Ben Lee Properties — May 2025 Newsletter

Issue: May 2025  |  Cheviot Hills & Beverlywood, Los Angeles

This Month's Article

By Ben Lee I had the pleasure of being on a safety-themed Zoom Town Hall earlier in the month, led by Councilmember Katy Yaroslavski and Lead Officer Chris Baker, and attended by a handful of other neighbors and community leaders.

Technically speaking, I was listening from a distance because I had just had minor ear surgery and didn’t want to scare everyone by appearing on camera with half my head in a medical contraption.

In hindsight, I probably could’ve attended without video, however- at the time I was on some pain meds and might’ve accidentally unmuted myself and said something silly.

I put off the procedure as long as I could.

Real estate has been so busy lately, I couldn’t fathom being off the phones and away from my desk for a week.

That’s what I told myself. But, in all honesty, I was really nervous!

I hadn’t had a surgery since I was 22 when I got my tonsils out.

It was terrible so I was truly looking for any excuse to not go under the knife again.

I tried finding a second and third opinion to tell me it was unnecessary, that my chronic ear infections (due to a long habit of surfing without ear plugs) would miraculously go away without intervention.

But everyone I talked to said the same thing: my inner-ear was a mess and unless I wanted to live with constant ringing, relentless infections and an eventual immunity to antibiotics, I had to be a big, brave boy and let a surgeon get to work.

There’s never a great time to be out of commission for a week but I finally got it done and am pleased to report that it was much less awful than I had anticipated.

There was definitely some pain, not going to lie- and the aforementioned ear-helmet situation was not super attractive, but if you are prone to chronic ear infections, I highly recommend making an appointment with Dr.

Ishiyama at UCLA because he’s a genius. So, back to the Zoom call.

I give both Katy Yaroslavski and Officer Baker credit for conducting the Town Hall.

I imagine it’s not easy facing constituents who are concerned about crime, and who are wanting to get some answers as to why our safe and beautiful neighborhood seems to be catnip to would-be criminals.

The good news: according to officials, crime rates have gone down of late.

Police captured the hoodlums who were wanted for an astounding 60 robberies throughout the city (including Cheviot Hills, Rancho Park and Beverlywood), due in large part to active block captains and the efforts of attentive neighbors sharing important information in real time.

Now with that particular group of criminals off the streets, hopefully word has gotten out to their associates that our neighborhood is hyper aware of what’s going on in our area and police are quick to respond.

The officials also stated a few other contributing factors to a reduction in crime, namely that Los Angeles’s new district attorney takes a firmer stance against it which will ultimately help combat criminal activity.

The new license-reading cameras that are scheduled to be installed at entry points around the community will help too, and Post Security is ready to begin a one car/24 hour patrol as well.

The Cheviot Hills Neighborhood Association (CHNA) has officially endorsed using Post, and thanks to the 400 or so who’ve signed up, a car will patrol the area for 24 hours a day.

If only another 100 families/ homes sign up, we could get an additional car patrolling the area.

There’s power in numbers so if you’re interested in joining your neighbors to combat crime, call Post: 626-446-7159 x 133 and ask how you can get signed up, too.

Officer Baker noted problematic traffic intersections that are not just annoying to residents but actually dangerous.

He’s hoping to position some police cars there to dissuade those who ignore stop signs but sadly, there’s not much he can do about the unrelenting traffic congestion that plague some of our thinner streets at rush hour.

Thanks in large part to Waze funneling cars through our oncehidden roadways, commuters may save five minutes but residents can barely get in or out of their driveways at certain times a day.

Some neighbors who are sick of speeders expressed interest in getting road humps installed.

Yaroslavski encourages everyone to send Vanessa in her office an email if you want to add your name to the list or if you’re having any other issues that you would like to see addressed: vanessa.saldana@ lacity.org The Zoom only lasted an hour.

No doubt it could have gone on for much longer with many other subjects, grievances, questions, and concerns discussed.

And even though I was a mere bystander, listening out of my one good ear, it was comforting to know local government isn’t deaf to the needs of our community.

And with so many people participating on the call, it was also nice to hear how much residents care about this town we all share.

Some may say it’s the greatest neighborhood in the world.

And that’s a sentiment I can hear loud and clear! (Actually, louder and clearer now that my ear is all better!) Have a great month, neighbors.

Featured Listings

Community & More

Cheviot Hills happenings By Ben Lee T hanks to everyone who entered to win the $50 raffle to the new pasta shop on Pico: Al Dente.

Congratulations to Michael Kmet! You are the lucky winner this month and I hope you enjoy all the deliciousness this fabulous place has to offer.

For the next raffle, we are bringing back something fun we did before Covid: The Supersized Summer Fun Newsletter Photo Contest!

Luckily, It’s very thin and light and easy to pack!

Once you get to your destination, take a picture of you (or your spouse, your kids, your dog) with the newsletter.

That’s it! Doesn’t matter if you’re going somewhere exotic or staying closer to home but the more creative, the better chance of winning.

We’ll pick the greatest photo at the end of summer and that person will win a whopping $250 dollar prize!

So, if you’re starting to travel this Memorial Day, pack the newsletter with you for your chance to snap a photo and win.

Email a copy of the picture to: Ben@benleeproperties.com and put PHOTO CONTEST in the subject line.

That’s it! Good luck and have fun, safe travels!

Raffle By Lilli Lee I ’ve gotten so much interest from wonderful people who would like to meet other singles in the neighborhood!

Working on finding out if there’s any interest in a date for a possible future party to try and get everyone in one room at one time but until that happens, feel free to send me a note and let me know if you are single and interested in meeting someone.

Happy to try and help! Full disclosure: this is a hobby and as much as I’d love to create a match made in heaven, I make zero promises for success.

I’ve just always felt that there’s nothing that makes a community feel friendlier and smaller than by bringing people together.

So give it a try! Here’s how to reach me: lillijlee@yahoo.com Singles!

By Ben Lee J oin other parents and friends of Castle Heights Elementary and participate in the 10th annual Steps that Care fundraiser to beat cancer.

Started by 3rd grade teacher Annie Casady in 2015, the group will start at the school and circle the neighborhood on May 3 at 9am in the hopes to bring awareness to curing this insidious disease.

If you are unable to walk but still hope to make a difference, please visit their fundraising page and give what you can: https://fundraise. standuptocancer.org/StepsThatCare In other school news, Palisades High School will be holding a Fire Defense Fair and Flea Market on May 17 from 2-6pm.

It will be held on the field at Paul Revere Middle School, vendors will be selling everything under the sun, there’ll be live music, fire trucks, a kid zone and plenty of food.

It’s open to the entire community, $100 if you’d like to sell at your own booth or free to attend.

So, head over to Paul Revere on 5/17 and have fun shopping!