Some streetlights fixed, other neighbors still in the dark
NEWLY SEALED junction box on Second Street.
For months earlier this year, city streetlights were a constant target of copper wire theft leaving many streets in the neighborhood dark. Now in Windsor Square, “All the lights are working,” resident Paul Newman happily told the Chronicle.
After months of his neighbors’ streets being dark because of 39 non-working streetlights, “the city stepped up to fix the lights,” commented resident Gary Gilbert.
While three crews were repairing fixtures between Beverly Boulevard and Third Street and Irving Boulevard and Beachwood Drive in mid-July, Gilbert spoke to one of the crewmen who relayed that the order to repair these lights “came from the top.”
Windsor Square is lucky to have had its lights fixed faster than the 90-day turnaround that the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) says is the average. But these days, repairs are made closer to six months, if at all, because of the recent spate of copper wire thefts in the city.
The Windsor Square residents believe their lights were fixed because of their tenacity and the pressure they (especially Dena Bloom and Guy Nemiro) put on Council District 13 (CD13). A representative from CD13 confirmed that repair costs for the lights in Windsor Square were partially underwritten by the $200,000 that Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez allocated from his office’s discretionary fund.
Gilbert and Newman also learned that BSL not only repaired the lights, but it hardened the fixtures to deter future wire theft. The crewmen placed the copper wire junctions at the top of the light where they are inaccessible without a ladder. They also permanently sealed the junction boxes on the ground, where wires are connected.
With regard to future theft, “It seems like, this time, we’re not going to run into the same problems with [BSL’s] creative fix,” according to Newman.
BUREAU of STREET Lighting repairs a fixture on Second Street at Irving Boulevard in mid-July.
Neighbors to the east
Residents of Ridgewood Wilton, just a few blocks to the east, have not been as lucky. This area, much smaller than Windsor Square, has had 15 non-operating lights since the end of April. “That’s over half of the lighting district,” Bob Reeves, president of Ridgewood Wilton Neighborhood Association (RWNA), told the Chronicle in June 2024.
Reeves has reached out to Karla Martinez, CD13’s field deputy for the area, multiple times regarding the broken lights, prostitution and traffic plaguing the area and has not heard back.
The darkness in Ridgewood Wilton has contributed to a dramatic increase in prostitution on the streets in the neighborhood.
The disgust and frustration of the residents is palpable. Just a decade ago, the neighborhood voted to tax itself to create this lighting district — and have streetlights installed — for the express purpose of safety and to help eliminate prostitution in the area. It worked while the lights were working.
Brian Terr, who lives in Ridgewood Wilton, wrote to the Chronicle this month [see “Letters to the Editor,” Page 2] about the situation. Early each morning, he walks the area to pick up used condoms and wrappers, bottles of urine and other trash so others, particularly children going to school, don’t have to see it. His bag is full daily. His wife, Sheila Hoyer, thinks he should take his morning bag of trash to CD 13’s office.
Lights in Los Angeles
According to the Los Angeles Dept. of Public Works website, “Street lighting is woven into the streetscapes and provides public safety, security and visibility for motorists and pedestrians. [Streetlights] enhance the character of communities… and repair[ing] streetlights is an integral part of making Los Angeles livable and safe.”
With so many lights still out in Ridgewood Wilton and CD13 as a whole, and the initial $200,000 from CD13’s discretionary fund depleted, Soto-Martínez is said to be contemplating allocating more money from his discretionary fund to address this problem. At the time of publication, Soto-Martínez was still figuring out the exact amount to allot. His office said in an email, “hopefully we’ll have an update for you for the next edition of the Chronicle.”
The councilman’s office had hoped to reduce the repair gap to a two-month turn-around with these additional funds. While that seems to have worked for Windsor Square, it isn’t the case for Ridgewood Wilton. Perhaps the second round will make it to that part of the councilman’s district.
The writer is a resident of Ridgewood Wilton.
Category: People