LOS ANGELES – Street bollards are made of plastic, but they provide a lot of safety for pedestrians which is why Adriane Hoff advocated to get them installed on the corner of Catalina and 7th. The At-Large Representative for the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council, she first heard about the need from students across the street at the RFK Community Schools when they originally petitioned for a stoplight.

“But after doing further research with the Neighborhood Council, LADOT, and Herb Wesson’s office, it was determined that a stop light wouldn’t be the best option here,” explained Adriane Hoff. “So these bollards essentially extend the curb space and give pedestrians more space before getting into traffic.”

As a member of the Planning, Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee, Hoff looks at new development projects and provides recommendations from everything to the number of affordable housing units to trees. It’s a lot to cover in a single committee, but as a member of the Neighborhood Council, these are all issues around the corner of where Hoff lives.

“The main issue that fires me up is transportation,” said Hoff. “It intersects so many other issues within the city from housing, homelessness, climate change and it’s an issue I don’t think most Angelenos even consider.”

Neighborhood Councils generally meet once a month and if you sit on a committee, there are more meetings, but due to COVID-19, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment moved all meetings online.

What You Need To Know


  • Neighborhood Councils are advisory bodies, who advocate for their communities with City Hall.

  • here are 99 Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles, each serving 40,000 people.

  • The Neighborhood Council system was established in 1999.

  • Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council meets every 2nd Monday.

“We are going to begin with a roll call, starting with Adriane Hoff,” started the Chair of the Committee.

“Here,” responded Hoff.

Fortunately, meeting virtually has had a positive outcome.

“I certainly miss being one-on-one with my colleagues and with the community, but in a lot of ways, it makes the meetings that much more accessible to people,” said Hoff. “For folks that don’t have child care and still have other obligations in the evening, they don’t have to put that all on hold just to show up to give comment on an agenda item.”

Neighborhood Council meetings are open to the public so stakeholders don’t have to hold a seat to be heard. For Hoff, when she felt powerless to make a difference nationally, she felt compelled to get involved locally.

“What I could make a difference with was the local issues,” said Hoff. “And so it’s been really fulfilling to get involved, get my voice heard and get other community members fired up as well.”