The Palisades business district has sparkled for a whole year now, thanks to the sidewalk and street cleaning program launched last February by the Palisades Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, the Village area has become a lively hub, attracting shoppers and diners morning till evening. But the byproduct of all this activity has been a need for more diligent street sweeping, trash and graffiti removal, and steam cleaning of sidewalks-an effort that cannot be met exclusively by the city’s financially-strapped Bureau of Sanitation. In order to finally address the problem, after many failed volunteer efforts, the Chamber a year ago contracted with Chrysalis Street Works cleaning service, the professional cleaning business operated by the nonprofit to help homeless men get work. Each Monday, two workers fan out into the Village with brooms, graffiti remover, gum scrapers and trash receptacles. For many of these workers, this job not only garners $7 to $7.25 an hour, but is also the first step back towards employment. With seed money of $5,000, the Chamber negotiated for a twice-weekly cleanup at $13,000 a year, and in June followed up with a letter to all 450 business members explaining the program and requesting support. “While we received about $2,500 from this effort, some with $300 donations, some $50, we soon realized that we were running out of money and decided that we’d go to the residents with our request,” said Arnie Wishnick, the Chamber’s executive director. In the meantime, Michael Edlen, a Coldwell Banker realtor and longtime Palisades resident, discovered that the program was in trouble and wrote a personal check for $6,500. “It started with my being very surprised that the street maintenance program was not being supported very substantially and the whole program was at risk after 2003,” Edlen said. “We’re in the middle of the village (Coldwell Banker has two offices on Sunset) and we’re one of the main beneficiaries of having clean streets and sidewalks. I proposed to Scott Gibson [president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for Greater Los Angeles County] that he contribute with me, through Coldwell Banker. So with this $13,000 and the donations from other merchants and residents, we’re covered for 2004.” Gibson, who is also a Palisades resident, hopes that his company’s $6,500 contribution will set an example for other businesses. “Most store managers [for the chains] have funds they can contribute for a project like this,” he said. “We want our donation to be a goad for other merchants to step forward and contribute to the fund for 2005.” Last October, the Chamber sent a letter to all 10,000 households in 90272, requesting support for the program, and the good luck kept coming. “The very first day we received 95 responses for about $2,600,” Wishnick said, “and we’re now up to $30,000,” minus about $3,000 for the mailing. “This should carry us for a year and allow us to steam clean the sidewalks twice a month,” Wishnick said. “We are also looking to expand the program to Marquez and the area around the branch library on Alma Real.” It’s a win-win situation for everyone. For the Chrysalis workers who are going through a transition in their lives, Street Works gives them a break. “Our goal is to get these men work so they have something to put on their resume,” said Michael White, director for business development for both Street Works and Chrysalis’ Labor Connection, a full-service staffing company. For the time being, the Chamber will continue the one-a-week cleaning and twice-monthly steam cleaning, Wishnick said. “We will need more funds, so this will be an annual request to both merchants and residents. We are thankful to everyone’s generosity. Over 900 residents have contributed and the money keeps coming.”
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
