Manhattan Beach Community Group President Ira Zalcman published on the group’s website a screed against Courier-Life’s (Bay News) reporting of their latest meeting, which oversimplified a long, complicated division with the neighborhood’s private security force – Beachside Patrol – and threw fuel onto the supposed rivalry between the MBCG and the newer Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association. In it, Zalcman bashed the paper for misrepresenting or distorting facts, erroneous statements and sensationalism.
Things might be getting a bit more lovey-dovey in Manhattan Beach between its two civic associations, but as the video above shows, tensions remain between the elder of the two groups and the community’s private security patrol.
That’s not really to say things are calm between the civic groups – the Manhattan Beach Community Group and the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association. They still have issues to work out, and it’s a far cry from unity. But the common ground on traffic safety issues has them agreeing on some points, and, though no one’s holding their breath or willing to be quoted, it appears that a joint effort of some sort is making headway.
But back to Beachside Patrol. During the new business section of Manhattan Beach Community Group’s November 17 meeting, former Beachside Patrol President Albert Hasson appealed to the group for permission to present monthly safety reports. Hasson was hoping that MBCG President Ira Zalcman’s repeated offer to welcome MBNA back into their fold would be extended his way.
But it wasn’t, and that resulted in some F-bomb dropping.
She’s no traitor, and her only aim is to serve the community.
That was the message Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo gave in a heated statement to the Manhattan Beach Community Group at the civic’s meeting on Wednesday night.
“I represent the community,” Scavo said in an interview the next day. “I don’t represent the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association or the Manhattan Beach Community Group. Just Manhattan Beach, not either group.”
Scavo said she was responding to insinuations within the community that she was playing politics with the neighborhood’s fractious civic associations, which have been feuding for nearly three years.
Despite a nail-biting deadline, Manhattan Beach’s private security force appears to have rallied enough support to continue operations throughout 2010.
Though Beachside Patrol hasn’t yet made an official announcement, leaders from the group say they received last minute pledges that brought them into the black. Beachside Patrol President Albert Hasson has also stepped down, and the force is now at the helm of Ted Kleynerman.
Since Manhattan Beach’s private security force issued an S.O.S. letter two weeks ago, little has changed by today’s deadline and Beachside Patrol is still imperiled.
“I would like to tell you that we had an overwhelming response and Beachside Patrol is back on, but the response has not been what we were looking for,” said Ted Kleynerman, a patrol director.
A letter was sent December 7 to those who subscribe to the service, and later to the larger community, informing people that Beachside Patrol doesn’t have the financial resources necessary to continue operations. Directors said only about 25 percent of households were contributing and the support was not widespread enough. Only about 200 households pay the $400 annual fee.
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.
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.
Caught between a poltical divide, Beachside Patrol may soon fold (courtesy of GerritsenBeach.net)
Manhattan Beach’s private security patrol may dissolve as soon as January 1 after 39 years serving the community if they’re unable to garner more community support, says a letter circulated by the patrol’s president to residents today.
Beachside Patrol is only receiving annual membership payments of $400 a year from about 25 percent of households, states the letter, and the support is insufficient to pay the group’s bills.
“As of January 1st, Beachside Neighborhood Patrol will probably cease to operate in Manhattan Beach. Without sufficient community support and involvement, membership levels will be too low to operate such patrols efficiently,” wrote the non-profit volunteer patrol’s president, Albert Hasson.
Hasson’s letter stops short of blaming outright a rift in community politics that divided the quiet beachside neighborhood more than a year and a half ago.
In March 2008, disgruntled pro-development members of the Manhattan Beach Community Group – which founded Beachside Patrol in 1970 – left the group in an election dispute and formed the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association.
Beachside Patrol found itself in the middle of the split, and continued to receive support from MBNA. However, MBCG, the older group, rescinded financial support after Beachside officials balked at requests to show financial records, according to reports at the time.
“Community politics seem to have taken priority over the safety and security of our homes and families,” writes Hasson.
