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The Downtown Santa Monica Inc. Board of Directors is replacing its Block by Block security ambassadors with regular security guards, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
Board Chairman Eric Sedman told the Free Press he no longer thinks the ambassadors can handle the security needs of the city. After 10 years of service, Block by Block’s $1.7 million contract will now go toward a private security company such as Covered 6, which provides security guards to Beverly Hills.
The board is hoping the actual government of Santa Monica — not the nonprofit organization that manages and promotes the downtown district — will take up responsibility for covering the costs. Santa Monica PD may eventually oversee the program.
No word on whether the security guards will be armed or not.
West Hollywood City Councilmembers have taken a page from their counterparts in Santa Monica on numerous occasions. WeHo’s controversial hotel-worker ordinance is almost identical in wording to Santa Monica’s, and both were masterminded by UNITE HERE Local 11. The special-interest union also sank serious time and money into getting the ordinances approved by the each city’s councilmembers — and into getting friendly councilmembers elected.
But while downtown Santa Monica is parting ways with Block by Block, West Hollywood is deepening its ties with them. The city voted to increase their contract for the current fiscal year by more than $1 million and now employees more than 80 ambassadors.
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[…] Brandon GarciaWeHoVille.com, 5/4/23 https://wehoonline.com/2023/05/04/downtown-santa-monica-fires-security-ambassadors/ […]
No! We need security ambassadors!! Please don’t end the program. I feel so safe with the mall cops!!! Please don’t. But if you do, can we replace with an even weaker, less authoritative, and more diverse (thinking wheelchair cops!) group of softy social workers?! I’m so scared of regular police officers who are out to hunt innocent black men.
lol
I would love to see what Weho does without Ambassadors for a week, these young men and women are constantly removing the homeless from your lawn or sidewalks, they offer them services which most people decline because they don’t want the help they like staying high on drugs, I witness them daily making contact, I’ve used them for safety escorts, they’re respectful and very professional, replacing them with regular security guards would be the same thing, and sheriffs would take hours to respond to someone sleeping in your lawn or blocking the sidewalk, if it wasn’t for them who would… Read more »
Everybody is welcome to tell their story..if the stories on one side outweigh stories on the other its easy to blame ‘the paper’. But they are getting paid, something like a 6 million dollar contract. They should be doing some things.
Sadly folks simply don’t respect firmly established institutions. But the institutions must do their part by evolving.
We might want to investigate how Beverly Hills’ program is going; their security looks like law enforcement and they seemed to have an effective bike program. It does seem that Block by Block is having issues getting credible recruits.
Beverly has adequate sworn offices, I believe double the amount we have for about the same size population. In addition they have the private security driving around, and then they have block to help the visitors find their way to local shop or restaurant. They do not depend of block the way our City does.
You hit the nail on the head. BH has got their sh together. I live very near always go through for work. I got stopped for speeding. I had my hands on steering wheel my widdow down was polite told him I am late for work at 6:45 AM. He did a check on my plate and warned me told me I will look for you this is before covid.
And yet, you all keep voting for liberals.
Reading this article and the skewed poll is just one more example of why I have almost stopped reading Fox News Weho. You make it seem as though the ambassadors are doing nothing. My observation and experience are quite different. Not only are they visible and responsive, they address situations to defuse issues rather than exacerbate them. When was the last time we have seen sheriffs deputies actually walking up and down the street? They don’t do that. All they can do is drive their SUVs around town. Seeing the Ambassadors walking on my street lets me know someone is… Read more »
The poll asked reasonable questions to the readers. You may agree or disagree with the answers but you only get one vote. Your passive aggressive approach toward the article and the decisions made in Santa Monica or the readers who chose to vote show your own bias. Howard Stern once said to a complainer who didn’t like his show.. “I forbid you from listening!”. It appears you only want to hear things that you agree with.
LOL….No WeHoVille for YOU!
I only want to hear things I agree with? I have no problem reading opinions that are different from mine but I’ve read your stuff for quite a while and see that you do not want to hear contrary opinions. Look at the way you responded to me and look at your poll. There is nothing on it about keeping the ambassadors. It’s all about getting rid of them or making them sworn police officers. Santa Monica and Beverly Hills have their own police departments. But that idea has come up in West Hollywood. You and others get all lathered… Read more »
Sorry I didn’t write the article or create the poll. And I’ve never seen you submit an oped.
They are passive stander-bys, and do nothing meaningful when there is a problem
That’s your opinion…….and the majority doesn’t agree with you.
When is the last time you have seen an ambassador do something other than hang out at a Kiosk desk. I walk my dog 5X a day. Are you kidding?
I’ve seen them engage at Weho Park who was obviously in some state of emotional distress-yelling, screaming, etc. The Ambassadors stood about 10 feet away from him and talked with him in a calm voice. Soon the man stopped yelling and quietly walked away. You can bet that if the deputies across the street had driven their SUVs (they probably can’t just walk) to the encounter this man they would have yelled at him, drawn their guns and it probably would not have ended so peacefully and quietly. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying these Ambassadors are perfect… Read more »
You don’t see Sheriffs walking down the street because we don’t have enough of them to do that. The few we have need to quickly get to an occurrence……..Nice try though.
Really? We could have 1,000 of them and they would not get out of their SUVs… Nice try though.
Desperate reply.
The tykes on bikes program is a complete failure, yet they’re planning to double the budget.
The irresponsible “leadership” of John Erickson, Sepi Shyne, and the shameless Horvath got us here.
I do not believe the current city council is capable of solving any problems, they just create them.
More important than firing the worthless “Ambassadors”, is to fire the even more worthless cretins responsible for hiring and supporting them: Sepi, Erickson and Byers. Sadly, the one most responsible for them, Lindsey Horvath, already fled in shame. I note Lindsey doesn’t seem to show her mug in Weho anymore.
Block by Block was established in West Hollywood in 2013. Do you remember who was on the council then? Because they are responsible.
They were not elevated to the level they are now. And those council members did not reduce the number of sheriffs and at the same time increase the “ambassadors.” Big difference.
Okay well i’m just addressing the people that hired them and implemented the program to begin with.
“worthless cretins responsible for hiring and supporting them”
The city council in 2013.
Block by Block was initially on the Eastside and we found them to be effective and credible partners in making our homes and businesses safer. At that time the community was giving them high marks. I guess that was then…
You’re absolutely right. Having visability is very important. These ambassadors are out and about all over the place.
Did this council employ them as an addition, or replacement to law enforcement?
OH the defund police didn’t just need defunding. SFO is down 500 police, Chicago is down over 1000 police. NY is down over 1000 police. The list goes on and on. And most of these losses are from QUITTING or retired early.
Thank God we have the LAPD they didn’t run into this BS political trap from the last mayor.
Partly because garcetti was such an ineffective fence sitting political waste of space. The biggest political let down in the history of LA – he, and his chump partner-in-civic decline, Feuer, squandered ten years of opportunity, cementing the city to a certainty of malaise and decay.
He tried to BLM the wave of racial animosity in the wake of the Floyd Riots, but also cosy up to the police unions. Achieved nothing, offended everyone.
Fwiw, every early indication is Bass is treading towards basically the same inevitable outcomes. No effective reform coming
My point was Garcetti not defunding and cozy to Police unions is a great indication why the LAPD are a great Police force today. Same with Beverly Hills. Compared to the strangulation of Police in every major city WE ARE LUCKY.
I don’t know. Honestly. Lucky, seems an optimistic appraisal.
Attrition is high: the rank and file despise the DA, and many who can are fielding offers from quieter and more livable jurisdictions, while others take the retirement and run.
Bass, promises to hire more but the task at hand is gargantuan and the city budget is already stressed.
Los Angeles, already had one of the lowest ‘LEO to resident’ ratios of any major city. The good news on that front is there’s also a large exodus of residents to safer and more economically optimistic environs.
The defund police rhetoric, Creates so much crime that business can’t take the losses and just move out.
Look up the freeway at SFO it’s appalling.
Soft on crime policy’s are a failure. The Governors chances of a presidential run are destroyed by his own trash center.
I asked an ambassador for help in Weho park and he told me he can’t move from his desk. So others called an ambulance.
All these cities and the whole state is a one party system. All the same, failed policies. Happy to see Santa Monica wake up. Perhaps now West Hollywood will follow suit. Stop wasting our taxpayer money on “Ambassadors” and hire more well trained, armed police with the authority to arrest. Our safety comes before your own political agendas!