Kristin Fukushima, a board member on the Arts District Little Tokyo (ADLT) Neighborhood Council, talks with CAUSE about her experiences in Neighborhood Council and how she creates impact locally.
Disclaimer: Questions and answers have been edited for clarity.
What is your name, pronouns, and positions on the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council?
Kristin Fukushima (KF): I am Kristin Fukushima. My pronouns are She/Her and I am on the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council. I currently serve as Secretary, so am also on the Executive Committee. Additionally, I am also on the Planning and Land Use Committee.
What inspired you to get involved in the Little Tokyo community and in the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council?
KF: I joined in 2019. I was encouraged, or I should say pushed by, a friend who was already serving on the board, Matt Glaser from Wolf Crane. At that time, Matt was also on the board of the nonprofit that I work for, Little Tokyo Community Council (LTCC). Matt was a longstanding partner in the community and a co-founder of Haunted Little Tokyo, a series of events hosted by LTCC. In my role at work, I had to interact with the neighborhood council as part of my role. So when I was pushed to join it, I was hesitant about my time and capacity for it, but also thought it was important for folks who are involved in their community and care about what happens in their neighborhood to sit on their neighborhood council. And sometimes that means you are obligated to fill that role.
Now, I am thankful I said yes, and think often about what it means to take leadership roles for the sake of your neighborhood.
I also think there is something really unique and specific about our neighborhood council that also speaks to how tight-knit our neighborhoods already are. In 2019, a few of the board members had served for years and were starting to term out. Matt Glaser approached me by sharing that, as the next generation of leadership in the community, it is important to jump into those roles. I discovered that other board members were people I had worked with on Haunted Little Tokyo, so we already had an established dynamic and sense of teamwork that was present. Without that foundation, things like CFC (Community Feeding Community) would not have been able to get off the ground.
How did you develop the “Community Feeds Community”(CFC) program with the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council?
KF: When the pandemic started in 2020, there were a lot of different conversations happening in Little Tokyo about how to handle it. For CFC in particular, the original Haunted Little Tokyo team, Nancy Yap, James Choi, and myself, met and explored ways to add to existing efforts in Little Tokyo. As we brainstormed resources we could bring to the table, I could bring resources from Little Tokyo Community Council, Nancy Yap brought resources from her networks, and both of us approached the neighborhood council to support the project.
Because of the pandemic, the neighborhood councils were given the ability to provide emergency funds for local efforts. The neighborhoods were really in need at the time, especially small businesses. What I appreciated was that our neighborhood council recognized that both the Arts District and Little Tokyo were small business based. And small businesses were really some of the most impacted in the neighborhoods and also some of the most overlooked in the different programs that were rolling out. So as things like PPP were being figured out and really botched in their execution, we at least had this program that the neighborhood council could support, a program that purchased meals from restaurants and distributed to hospitality workers and those impacted by Covid-19 closures. In addition, the program expanded to support Arts District businesses, connecting the efforts in both Little Tokyo and Arts District, and showcasing the neighborhoods’ close connection.
Honestly, I don't think we would have thought to ask the Neighborhood Council for support if we weren't involved with it already. And I think that speaks to the way that neighborhood councils are there, but can be more impactful based on how much you utilize it or who is on the board to make it a really good, powerful neighborhood thing or not. So really, it just happened to work out that right before the pandemic, newer, younger, excited folks who wanted to do good work for the neighborhood were brought onto the board. People were pretty aligned on the idea that all of our original plans going into the year were no longer important, at that point, but we still had this pot of money that the city gave us.
And if the purpose of a neighborhood council is to serve your neighborhood and do what you can to uplift those needs and concerns, this was the biggest need and concern, right? So it was really easy to talk to the board and say, we think we should pivot the funding from what we had originally planned to say, let's do something that supports the neighborhood. There's a lot of things that you're restricted from doing as a neighborhood council with that funding, but supporting organizations, doing programs that align with our goals does work out. So that's how we were able to say, okay, we can, as a board, agree that we want to earmark all this money for this meals program and support small businesses and feed community members who could use a meal during the pandemic.
What are some other examples you’ve seen of Neighborhood Councils listening and advocating for their communities?
KF: There is a coalition of some different Southeast LA neighborhood councils called SELAH Neighborhood Coalition. I think it stands for Southeast LA Homeless Neighborhood Coalition and it serves Silver Lake Echo Park, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Glassel Park, Cypress Park, East Hollywood. They were really, at the forefront of thinking about how neighborhood councils can be utilized to support and address unhoused community issues. (For more information visit: https://www.selahnhc.org) I think it was a similar situation where there were folks who felt like, you know, change needs to happen. So we're gonna get involved in our neighborhood councils.
So what can the neighborhood councils be used for?
To come together and say our issues are aligned. Let’s build that coalition.
To say there's a whole population in our communities that are not being served. Can we use the neighborhood council as a platform to do work that we feel is not happening at the city level?
What are some additional ways that Neighborhood Councils can better serve and empower their communities in the future?
KF: I think neighborhood councils should be very involved and deeply engaged with their community and make sure that they are lifting up that community. They should think about how to always do this better. Is that having better communication and engagement with folks? Is it making sure that the projects and developers have approval before they start the work? Is it making sure that the vision of the neighborhood council aligns with the neighborhood? I think it's all of that and that can be endless.So there's a lot of times that I almost feel like people who are really involved with their community or our community leaders get punished for that when they serve on neighborhood councils, because they're often flagged as having a “conflict of interest” and have to opt out of different voting things. This is confusing for me because, don’t we want community leaders or people actively involved with the community to serve on the neighborhood council? Like you would want those folks who have their fingers on the pulse of the community or are involved or whatever to be serving on these bodies, but then they are sometimes not allowed to actually act in a way that would serve the community. And so what does that mean and look like?
I understand the history behind it, but I think that has to be figured out because, would we want members on the neighborhood council who don't know anything or aren't connected to the community? Because neighborhood councils are pretty empowered. Not all powerful, but have a bigger voice in city and government matters than a normal person. So even if you're at a city hall hearing, if I was representing the neighborhood council, I have an extra minute to speak and my letter gets more attention from our council person and the city than if I were to just write it as an individual. Because I have been elected to represent a community. On the one hand, when I think about this question, how can neighborhood councils be really involved with and engage with their community and make sure that's all lifted up, but also you would need really the people who care and think about that to be in that position to execute it. Sometimes it's hard for those people to be in these positions.
I tend to think neighborhood councils are like all bodies, right? They're not inherently good or bad. And there's always these different constraints. But I really think it's the people who are there, who show up for it, who are the folks that make it. And so I know that it can be frustrating to be in these types of spaces and you might feel like you're, you're selling out or you've become like the man or just like all these other things. But then I think, if you're not there or people that you like and trust are not there, then who is there? These bodies do exist and they do have real power and real ability to do things that are really good or can be really bad.
So if it's not you then, who is it? People should just do it. Be that person to sacrifice your time to do these things because it is important. We can't give up on these things. If we don't do it, then we are stuck with the consequences of that. And I can't be mad at something if I don't even try.
What first steps do you recommend to someone who wants to get involved in their neighborhood councils?
KF: To start, understand your neighborhood council. Check out a committee meeting or reach out to a board member and see if you can meet up with them or start attending the board meetings. I think if you attend a board meeting, it's really easy to get a quick, temperature check on what that neighborhood council is like, the dynamic, and the things they talk about. Then if there's something that you want to do just think about, is that a space where you can make that project happen? Maybe the answer is no, but maybe that's something that can be changed by running or getting people to run with you. Maybe you and your two best friends, all run for it together because it is more fun if you have people you like and trust on the council with you. I don't think I could really be on this if I didn't have a good core group of people I really like, trust, and enjoy working with to make it more fun. Like you're hanging out with your friends doing this, not a fun thing. And that makes it more palatable.
You also get to fund the things you think are important. And you get to tell a developer that they are not great and need to do better community research and need to add affordable housing. You have that platform and ability to make real change. And that's super exciting versus being the one to just yell at them and then maybe they listen to you, but maybe they don't. So why not be in the room – was gonna make a Hamilton reference, but stopped.
ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
KF: If you're someone who cares about change or making the world a better place or, you know, whatever corny line you wanna put in there, when you start off on this journey, it's a very big picture. You're like, “Where do I begin?” When I started to get into politics and policy at a previous job, previous lifetime, I realized you really have to be in it for the long run. I really admire and support those folks who are in it for the long run because it is hard work.
If you are more impatient and you want to see change happen sooner than later and see your impact in the next year or couple years versus 20 years, I really encourage people to look local because you really can make that difference that you see right away and improve the lives of the people immediately around you, if not the whole country or world. And I do think that sometimes starting from the bottom and building up is also a way to get to that same thing versus trying to start at the top and seeing what trickles down. That’s why I'm really into local politics. Be it neighborhood council or city or county, I think that's also where people don't pay attention, but it's where the biggest things can happen.
So, Local Politics!