Skip to main content

Grand Lake Residents Demand Action At A Meeting - Problem's Mostly In District Three, But Where's Councilmember Nadel?

This meeeting was held by District Two Councilmember Pat Kernigan and District Three Councilmember Nancy Nadel's name isn't associated with it, yet the problem's in District Three. I guess Nancy's too busy running for mayor. She can balance the two, the people need her. She shouldn't worry about what they may think; just take action.

Grand Lake residents demand action
Recent slayings send area into rage over crime
By Heather MacDonald, STAFF WRITER, OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Inside Bay Area

OAKLAND — Anger, frustration and fear boiled over Thursday night as Grand Lake residents demanded city leaders get a handle on the violence that has claimed two lives in their community in recent months.

At a forum hosted by Councilmember Patricia Kernighan, the standing-room-only crowd agreed that the slaying of Sonethavy Phomsouvanhdara, 29, while he worked at Bangkok Palace on Monday night was the final straw.

"We've never seen anything like this," said Ken Katz, who has lived in the Grand Lake community for 35 years. "It scares the hell out of me."

Several residents recounted how they had been held up at gunpoint, while others said their stores on Grand Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue had been repeatedly burglarized — leaving them feeling like sitting ducks.

"It was traumatizing," said Dan Martin, who was robbed outside his front door.
The Grand Lake business district, which includes Grand Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue, is one of Oakland's most prosperous, with dozens of cafes, shops, boutiques and the landmark Grand Lake Theater.

"I understand you want to focus on the hot spots, but if you neglect the relatively healthy areas, they'll get infected, too, and the city will go to hell," saidJim Ratliff, a longtime resident.

All of the residents said the neighborhood has taken a significant downturn in recent months, and many blamed the removal of the area's walking officer for the increase in aggressive panhandling and auto burglaries, the most common crimes in the area.

"Our neighbors are afraid to go out at night," said ClaudiaSkapik of the Lakeshore Homes Association.

Kernighan, who is running for re-election, said she would continue to work to restore the walking officer to the commercial district, which was removed as part of budget cutbacks and a redeployment plan.

One of her opponents, Aimee Allison, a businesswoman and Green Party candidate, demanded the walking officer be returned to the area immediately.
"We know it makes a difference," Allison said.

Police Chief Wayne Tucker urged the crowd, which was at times hostile to the police officers in attendance, to organize themselves into Neighborhood Watch and Merchant Watch groups to help the police.

In response to Phomsouvanhdara's slaying during a robbery, police have saturated both Grand Avenue and Lakeshore Avenue with patrols and assigned a special enforcement unit to the area, Tucker said.

Since the first of the year, there have been 46 murders in Oakland — more than double the number this time last year. In addition, armed robberies are up 66 percent, and aggravated assaults are up 114 percent, according to Police Department statistics.

Although crime has been concentrated in the flatlands of East and West Oakland for decades, violence has begun to spill into communities typically considered safe.
Mark Kharmats, 46, was shot March 17 in his insurance office on Grand Avenue. Tucker said his killing was not random, calling it an "execution."

Once the department is fully staffed, which will not happen until early next year at the earliest, the Grand Lake area will get two community police officers paid for by Measure Y, which raised taxes to hire more officers and expand violence-prevention programs, Tucker said.

But the city has had difficultly recruiting and hiring officers to fill those vacancies. Recently, the council agreed to spend $2.8 million to step up those efforts in response to hundreds of complaints about the out-of-control violence.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Alex Castro, Electronic Arts VP, Is Oakland’s “Fake Joe Tuman”, “Crocker Mom”

Alex Castro, is currently Vice President Of Product Management At Electronic Arts, and a fairly-well-known and legendary tech executive, regularly quoted in a number of industry publications. But Alex Castro’s also an Oakland resident who has the terrible habit of going online, making traceble email accounts from his Electronic Arts office, and posing as someone […] from WordPress http://ift.tt/1fVkWP9 via IFTTT

Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023

Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023 Interview: Imani, Chef Owner of Roasted and Raw RoastedRaw.com, For Oakland Restaurant Week 2023. Imani Greer gets a highlight in The Oakland Post: Chef Imani Greer, a culinary entrepreneur, has created quite a stir — and menu — for the Bay Area’s vegan-loving community with the opening of his new Roasted and Raw (R&R) restaurant near Oakland’s Jack London Square. I am proud to welcome him to Zennie62Media for Oakland Restaurant Week 2023. Stay tuned. via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvMqVWLAH4

Event: Jog For Jill San Francisco Run September 12th Golden Gate Park

Cal Women's Rowing Team member Jill Costello passed away from complications due to lung cancer on June 24th 2010 and at the age of 21. A San Francisco event and run called Jog For Jill has been established and will be held this Sunday, September 12th at 5 PM. Two members of the Cal Women's Crew team were at the Cal vs. Davis football game wearing Jog For Jill shirts, and were kind enough to provide the video interview above. Below are the other details from the event website, where you're encouraged to pre-register here CLICK FOR SITE : Pre-Registration: Online/$25 Day of Registration: 4:00 p.m./$30 Shotgun Start: 5:00 p.m. After run/walk celebration: 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Event Location: Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell S Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, California 94118 Participants are encouraged to pre-register. Only pre-registered participants will be guaranteed a walk/run T-shirt. T-shirts will be limited to the first 2500 day of regis