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# Venice Braces for a Global Spotlight: Park Discusses FIFA, El Niño and the 2028 Olympics!
October 22 2026
Written by Nick Antonicello.
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WESTSIDE - The Venice Neighborhood Council got an impromptu visit from Councilwoman Traci Park (CD-11) Tuesday evening at their general monthly meeting held at the Westminster Elementary School located 1010 Abbot Kinney Boulevard here in Venice.
Park, a resident of the neighborhood, is fresh off an easy reelection victory over fellow Venetian Faizah Malik by an impressive 60% to 40% margin in the June 2nd Primary earning her another four years in office.
Park outlined the numerous activities at the beach, including the FIFA World Cup event that led to some backlash by residents, so in response she conducted a 360-degree evaluation of the happening so that Venice is prepared for the coming of the 2028 Summer Olympics that will be centered locally as NBC will have its primary broadcast operations here at the beach.
"I want to put Venice in the headlines for the right reasons," offered Park.
Referring to the impending 2028 Summer Games, Park announced that the marathon and triathlon events will be here at the beach making Venice "the face of Los Angeles" during the day-to-day coverage of this 17-day international extravaganza.
Park described the preparation for the Olympics as "a heavy lift," calling the hosting of the 2028 Summer games "a twice in a lifetime experience (LA last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1984)," and "the biggest premier headline event on the planet earth."
Park reminded the 90 or so residents in attendance that Venice was in crisis when she assumed office four years ago and was consumed by an unprecedented encampment crisis in which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as LA28 had no planned events in CD-11. The Councilmember emphasized that changes and improvements to the Venice neighborhood were mandatory so she could approach Olympic officials "with a straight face" that this neighborhood was up to the challenge to host a major world event like the Summer games.
Calling this opportunity a "love letter to the California coastline," Park believes a permanent "economic runway" will be established and that because Venice's streets and sidewalks will play a major role in three Olympic events, infrastructure improvement and investment in the community should be forthcoming.
Park also announced that she will be hosting a ZOOM Town Hall on the "State of Homelessness" this Thursday, and all are invited. Park asked Venetians to prepare for a "long, wet and messy winter," and that major remediation of storm water infrastructure remains ongoing in preparation of El Nino.
Park concluded that she is excited about where Venice is headed, and she is going to explore every opportunity to ensure the Olympics are the economic shot in the arm Los Angeles anticipates moving forward.
The Venice Neighborhood Council is a 21-member, directly elected on a biannual basis, all volunteer unit of government established by the LA City Charter. David Ffeige currently presides as president.
The other members of the VNC include Gary Pearl, Tima Bell, Helen Fallon, Mark Mack, Erica Moore, Alley Bean, Clark Brown, Fran Solomon, Jason Sugars, Jim Fitzgerald, Seaf Hartley, Joseph Garcia, Kenya Lee, Lisa Redmond, Nico Ruderman, Richard Stanger, Sarah Mahir, Ted Henderson and Yolanda Gonzalez.
It was also announced that the position of Communications Chair was declared vacant, and that the process of filling the unexpired term would take place at the November meeting with the application process to be determined shortly.
The issue of a new restaurant to be known as The Turtle, will replace the sports bar Brennan's, which has since closed. Regarded as a "rowdy college bar," it is being replaced with a different dining experience that will include a significantly larger outside footprint of some 7,000 square feet and 180 outdoor seats. This new Al Fresco experience, renovation and restoration was greeted warmly by area residents who were supportive of the outreach by ownership which knocked on some 300 doors and delivered thousands of flyers informing residents of their plans.
After lengthy public comment all in the affirmative, the motion was amended and then deliberated by the board as the emphasis was to avoid a bar taking advantage of Al Fresco dining. In a rare unanimous vote of 16-0, the motion was approved to the delight of the board as well as those in attendance who spoke in favor of the project.
Yolanda Gonzalez under board discussion urged her colleagues to give the owners "a chance to succeed."
"We will help you," noted the veteran board member and stakeholder.
The on again, off again Town Hall regarding illegally parked RVs slated for October 28th has been officially canceled. The scheduling of this controversial topic of illegal RVs in Venice has become a political football as talk of such a Town Hall has gone on for nearly a year.
Nevertheless, efforts to revive the Town Hall are now ongoing, according to Feige who is seeking a rescheduled date come mid-November if possible.
The board also entertained a motion by President Feige to limit the number of in-person meetings in 2027 with rotating ZOOM calls between the live encounters. After much public comment, the motion was pulled, and it was a decided a subcommittee led by Nico Ruderman would evaluate the entire issue and come back to the full board in December to revisit the proposal and the benefits of such a rotating schedule.
Most were in agreement that the best solution was a hybrid of in-person and ZOOM participation, but the board lacks the equipment or budget given much of their funding has been dedicated to other expenditures like the upcoming 2027 VNC board elections.
*(**Nick Antonicello** is a thirty-three-year resident of the neighborhood who exclusively covers the deliberations of the Venice Neighborhood Council. A regular contributor to City Watch LA, he can be reached via e-mail at )*
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