On behalf of Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt, Council District 10 Deputy Eric Aguiar recently presented Certificates of Appreciation to retiring Governing Board members of the United Neighborhoods Neighborhood Council (UNNC), Lizy Moromisato, Paul King, John Arnold and Greg Jackson (not in attendance), for their service to the community.
Moromisato served from June 2015 to June 2023. She was first appointed as an at-large representative and eventually became area representative for her neighborhood, Jefferson Park. In recent years she also served as chair of the Outreach Committee and oversaw two election cycles as chair of the UNNC Elections Committee.
“My main purpose joining the UNNC was to help advocate for better city services in our community, and improve our quality of life,” Moromisato said. “Being Japanese Peruvian, I committed to assist our Spanish-speaking stakeholders in having easier access to information related to city government.
“Also, when Zoom meetings became a norm during the pandemic, and on the occasion of celebrating Asian Heritage Month, I presented a slideshow on the history of the Japanese and Japanese American community in this area, prior to and in the decades following World War II.
“One of my last actions as a UNNC member was to express support for the recent redevelopment proposal for Kokusai Theatre, which will soon become an event and banquet hall. The developers have committed to restore the Kokusai Theatre sign, the marquee and other historical components.
“This theatre, along with other important Japanese American landmarks such as Kashu Realty and Gracies Pastries, happen to be located in my neighborhood of Jefferson Park and within the UNNC footprint, so I have always felt the responsibility to keep the history of these places alive in the memories of residents old and new.”
Moromisato’s work in the UNNC allowed her to get involved in many other opportunities to serve her community.
“In 2016-17, along with a few neighborhood groups, my own block neighbors and the UNNC, I spearheaded our participation in two Clean Streets challenges organized by the City of L.A., by which we secured funds to make future improvements in our Jefferson Park community,” she said. “One was to plant new trees alongside Jefferson Boulevard in the segment that runs through Jefferson Park.
“I have an interest in historic preservation, and joined a working group called The Friends of the Jefferson Park HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone). You may learn about our mission statement and award-winning work in this section of our website: www.historicjeffersonpark.org/about-us-1
“We also have a Facebook community page under the same name, ‘Historic Jefferson Park,’ for which I serve as co-admin. We currently have 1,100 members, most of whom are old and new neighbors. We not only get to interact and discuss various quality-of-life issues, but also share information on how to preserve and take good care of our houses, most of which are over 100 years old.
“By being part of the neighborhood council system I have learned so much about city government. I definitely recommend that everyone find out where their council district is, and who their counciperson and other representatives are. Learn about city services and where to call. But most importantly, get to know your neighbors and gather them to advocate together to work on improvements in your area.
“There’s an L.A. Times project called ‘Shape Your L.A.’ which is a great way to start and get all this information just by typing your address (www.latimes.com/projects/community-civic-engagement-government-participation/).”
Lizy Moromisato has remained true to her culture and an asset to our neighborhood and the community as a whole.