MAYOR GETS EARFUL FROM VAN NUYS.

Byline: Melissa Schmitt Daily News Staff Writer

Nearly 200 residents poured into Van Nuys Elementary School on Thursday night to tell Mayor Richard Riordan exactly what was on their mind - the deterioration of Van Nuys.

The mayor and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski co-sponsored the community meeting at the school to get feedback on how community members want a $3 million federal block grant spent in their community.

What they got was more than an hour of complaints from a citizenry that obviously feels underserved.

Frustrated Van Nuys residents sounded off on everything from gang-member tenants to illegal dumping. They want Van Nuys Boulevard cleaned up of what they called ``trashy and tacky'' signage, debris and garbage.

``It's just disgusting,'' grumbled one business owner and homeowner. ``It's just deplorable.''

They want the strip bars removed from the Delano Park area. They want more shelter and services for the homeless. They want child care. And they want someone - someone with a specific name - to be responsible and answerable for how the $3 million is spent.

Riordan responded by explaining that Thursday's meeting was a forum for spending this federal block grant. Not a gripe session. And the mayor said if Van Nuys residents want issues like illegal dumping resolved, that will be up to them as a community.

``I'm being a realist,'' Riordan said to the disgruntled crowd. ``If you expect me and the City Council to surveil every industrial area for illegal dumping - there is no funding and no resources for that. You organize, and then you will get a response.''

Those words didn't sit well with the gathered crowd, but Riordan didn't back down, naming off what he called the successful efforts of other communities.

A half-hour before the meeting ended, organizers furiously worked to get the meeting back on track.

According to city officials, the grant, to be used at the rate of $1 million per year, is to be used for things such as street improvements, housing rehabilitation, parking improvements, facade improvements in the commercial core, neighborhood centers and the acquisition of vacant lots.

The money won't go toward the passing of laws to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who are members of gangs or outlaw unattractive signage.

The money must be spent for improvements in Van Nuys within the boundaries of Vanowen Street, Hazeltine Avenue, Calvert Street and Kester Avenue. That will include the Delano Park area, Riordan pointed out.

The goal of the Targeted Neighborhood Initiative is to give citizens direct input in spending that money. The idea of public-private partnerships such as the initiative in Los Angeles to reinvigorate cities has been used successfully from Boston to San Diego, including Pasadena, according to city officials.