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Welcome New Staff
Culture Fest 2011
New Committees
Trees along Telegraph
Art in Koreatown
Safety1st
Revitalization through Art
Sales Tax Rise in Koreatown
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Culture Fest

Karati

Tae Kwon Do

 

Bring out the family and enjoy a day of entertainment, shopping, eating and fun at the Koreatown Northgate Culture Fest

 Slide
Fun for the kids and adults
Korean Culture Dance
Girls with drums

 

Korean Cultural Dance

Girl with flag

 

Band

 

 Entertainers 2011

Entertainers 2011

 

Also Performing....
Korean Drummer Seunqik Lee
Korean Drummer Seunqik Lee
To view a complete line up go to our website. See you on May 14th.  
Newsletter

May 2011 

Greetings!

This newsletter is for the Koreatown Northgate community (property owners, business owners, residents, and anyone interested in the district) to keep you up to date on the district's happenings.

 

Welcome New Staff

Shari Godinez photo The Koreatown Northgate CBD would like to introduce our new staff members, Shari Godinez and Marco Li Mandri.

On February 15, 2011 the CBD Board thanked Darlene Rios Drapkin for her three years of hard work in bringing Koreatown Northgate to where it is today (see article on sales tax revenue below) and brought on Shari Godinez as the new Executive Director and Marco Li Mandri as a consultant to the Board. 

 
Shari Godinez, a third generation Oaklander, has worked in the field of economic development in Oakland for the past nine years and most recently worked as the Executive Director for the Oakland Merchant's Leadership Forum, a nonprofit organization focused on the support, development and advocacy of commercial district leaders in Oakland. Shari also comes to us with 15 years experience as a successful small business owner and 4 years as the President of a commercial district's business & professional association. She was appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Workforce Investment Board since 2009 and she also volunteers for Oakland Grown (a shop local marketing campaign). Shari has a Bachelors degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley and deep passion for revitalizing Oakland. "I am always inspired by the unselfish acts of community volunteer work I see every day," stated Shari. "I love connecting, sharing ideas and working with passionate people to make positive changes in our city."

Shari will work closely with the Board of Directors and the Consultant, Marco as well as the community.

Shari is in the Koreatown Northgate office Monday - Thursday 9:00 am-5:00 PM. Office is located at 2633 Telegraph Ave #107 Oakland, CA 94612.

Phone (510) 343-5439.
Email: shari@koreatownnorthgate.org

Stop by and say hello any time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marco Li Mandri  

 Marco Li Mandri Photo

Marco Li Mandri has been involved in business district revitalization efforts since 1988. As a former President of a (BID), Marco entered the Business Improvement District arena as a stakeholder first, and later as a professional consultant. In 1992, Marco formed the Marco Group, a business dedicated to the formation and administration of Business Improvements Districts in Southern California. In 1997, the Marco Group evolved into New City America, Inc. and established itself as the premier company dedicated to business district revitalization throughout the country.  

Marco is the one who established Koreatown Northgate over 3 years ago and is now being hired as a consultant to assist the Board with development. Marco and his wife Laura live in San Diego with two of their five children in the San Diego community of Kensignton.  

 

Marco can be reached at (619) 540-9667

Email: newcityamerica@aol.com 

The Koreatown Northgate CultureFest 2011 
  
Fan Dance

Saturday, May 14, 2011

11:30 am - 5 PM

 

Location: Telegraph Ave from 24th to 27th Streets (3 blocks will be closed).

 

This year's CultureFest will celebrate the diverse and vibrant Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District neighborhood. This is a community that is overflowing with talented artists, musicians, great food and diverse cultures! Experience the many sights and sounds of a thriving, growing area located in between the revitalized and exciting Uptown and Temescal districts.

 

The event will reflect the unique character of the community's cultural and ethnic heritage and attract the multicultural population in the area.

A partial list of entertainers includes:

Prescott Circus; Ballet Folklorico Costa de Oro; CultureShock/MiniShock/FutureShock; FatChance BellyDance; Elias Negash; Quest for Fire; Lovette Brown; C U Next Weekend; Carlos Godinez; Aguarcero and many more.... For more information go to www.koreatownnorthgate.org/event

 

The CBD will have an information booth at the event and is looking for volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Shari Godinez at (510) 343-5439 or email: Shari@koreatownnorthgate.org  

 

 

New Committees 

The CBD Board is setting up new committees to address the various issues the CBD faces. Items of concern will go first to committees for full discussion and recommendations are then brought to the Board. The committee structure mirrors our management plan. The CBD will continue the Executive Committee and create the following committees:  

 

Security & Operations: (Chair Byong Joo Yu)

This committee addresses the security, cleaning, beautification and the contractors who provide those services. If you are interested in being on this committee, please contact Shari Godinez (510) 343-5439 or email shari@koreatownnorthgate.org

 

Marketing & Identity: (Chair TBA)

This committee will look at marketing and promoting the area through advertising, events, neighborhood decorations, etc. Some projects that we will be working on first include planting trees along Telegraph Ave and painting the utility boxes with art. If you are interested in being on this committee, please contact Shari Godinez (510) 343-5439 or email shair@koreatownnorthgate.org

 

Land Use: (Chair Alex Hahn)

This committee addresses issues concerning zoning, parking, transportation, review of new construction, etc. If you are interested in being on this committee, please contact Shari Godinez (510) 343-5439 or email shair@koreatownnorthgate.org    

Trees, Trees, Trees
Tree lined street
Tree lined urban street


Koreatown Northgate will soon be lined with trees. The City of Oakland received a Neighborhood Projects Initiative (NPI) Program grant from the Redevelopment Agency to plant trees along Telegraph Ave in an effort to revitalize the area. Due to staffing and budget cuts, they handed the grant over to the CBD to implement. The grant is for Telegraph Ave from 27th to 34th Streets and the CBD decided to expand the tree planting to cover the entire district.

 

Trees Stop Crime

Some view trees as a crime fighting tool. In a recent article by Nate Seltenrich in the East Bay Express entitled Oakland Overgrown, Nate mentions that the San Pablo Corridor Coalition, a community group, uses greening efforts to improve its West Oakland neighborhood. The article states, "In recent years, the intersection of Myrtle and 30th streets had experienced multiple killings. Then community volunteers planted twenty trees in the area, and the murders stopped."

Trees Raise Property Values
The article also finds that "trees in urban area have been shown to raise property values, help manage storm-water runoff, improve air quality, and even boost residents' moods." That means that by next spring, Koreatown Northgate will be an even more beautiful and happier place to be.

If you would like to join the MI (Marketing & Identity) Committee to help work on this and other projects, please contact Shari Godinez, Executive Director at (510) 343-5439 or email to shari@koreatownnorthgate.org


 

 

Art It Up in Koreatown Northgate
Shoe Art
Cardboard Art Sculpture

The youth at the Oakland School of the Arts visual arts department just completed a project of amazing "Cardboard Sculptures" and are looking for a place to display them for a while before they are taken apart and recycled. If you are interested in displaying this art in your window, please contact me. This would be ideal if you currently have a vacant property with a window display area. The school's social media (facebook, website, etc.) can list the addresses where the art is displayed and drive foot traffic into the district and increase the visibility of your for lease sign.

 

The sculptures are currently at the White Box Studio at 1730 San Pablo Ave. They will be moved to The Black Box Theater May 5th to May 7th and available for Koreatown Northgate after May 7th.

 

Please contact me if you are interested in displaying this amazing artwork. Lets Art up Koreatown Northgate

 

View our photos on flickr Click here to see all the photos. 


Contact: Shari Godinez (510) 343-5439
Email: Shari@koreatownnorthgate.org

 

Safety1st Ambassador's Go Green 
  

The Koreatown Northgate Ambassadors are a little quicker now since they now have E-Bikes (electric bicycles).

Safety First
Ambassador D'Michael Couvson

 This has allowed them to increase their response time when called.

 

These vehicles use electric motors and have become a more appealing form of transportation in densely populated urban areas, especially with the price of gas today.  

 

The crime rate has dropped by 34% since the inception of this program in Koreatown Northgate. Governor Brown recently told Safety1st that he "sees an improvement in the area."

 

Contact Safety1st at

(510) 844-2444 office.

Art in Vacant Storefronts Can Boost the District's Economy
Art in Store Front Window
Photo from Frozen Tropics blog spot

  

According to an article by Joanne Steele in RuralTourismmarketing.com "Nothing portrays decline and defeat like a block full of empty storefronts." Koreatown Northgate currently has 47 commercial vacancies. We compiled a list of vacancies and posted on the Koreatown Northgate website. We also created a district profile displaying the demographics, traffic counts, and other district attributes that will be strategically distributed to entrepreneurial organizations, commercial realtors and has already been placed at the city of Oakland's Business Assistance Center. One more step we can take is to change the perception by adding art to the vacant store front windows. Joanne Steele says in an area that "looks empty, and feels in decline, what entrepreneur is going to be able to visualize him or herself creating a successful business there?" In 2009 San Francisco used art in vacant storefront windows as an economic revitalization tool. According to then Mayor Gavin Newsom, "Art in Storefronts taps into our incredible creative community to help combat some of the effects of the economic recession on our neighborhood commercial districts...By placing original works of art in a vacant storefront, we are helping to stem the tide of neighborhood blight, enhance quality of life, improve safety and cultivate neighborhood pride."

 

Koreatown Northgate is in the Art Murmur district and we currently have three opportunities to utilize this economic tool. One, the Crucible is looking for a space to occupy, display art and be open during the Art Murmur's on the first Friday of each month. This organization will invest in the visual upgrades to the vacant space in exchange for no rent and is willing to vacate if the property owner finds a tenant. This is a win win for everyone. Two, Oakland School of the Arts Visual Arts department is excited to have the opportunity to display their art in the neighborhood and will drive foot traffic to the area to view the children's art. Three, a couple of local short film makers (Scott and Tory) are looking for a space to show their short films as part of the Art Murmur (the first Friday of each month) from 6-9 PM.

 

If you are a property owner in Koreatown Northgate and are interested in discussing one of the above opportunities, please contact Shari Godinez at (510) 343-5439 or email shari@koreatownnorthgate.org

Koreatown Northgate's Sales Tax Revenue on the Rise Since 2006 
Graph going upAt a recent BID/CBD Managers meeting I was provided with the sales tax summary of Oakland's nine BID/CBD districts. I was inspired to see the sales tax revenue for Koreatown Northgate has been on a steady increase since 2006. During 2008 & 2009, when the City of Oakland and 55% of the BID/CBD's, had a drop in sales tax revenue; Koreatown Northgate actually had an increase.

In comparing the 3rd quarter of 2010 to the 3rd quarter of 2009, 63% of the BID/CBD district's revenue was down, some as much as 8.3%, while Koreatown Northgate had a 2.2% increase. During the same time, The City of Oakland as a whole had a 1.8% decrease.

I hope to meet you at the CultureFest on Saturday, May 14th.

 

Sincerely,
Shari Godinez

Shari Godinez

Executive Director
Koreatown Northgate