> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Venetians helping Venice stay tidy - URL: https://www.smdp.com/venetians-helping-venice-stay-tidy/ - Published: 2008-04-05T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T19:09:25.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Community, Venice, #archive-import, Homeless VENICE Stash Maleski is one of the true-blue Venetians, holding a hard-fast loyalty to his home of 16 years that many residents of this bohemian West Los Angeles neighborhood share. When the Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) announced last month it was seeking applications for several community improvement grants, it only felt natural that Maleski would throw his name in the hat. On Thursday evening at the Westminster Elementary School, Maleski was among the 30 Venice residents and nonprofit organizations that presented their proposals to improve the community using grants worth up to $5,000, each making a case to better the quality of life in the neighborhood, whether it be adding more art and landscaping or funding existing programs that benefit the public. It was a community meeting that included a diverse array of ideas on how roughly $40,000 in the VNC’s bank account for community improvement should be used, the money provided by the city of Los Angeles three years ago and set to head back to City Hall if unallocated by the end of the fiscal year. Those diverse array of ideas was a reflection of the diverse array of personalities that has made Venice world renown. “Venice has a unique reputation but part of that is there are lots of individuals who have very different ideas,” Robin Murez, the founder of the Venice Public Art Forum and grant applicant, said on Friday. Murez submitted two applications — one to improve landscaping along Venice Boulevard and another to restore the historic colonnades that line Windward Avenue. Murez, an artist who is seasoned at filling out grant applications, said Los Angeles City Hall invested in a landscape project for Venice Boulevard about a decade ago, but that portions were never worked on and remain eyesores. “What should be a major artery to the beach that all of Los Angeles should be proud of is a depressing eyesore,” Murez said. “It’s important to the quality of all our lives to have green spaces and those green spaces should be in the most prominent areas.” The Venetian-style columns were installed in the early 1900s by community founder Abbot Kinney and have deteriorated over the past century. While there were originally at least 80 columns on Windward, only 20 remain. “Some are in terrible states of disrepair and they’re eyesores and potential hazards,” she said. About 41 organizations — including schools — and individuals submitted an application for the grants, which required that projects must be done on public property and benefit a large number of people, according to Linda Lucks, the vice chairman of the VNC and the chair of the neighborhood subcommittee. The proposals were presented to the neighborhood committee on Thursday and members of the public in attendance were asked to rank their favorites. The subcommittee is expected to make a recommendation to the VNC, which will award the grants to the winning projects before the end of the fiscal year. “There’s a lot of really good people involved,” Lucks said. “This particular opportunity is great because it is not limited to non-profits and there are a lot of individuals who came up with some creative ideas to benefit the community.” Among the organizations that participated was Santa Monica-based Chrysalis, which helps homeless individuals connect with employment opportunities. Rick Stoff, who filed the grant application for Chrysalis, said the organization is seeking funding to clean up Lincoln Boulevard from Rose Avenue to Washington Boulevard for six weeks. The organization often works with individuals in West Los Angeles. Cleaning crew positions will be offered to the organization’s clients. “My ultimate mission is to start moving people who haven’t worked into jobs,” Stoff said in an interview on Thursday. Stoff pointed out that the Venice community has raised concerns about the homeless problem and that the grant could be used to address that issue. “This is now using their money to create jobs,” he said. Maleski also intends to use the grant to help solve another long-standing issue in the community — graffiti. The Venice resident helps run a program called ICU, which curates the Venice Art Walls on the beach. Maleski said the grant money would buy signage that would inform artists that a permit is needed to paint on the walls. The grant would also purchase a secured bin that would hold disposed spray cans, helping to prevent vandals from gaining access to spray cans to tag the neighborhoods. There are currently two such bins at the art walls. “I love Venice and I love the creative spirit of Venice and the innocence of the collective community in Venice,” he said on Thursday. “The grassroots Venice Neighborhood Council tries to represent that spirit in what they pursue.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 5, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040508.pdf?ref=smdp.com)