Mayor Lester Friedman on July 24 visited Sunrise Senior Living on Crescent Drive for an informal discussion about the state of the city and issues of most concern to the city’s aging residents.
In a broad, casual speech, Friedman described his professional background and attachment to public service, noting that it stemmed from a desire to give back to a city that has given him so much. He also described the city’s innovations in policing and security, including burgeoning efforts to tie cameras from residential and commercial properties into the Beverly Hills Police Department’s Real Time Watch Center.
Friedman also touted the city’s nurse practitioner program, launched under former Mayor Dr. Julian Gold, in which nurse practitioners accompany Beverly Hills Fire Department firefighters to non-life-threatening 911 calls. The nurse practitioners are then able to examine and help the person in need, potentially keeping them from going to the emergency room where they are likely to experience longer waits and higher bills.
Friedman added that the city does not charge residents for the service, the program is not reimbursed by Medicare, it has been difficult to expand.
Photos by Joey Waldinger
Joe Tilem, who served as mayor from 1978-79 and lives at Sunrise, said the nurse practitioner program is especially beneficial for people in facilities like Sunrise that do not have onsite medical staff.
Tilem also said that public safety issues are top of mind for most Sunrise residents, and he applauded the City Council and BHPD for blanketing the city with CCTV cameras, noting that residents were much more resistant to security cameras when he served on the council.
According to Friedman, there at least 2,000 cameras in the city, which together have at least 25,000 “views.”
But the thousands of cameras still cannot solve every issue affecting Sunrise residents, including fast drivers who speed through the streets adjacent to Sunrise, causing noise complaints among residents.
In response to a question about that nuisance, Friedman said that while the city has a noise ordinance, it is difficult for police to issue noise ordinance violations to drivers. He said that residents should still notify BHPD if they are regularly disturbed by loud drivers.
Zak Howell, Sunrise General Manager, said his staff decided to invite Friedman to speak because Sunrise residents are politically engaged, and during a heated election year, it was important for the residents to hear from their elected residents.
Tilem said that in Beverly Hills, senior citizens are an especially important voting bloc, especially for municipal elections. Senior citizens are frequent voters, and in a small city like Beverly Hills, a strong showing from the elderly population can make a big difference.
“We are a group of 80 people that live here, and we’re all 80 voters. And occasionally an election is decided, as a couple of years, ago by eight votes,” Tilem said. “So, every vote does count.”
Friedman said that he was pleased to be invited to speak, and noted that in a multifaceted city like Beverly Hills, it was important to keep open dialogue with community members of all ages.
“Whenever anybody in a crowd asks me to be there, I’ll be there and I’ll talk,” Friedman said. “[Beverly Hills] has a significant older population. Not as many young people are coming [to the city] as they used to. It’s a great place to age. I think that everybody is important in our city.”
