Manhattan Beach's private security forces are hampered by economy, selfishness, and politics(Photo courtesy of davidsonscott15 via Flickr)
Manhattan Beach’s private security force needs to see commitments from at least 150 more households if it expects to continue service in 2010, officials from the non-profit told Sheepshead Bites following Monday night’s Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association meeting.
Hours before the meeting, Beachside Patrol Director Albert Hasson blasted an e-mail to all contributors warning of the service’s impending suspension in the face of financial difficulties. Hard copies of the letter will be mailed to all residents of Manhattan Beach in the coming days.
But though the patrol’s fate may be clear, reasons for dwindling support among neighborhood residents remain murky. Some supporters point to the city’s faltering economy, others believe their neighbors aren’t interested, and at least one City Councilman points the finger at a long-standing feud between two Manhattan Beach civic organizations.
Selfishness Isn’t Fair
Ted Kleynerman, a member of Beachside Patrol’s board of directors, stood in front of the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association – perhaps for the last time – and laid the blame squarely at the feet of residents.
“Yes, the politics of the neighborhood have come into play. But I’m not going to blame the politics. Ultimately, it’s the problem of the residents,” he said. He added that only 25 percent of households are contributing to a service that benefits all, a burden that he said is unfair.
Kleynerman began listing possible reasons why residents don’t contribute to Beachside Patrol. He believes some residents rely on the rest of the neighborhood footing the bill for patrol cars and refuse to pay into the system. He also said that some believe the organization does little to deter crime as offenses still happen in the area.
“I don’t want Beachside to be a social experiment [where we'll see how things change without it]. We have too much to lose,” he said. ”If we don’t have Beachside at all, there would be more crime. And that would be a shame.”
Wallets Are Thin – Are Taxes A Solution?
Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association’s chairperson of public relations Edmond Dweck remarked that he’d like to see a tax levied on all residents of the community, but acknowledges, “That would never fly.”
Dweck, a Manhattan Beach resident for 34 years, said that service has improved tremendously in the past five or six years in which the current board operated the patrol.
“Until the current board took over the patrol it was a joke. You’d see people sleeping in the cars,” he said. But now it’s a more professional service running more efficiently, honestly and effectively.
But the improvements have done little to draw new supporters of the service and sustain its growth. Dweck said it’s not an issue of the quality of Beachside Patrol.
“It’s the economy. People don’t want to pay $400 a year,” he said. He adds that it’s still a remarkably small sum by comparison, noting that patrols in wealthier parts of Ocean Parkway and Bedford Avenue run upwards of $1,500 per household annually.
If the group signs up 350 to 400 members a year, Dweck estimates they could run two patrols and a 24-hour service.
“Unfortunately, until people experience an unfortunate incident they’re unlikely to join,” he said.
“It’s Petty Politics and Petty Issues”
In an interview with Sheepshead Bites after the MBNA meeting, Councilman Michael Nelson dismissed the notion that economic malaise or apathy played a role in Beachside Patrol’s fate.
“It’s because of the intergroup battles going on; a fight for supremacy,” he said.
Nelson described Beachside Patrol as a victim of two groups squabbling, a result of an election snafu almost two years ago that divided the 67-year-old Manhattan Beach Community Group in two, with the newly-formed MBNA developing stronger alliances with the patrol.
“This is so disheartening. Something working so well but because inter-neighborhood politics gets in the way it crumbles,” he said. “It’s going to embolden the criminals.”
MBCG president Ira Zalcman said that the split had little to do with it, as the group doesn’t dissuade its members from contributing to Beachside Patrol, and several members are signed up for the service.
Beachside Patrol began in 1970 as a subcommittee of MBCG. It soon registered as a separate entity to protect the group from lawsuits, but continued to operate as a division of the group. According to Zalcman, when MBNA formed, it was Beachside’s directors that chose to distance themselves from MBCG and began working more closely with MBNA.
“[Beachside Patrol Director Albert Hasson] took the group and he left. No one kicked him out or anything,” Zalcman said. He added that MBCG doesn’t receive reports about Beachside’s finances, membership or patrols.
Is Beachside’s Demise A Uniting Issue?
Still, Beachside may make a return yet. Dweck said the group is currently looking for the promise of commitment – not down-payments. If Beachside receives enough encouragement from the community then it may push on in the new year, he said.
Though the MBNA and the MBCG are still at odds, the crisis over a neighborhood resource could prove some common ground. And Michael Nelson is looking to play peacemaker.
“If the groups would ask me, I’d like to have a sit down in my office,” Nelson said. “I hope they can work it out because it’s only going to cause more trouble in the future.”
And there are signs the two groups may be able to work together.
“The directors of Beachside Patrol are willing to sit down and talk to anyone and any group to find a solution to keep Beachside going,” Kleynerman stated during his remarks.
Zalcman from MBCG said that he has people prepared to negotiate support for Beachside. “If they want to negotiate in good faith and come up with some sort of compromise [regarding oversight], that would be acceptable,” he said.
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Thank you, Ned, for this informative article. There is so much going on behind the scenes in our beautiful “bedroom community”!
To clarify some points:
1) Beachside held a Membership meeting at which the members of the organization voted and elected their own independent Board of Directors. “Oversight” in accordance with our By-Laws is by a Membership election of its Board of Directors.
2) Beachside does not elect to work more closely with the MBNA as compared to the MBCG. Rather, the Board continually tries its best to work with both civic groups. Beachside’s Executives made the effort to attend the annual meetings of both the MBCG and the MBNA.
3) Beachside has been unable to provide reports about the patrols to the MBCG because all requests to do so at each of their meetings were turned down by Ira. The membership lists of course must remain confidential to protect the privacy of our members and the finances have been distributed to each of our members. Although Zalcman may not receive it as he has never been a member, those on his Board who are members have indeed received them.
4) Beachside has always been willing to talk to all interested parties and has never turned down an opportunity to meet with anyone. The Board routinely reaches out to the MBCG in the hopes of resolving any concerns. As recently as last week, the MBCG was contacted prior to making the decision to distribute the letter in the hopes of obtaining their support to operate into the new year and avoid this potential cancelation of service.
December 9, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
Beachside Neighborhood Patrol, Inc. (Beachside) claims to be failing and has blamed its alleged failure on the Manhattan Beach Community Group, Inc. (MBCG).
If Beachside fails, let those who are running Beachside look in the mirror and ask of themselves whether they were competent or not. Did they make a wise decision to divorce themselves from the MBCG after 38 years of success? Did they work hard enough or efficiently enough to recruit new members? Did they make an intelligent decision when they unilaterally raised membership dues in prior years? Could Beachside afford the extra cost of additional summer coverage (voted upon each year by the MBCG) after severing relations with the MBCG? Did Beachside really remain “nonpartisan” after it severed its relationship with our organization?
The fact is that Albert Hasson (who was then Chairperson of the Beachside Committee of the MBCG) unilaterally and improperly took complete control over Beachside and made it a separate and distinct organization. Having said this, the MBCG cannot give the reason(s) for the claimed failure of Beachside.
Even after Mr. Hasson took control of Beachside, the MBCG continued its efforts to make certain that Beachside would continue to go forward and to protect all of the residents of Manhattan Beach. The MBCG Board of Directors authorized a meeting of the Chairperson of the MBCG Board of Directors, Bernice Fleischer and Manhattan Beach Community Group member Martin Baron, Esq. to meet with Beachside. This good faith effort made on the part of the MBCG with Albert Hasson and Edmond Dweck took place on June 16, 2008. An agreement was made at that meeting as to the future of Beachside. However, that agreement was subsequently rejected without further discussion by Albert Hasson.
Mr. Hasson, having kept control of the books and records, membership information and the like is now claiming that because he was not permitted to address the MBCG, we are somehow being blamed for his failure to maintain and attract members. In fact, in addition to the above noted June 2008 meeting, the MBCG offered a platform to Mr. Hasson. However, considering how control was taken from the MBCG by Mr. Hasson, the MBCG requested certain information regarding detailed financial reports, the use of funds and insurance coverage and other pertinent data. This request, voted upon by the Board of Directors in February 2009, and sent to Mr. Hasson can be found in its entirety in the MBCG Minutes of that meeting. Although some of the requested information was given to the MBCG, it was insufficient and not presented in a timely manner. It should be noted that Mr. Hasson didn’t have elections, by-laws or a meeting of “his” organization until well after the February 2009 request was made.
The Officers and Board of Directors of the MBCG has a fiduciary obligation not to allow services to be offered to the community at any of our meetings without the provider of those services to first have been properly vetted. Thus it was Beachside’s ignoring of the MBCG preconditions that resulted in their not being given an opportunity to speak at our meetings. Nevertheless, the MBCG Officers and Directors have never had a policy nor has any statement ever been made by the MBCG directing anyone not to join Beachside.
Yours truly,
Rena Samin
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