Closing out 2019 and looking ahead
A message from Executive Director Ellen Riotto
In 2005 the property owners in the southwest corner of downtown Los Angeles voted to establish a business improvement district to help keep the sidewalks, alleys, and public infrastructure clean and safe. Within a decade, this once-sleepy neighborhood matured into a bustling and vibrant community, and today, it’s home to more than twelve thousand residents and a few hundred businesses. To keep pace with the growth spurt, the BID has developed creative and engaging ways to help facilitate a clean and safe environment.
The organization kicked off 2019 in a new office space, one that allows our operations and administrative teams to stay more in sync in day-to-day communication, and is large enough to accommodate events for a growing community; we increased our team’s capacity by adding a Director of Operations to the staff; we doubled our events from last year to bring more opportunities to connect with the ever-increasing number of residents and business owners; we expanded our programming to bring a Scooter Education Program and a Recycling Program to the district; and we installed pedestrian-level wayfinding infrastructure.
The success and expansion of our clean and safe services are easy to see: for example, this year we power-washed 1.5 million square feet of sidewalks compared to last year’s 97,000 square feet. Our efforts to build and fortify South Park’s social infrastructure are working, too: we’ve seen a steady and significant growth in attendance in all three event categories — Community Building, Education & Dialogue; and Business Support. To us, a safe community is one where everyone feels welcome, and we hold that tenant in our minds with every new initiative we deliver.
This kind of success would not be possible without our Board of Directors, who are bold leaders, supportive of new endeavors, and dedicated to the well-being of South Park; our incredible partners at the City who tirelessly look for creative solutions to complicated and demanding challenges; and to my phenomenal staff, who are passionate, hard-working, and brilliant, out-of-the-box thinkers. But most of all, I’d like to express my appreciation for you: the residents, businesses, property owners, and visitors of our unique neighborhood of downtown LA. You are the heart of this community, and the inspiration for all the work that the BID takes on. Your participation in our work — from submitting service requests to voting us “Best BID in Downtown” — tells us we’re on the right track.
Thank you for another wonderful year. It’s a pleasure and an honor to work with you all.
Enjoy the holiday season and see you in 2020!
Ellen Riotto
Executive Director
