Dimond News

by Ann Nomura

Dimond Business District Dimond neighbors and merchants are taking the first steps toward getting funds to redesign the Dimond Business district. The district has wonderful shops and restaurants, a bus hub, a commuter pickup site, a library, and one of the most beautiful parks in Oakland. It also has the third most dangerous intersection in Oakland, Fruitvale Avenue and MacArthur Blvd. Thoughtful redesign of the street could make it safer and more beautiful. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission offers grant money for this type of project, but the application process is long and complicated. Lara Dutto, the DIA, and Jean Quan's office have taken the first step in the process, a comprehensive survey of neighborhood needs and priorities. The survey is available at Caffe Diem, on dimondnews.org, and through Jean Quan's office. Many thanks to Lara Dutto, architect, mom, and Dimond volunteer of the month. Commercial vacancies continued to drop in the business district. The abandoned Albertson's on Fruitvale has been leased; Crazy Joe's dollar store will be opening at that location. Jean Quan's office is working with the new tenant on the fa?ade design. A vacant shop on Champion will soon be a real estate office, and other vacant shops on Fruitvale and MacArthur are being renovated. Motel For Sale We Won...Or Did We? Got $2.2 million to invest? The Hillcrest Motel is on the market. Neighbors want the building converted into something other than a motel. How about an artists colony? On a more serious note, in her neighborhood news bulletin #33, Councilmember Jean Quan announced that on July 15, the owners of the Hillcrest Motel withdrew their appeal. This decision not to appeal the Administrative Hearing Officer's rulings to the Planning Commission makes the conditions imposed on the Hillcrest effective immediately. But keep watching. The City Attorney's office is sending the Hillcrest owners a letter to set a final date by which the current or possible new owners must sign the compliance plan. No news of this date was received by Metro deadline. Quan asks that neighbors now help to monitor compliance and report violations to police and code compliance. She also states that if the owners violate the terms of the judge's order, they may lose their operating permit. If their permit is lost, then a hotel/motel operation becomes illegal on this land; the hotel would be ordered closed, or the building could be ordered vacated and even demolished. She and the Metro and involved neighbors wonder if the owners will instead seek to become a partner in the community. Building Community Youth on scooters created quite an uproar in early June. In lower Dimond, where many of the scooter youth live, neighbors met to discuss scooter use in their community. Many of the scooter riders came. The youth apologized and were genuinely saddened that they disturbed elderly neighbors. Neighbors have planned more events to bring the community closer.