Friends of Atwater Village

Friends of Atwater Village 

Board of Directors 

Ann Lawson

Homeowner and Community Activist in Atwater Village since 1968.  a Notary Public, officer in The Friends of Atwater Village; member of the Atwater Village Residents' Association, member of the Grindelwald Ski Club of Los Angeles since 1956 (sister club is Grindelwald, Switzerland), member and docent / volunteer at the Autry Museum, member of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, Los Angeles County Museum Association, Philharmonic Association, and the Northeast Community Plan Advisory Committee for ten years (rewrote the Community Plan for Northeast Los Angeles -- disbanded in the Fall of 2003). 

Before retiring in 1999, worked for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles for 22 years.  In the private sector managed a court reporting agency for two years, prior to that was in all phases of mortgage banking -- including arranging and closing loans, escrow, etc. 

Among other things, enjoys snow skiing, hiking, gardening, and working to make Atwater Village a better place to live

Ann can be reached at lawild7@aol.com

Netty Carr

Netty Carr is a native Angeleno and longtime resident of Atwater Village. In addition to being an small business owner since 1987 (Netty's Restaurant in Silver Lake) Netty has committed herself to community issues with special focus on the environment, green space, and historic preservation.

Some highlights to Netty's community activism:

1999-Present: Began the Coalition to Save the Van de Kamp's in response to a developer's plan to tear down the historical monument to build a "big box". The Coalition eventually grew to over 23 community groups and succeeded in not only saving the building but was in instrumental in helping to bring and extension campus in Los Angeles City College to the site.

1999: Conceived and personally funded a mural at Glendale Blvd and Glenfeliz Blvd.

2000-Present: Co-founder of FAV.

2000: Conceived and personally funded a mural at Dover Street and the Los Angeles River

Netty can be contacted at dishy512@sbcglobal.net

Sandra Caravella

Sandra Caravella is a long time resident of Atwater Village She and her husband Joe were raised in Atwater but lived away for a number of years when Joe was in the Air Force. They returned to Atwater to raise their family and Joe returned to carry on this families business, Vince’s Market.

Sandra has always been interested in the community working for a number of years as a volunteer teacher’s aid at Atwater Ave Elementary and being involved with the PTA.

She worked for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau for over 20 years working as a registration supervisor at seminars, trade shows and conventions.

Wanting to be more involved in the community she joined Friends of Atwater village in support of the movement to save the Van de Kamps building and to try to address some of the negative quality of life issues that were becoming an all too common part of Atwater daily life. She also serves on the Board of the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Atwater Residents Association and Neighborhood Watch.

Sandra can be reached at kumquatsc@earthlink.net

Luis Lopez

Luis Lopez is an Atwater Village small business owner. He owns and operates a small family auto repair shop on Fletcher Drive (Luis Lopez Automotive). In addition to fixing cars Luis also enjoys fixing community problems.

Luis first became inspired to do local community work when Friends of Atwater Village (FAV) commissioned a graffiti abatement mural on Fletcher Drive in 2001. FAV’s “can-do” attitude and extraordinary accomplishments under limited resources made him into a deep admirer. Luis joined FAV is 2002 and is currently an active board member.

Luis successfully ran for the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council (AVNC) board the first and second years of its existence.  While on the AVNC Board he served as Co-Chair and also served as Chairman of the Government Relations Committee. Luis was reelected to the AVNC Board for a 3rd term in 2007. He currently serves on the AVNC Board as its non-profit representative and as Chair of the Environment & Land Use Committee.

In addition to community work with FAV and the AVNC Luis has actively involved himself in other community groups.

Luis have been a member of the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce since 2002. He was elected President of the Chamber and served in that capacity from 2004 to 2006.  During that time membership in the Chamber increased from 14 to 70 members. Luis currently servers in the Chamber as board secretary.

In 2006 Luis formed the Fletcher Drive Improvement Association (FDIA), a grassroots group that brings together the residents and business people along the Fletcher Drive corridor and the Northeast Division Police Department to discuss the problems in the area and look at ways to make the area safer for the residents, business people and the school children who walk that area to and from school.

Luis is an active non-resident member of Atwater Village Residents Association since 2005.

Luis is a founding member of the Atwater Village Historical Society and served as its first treasurer.

Luis can be reached at luis@lopezautomotive.com

Our Mission

Founded in May 2000 by a group of concerned citizens Friends of Atwater Village works to protect the integrity of the entire Atwater Village community by:

• Preserving and promoting local history, such as the Van de Kamps Bakery, the Hyperion Bridge and the Los Angeles River.
• Developing a Community Center / Park with recreational facilities for Central & South Atwater Village.
• Advocating rational development that serves the community's best interest socially, culturally, economically and environmentally.
• Encouraging community involvement in neighborhood cleanups as well as Los Angeles River cleanups.
• Establishing broad based communication and a sense of community among all of Atwater's diverse residents through a  e-newsletter and community outreach.
• Encouraging responsible urban gardening / landscaping and community plantings.

In striving to accomplish these goals, Friends of Atwater Village seeks to preserve and restore those elements that have made Atwater Village a unique community within the Greater Los Angeles.