officers; members of the SWAT team, Paul Krekorian’s office, LA Dept of Sanitation and Public Works, and the Literacy Club.

Every house and every fence post seemed to sport an American Flag.

In this day of national disunity, cheap political opportunism formenting ethnic divisiveness over what it means to be a “true American” the attendees yesterday expressed that we are still one nation under God, indivisible. The best among us showed up to demonstrate community spirit and unite in our love of country, state, city and Van Nuys.

Through a multi-pronged alliance between City Councilwoman’s Nury Martinez’s Office (CD-6), the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, and neighbors who came together on Next Door, about 30 people gathered today between Haynes and Lemay on Sepulveda, and spent a good part of Saturday morning, raking, shoveling, pruning, digging, sweeping, and exhausting themselves to rid the dirt median of man made crap and improve a section of Van Nuys for at least a day.

Long an eyesore, the garbage strewn dusty, dry strip is a dumping ground of Carl’s Jr. burger bags, old condoms, half finished Styrofoam burrito plates, discarded diapers, tires, beer bottles, smashed soda cans, empty vodka bottles and anything else that might be dropped by an intoxicated prostitute at 3am.

Gloves, rakes, shovels, trash bags, water, all of it was brought along and given to the volunteers who included Field Deputy Guillermo Marquez, and Linda Levitan, both from Nury Martinez’s office; Penny Meyer, Howard Benjamin and Quirino De La Cuesta, all VNNC officers; and teenagers from Van Nuys. Families, older folks and an obscure blogger/photographer joined in to shovel and sweat.

Filled to the brim were garbage bags lined up along the curb and waiting to be picked up by the Department of Sanitation on Monday. Palm fronds, cut off from trees to reveal litter below, were themselves placed along the trash bags for disposal.

Work started around 8am, and by 11am the median had been raked and picked clean of garbage.