According to the City, there was no permit pulled that closed Swarthmore Avenue to traffic.
No Street Closure Permit Pulled for Closure
According to L.A. City Street Services Investigator Andrea Garcia, no permit was obtained to close Swarthmore Avenue from the alley to Monument Street today, Friday, October 5.
A Palisades Village guard was asked why the street was closed and he said there was a special event.
We later learned that it was a party (with music) for Caruso employees from various offices throughout Southern California who hadn’t yet seen the completed project.
Circling the News stopped by the concierge desk and asked to speak to a manager around 1 p.m., but one was not available.
Initially, CTN had walked up Monument and then down Swarthmore in order to stop at one of the shops.
This is one of four trucks/vans loading and unloading on Monument mid-day on Friday.
Perhaps the closure of the street might have resulted in four different service trucks loading and unloading on Monument.
When a guard was asked why the propane truck was parked in front of a house, he asked “Is that your driveway?”
This truck carrying propane was blocking a lane of Monument Avenue.
A delivery man was asked if he knew that deliveries were supposed to be in the alleyway and he acknowledged he was aware of the protocol.
Garcia confirmed that to close a public street, a permit is required.
Photos of the delivery trucks were sent to a Caruso spokesperson.
Even though the guard spoke to the driver, the truck didn’t move. Swarthmore was closed.
Caruso don’t need no stinking permits
Sue, thank you for doing local investigative journalism. You’re an asset to the Palisades.
I guess rules don’t apply to Caruso.
I assume they had a permit to close the street during construction and it technically was still valid through the opening event. Or so they thought. But now the street is open and all is good. Except for all the Center employees parking in the Alphabet streets. Ugh.
Caruso wouldn’t be considering privatizing Swarthmore from the alley to Monument, would he? Then he could do anything he wants — which he already does, anyway.
In addition to the need for a permit, according to Caruso’s signed agreement with POV, Swarthmore will be closed no more than 6 days per year “with advance notification of street closure applications given to neighbors living within 500 feet.” Were the neighbors within 500 feet notified (whether or not an application was submitted)? The violations of his agreement with the neighborhood seem to be piling up.
We came upon the nicely set tables and were told that it was a lunch for Caruso employes. Made us wonder how many privileges he has with his purchase . Everything seems to be for “outsiders” anyway, the parties, the opening celebration, the luncheon on our street, the stores mainly too.
I wanted to like this, but I wonder………
Caruso thinks that he is above the law, doesn’t need keep his promises and agreements, and can be an extremely inconsiderate neighbor, all of which greatly impacts the lives of those who live near his vanity project. His actions speak much louder than the muzak he’s forced onto his neighbors. It’s amazing to me how many people in this town seem to idolize this man in spite of his increasingly dishonorable actions.