Laurel Merchants Association News

by Dr. Maureen Dorsey

The Laurel Merchants Association will be sponsoring our annual Easter Egg Hunt this year at Laurel Elementary School on Saturday, April 12, at 10 a.m. Prizes and candy will be hidden in plastic eggs for participating youngsters. The prizes are donated by the various businesses on MacArthur and will be in the form of redeemable coupons. LMA will be continuing our giveaway of cloth shopping bags to any customer who can present $100 worth of receipts from any businesses (combined) in the Laurel. These sturdy bags can be obtained by taking your receipts to Komodo Toys, Laurel Books, or ZhiDaoGuan. It is a thank-you to our customers for supporting the many businesses in the Laurel. The Laurel welcomes a new business, Africa By The Bay. This great store is relocating to our area and is to open soon at 3840 MacArthur. There will be a new restaurant in the 4100 block as soon as the interior work is completed and all permits obtained. The former Brock's Florist has been vacated, and a new business that will sell skateboards and the like is supposed to be the new tenant. Our corner at High and MacArthur, where the former Laurel Liquors and Roberts Tires were located, is being cleaned of environmental hazards. There is news that a developer is waiting to make an offer as soon as the Phase II cleanup is completed. Oakland Business Development Corporation, a nonprofit that helps individuals secure federal loan money to start or upgrade a business, is encouraging anyone interested in opening a business in the Laurel to contact them. Several new businesses on our Boulevard are a direct result of OBDC ability to aid entrepreneurs in obtaining funds. This area is a designated region that can accept HUD dollars for economic development. Individuals who qualify can obtain loans from $5,000 to $60,000. OBDC can be reached at 763-4297. LMA is gearing up for the street redesign project slated to break ground sometime this summer. We are encouraging all businesses along the Boulevard to comply with code and blight ordinances. Members joined city representatives to compile a list of storefronts that need attention from owners, and we will be reminding merchants that the maintenance of storefronts and building conditions are the responsibility of the business owner and building owner. Maintaining attractive, welcoming storefronts is good for the neighborhood and good for business. We have also notified the City of our concern regarding all the missing parking meters along our section of MacArthur Blvd. Missing meters cost the City thousands of dollars in lost revenues each year. This in turn affects business by reducing access for shoppers because of less turnover of parking spaces. Lastly, LMA would urge our customers to be safe. This means to pay attention to your surroundings after dark. It also means to drive carefully and please observe the crosswalk rights-of-way. Our streets have proven dangerous for children, as evidenced by recent accidents involving pedestrians on Patterson and on Loma Vista at MacArthur. The Laurel Merchants Association meets monthly on the first Thursday. For information about becoming a member, please contact Lease Wong at Komodo Toys, 4004 MacArthur.