Grand Lake Neighborhood

May Update —

• May 19, 2023
  
  Dear Neighbors,
  
  Thank you for coming together for our community safety meeting this past Wednesday evening. As your neighbor and councilmember, I share your goals and am committed to creating a safe and peaceful community. It is precisely because of that commitment that my team and I worked quickly in partnership with Grand Lake Neighbors, Lakeshore Baptist Church, and OPD to bring us together — to share information, to listen to your concerns, and to build the necessary relationships and understanding of our safety systems that will help in solving and preventing these crimes.
  
  Here is a summary of action steps from our meeting:
  
  
  • Patrols: OPD has expanded their patrols on the Lakeshore and Grand business corridors to also include traffic enforcement and walking units. They have additional patrols in the residential neighborhoods of Trestle Glen, Lakeshore, and Governors Place due to community complaints and increased crime incidents. OPD is also partnering with Piedmont PD for staggered patrols on Lakeshore, Trestle Glen, and surrounding areas. Undercover officers are conducting surveillance on the main routes and freeway access points feeding into the neighborhood. Community Policing Officers have been directed to conduct high visibility patrols and are coordinating the deployment of traffic enforcement units. My office has ongoing communication with OPD to share neighbors’ concerns and requests.
    
  • Investigations: On May 16th, OPD arrested five individuals (three adults and two juveniles) suspected of being connected to an armed robbery series of at least 10 armed robberies citywide. OPD continues to investigate the recent crimes. Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPD Criminal Investigations Division at (510) 238-3426 or (510) 238-3326.
    
  • OPD/Private Security Coordination: OPD has already exchanged information with Intervention Agency, the private patrol for Lakeshore Homes Association, to link their security patrols with OPD patrols.
    
  • Cameras: My office has connected OPD, Lakeshore Homes Association and some neighbors interested in cameras. Many business districts and some neighborhoods use Flock; https://www.flocksafety.com. Some communities use hi-definition cameras and ALPR (automatic License Plate Readers); https://www.een.com/lpr. Some communities combine both technologies. If the camera(s) are placed on public property or use public funds, they must comply with Oakland’s privacy policies. Some neighbors are coordinating this project. If they request placement on public property, my office can help and support this effort moving through the appropriate city administrative processes.
    
  • Traffic calming/speed bumps: My office is working with OakDOT to determine if speed bumps are allowable along Trestle Glen to help deter speeding and safety concerns. Once we determine where speed bumps are allowed based on the existing criteria, a group of neighbors are ready to help with the petition process.
    
    For those of you who missed the meeting, here is a news clip from ABC7.
    
  Thanks again to the Grand Lake Neighbors, Lakeshore Baptist Church, OPD and our residents and businesses. My team and I look forward to advancing our work together toward more safety for all Oaklanders. We will continue to partner with the Lakeshore Business District and Grand Avenue Business Association. We remain committed to an effective and holistic approach to community safety where OPD responds and solves crimes in a timely manner, where our MACRO program answers non-violent 911 calls, where our violence prevention programs provide support and healing, and where our communities have their basic needs for jobs, housing and healthcare met.
  
  To connect with my office, please email me or Debra Israel DIsrael1@oaklandca.gov. To connect with neighbors working on cameras and speed bumps, please email Kristen Sagafi kristen@sheredling.com.
  
  It will take all of us working together to create a safer community. I am grateful for your engagement and commitment toward this goal.
  
  
• With the multiple instances of violence in the past week, our office is dedicated to pointing residents towards resources that can support them in addressing issues, and raising the overall safety of the community. Please utilize the resources below to report specific issues to appropriate City departments:
  • OAK311: Send requests to the city for routine maintenance and urgent infrastructure issues, i.e. potholes, abandoned vehicles, illegal dumping. If the requests is not addressed, follow up with our staff via email and share the Service Request Number in your confirmation so we can ask 311 staff to address the issue.
    • www.oaklandca.gov/services/oak311
    • Call 311 or (510) 615-5566.
  • Homelessness: Report encampments, cleaning needs, and other issues related to our unhoused community.
    • Email homelessness@oaklandca.gov – you will be asked to provide information, including location, types of vehicles if any, description of conditions, photos.
  • MACRO (Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland): MACRO teams in the Fire Department respond to calls about homelessness, some behavioral or mental health calls, noise complaints, and people appearing drunk (and nonviolent) in public. MACRO units do not respond inside anyone's home, a domestic violence call, or anything that appears dangerous or violent.
    • Call 911 to get a MACRO unit to respond, and in an effort to aid the dispatcher, the caller can stress that the situation appears to be non-violent and that a MACRO unit is desired, OR EMAIL MACRO@oaklandca.gov, Subject: "Request for Service @ Address/Location + Call/Incident Type," Body: Description of Incident, any relevant history and if possible, a picture.
  • Public Safety: Join a Neighborhood Council meeting in your area to connect with neighbors, city staff, and OPD Community Resource Officers designated to serve your area. Build connections and find solutions together.
    • Emergency 911: Call 510-777-3211 if calling from a cell phone
      
    • OPD Non-Emergency: 510-777-3333
      
    • Oakland Fire Dept Non-Emergency: 510-444-3322
      
    • Drug Tip Line: 510-238-3784
      
    • Human Trafficking Anonymous Tip Line: 510-238-2373
  • Traffic Safety Request Program: Check out OakDOT’s processes on submitting requests for improvements such as speed bumps, traffic signs, etc.
    
    
  • Paving: See the city’s 2022-27 5-Year Paving Plan and the results of the 2019-22 3-Year Paving Plan. You can find streets that have been paved, upcoming paving and timing.
    
    
  • Housing Resources: Get in touch with the City’s Rent Adjustment Program to access resources for tenants and property owners, including for housing counselors, navigating evictions, appeals, fees, etc. Connect with the City’s Housing Resource Center, a one-stop shop for information on City-funded housing services including listings for emergency shelters, transitional and affordable housing, foreclosure prevention: (510) 238-6182, housingassistance@oaklandnet.com.
    
    
  • Sideshows: Report to sideshowtips@oaklandca.gov with as much specific info as possible, including location, day, time, how many cars, license plates, number of spectators, any firearm activity, and social media posts. Learn more about top sideshow hotspots and OPD / OakDOT’s pilot prevention program.

April Update —

• New Lake Merritt Parking Meters: In mid-March, the City began operating new parking meters as part of the Lake Merritt Parking Management Plan. The goals of the Plan are to increase equitable access to Lake Merritt and promote a safe, equitable and enjoyable experience at the Lake. The meters will encourage turnover to allow more access for visitors, and the revenue will help support more parks programming and improvements, such as an improved vendor marketplace and the existing Parks Stewards. This is a one year pilot, with a six month review. Meters will be enforced Monday through Saturday, 8AM to 8PM and Sundays Noon to 8PM. Warnings will be issued for non-payment violations through April 30, one warning per vehicle. Read more here.
• Splash Pad Park Earth Day Clean up, April 23rd, 9am - 12pm, Call for Volunteers! Join Friends of Splash Pad Park for an Earth Day event in celebration of the upcoming 20th Anniversary of the park. Come ready to clean, weed, and beautify our park. A light lunch will be served. Advance registration is required via an email to info@splashpad.org.