The Harbor Gateway’s Unfinished Business
By Rick Thomas, Columnist
A new year is usually a good moment to look at what’s been accomplished in the Harbor Gateway.
And what hasn’t?
This marks two years of writing this column for Random Lengths News. When I started, I assumed I’d have to dig for stories in what’s often described as a “thriving” community—one full of opportunity.
And as it turns out, there is no shortage of problems.
There was no digging required. If anything, the Harbor Gateway produces more stories than one column can hold. And they don’t just originate here—issues spill in from Harbor City, San Pedro, and beyond.
As we say in the music radio business: the hits just keep on coming.
Politics.
Environment.
Community well-being.
Some stories require investigation. Most simply require paying attention—something too many officials are counting on residents not doing.
Because the stakes here are real: safety, services, accountability.
Not slogans.
What became clear very quickly is this: while the community wants these conversations, many of the people responsible for public safety, transparency, and quality of life would prefer to avoid them.
More soon on city, state, and county officials and their creative use of the Brown Act.
The Harbor Gateway has been asking for recognition for years. In some ways, it’s arrived. In others, the community is still being ignored.
And it’s increasingly clear that asking politely isn’t getting results.
So, let’s talk about what made news in 2025.
Jones Chemicals, Inc.
The polluter in Harbor Gateway South is still with us—and still causing concern.
Jones Chemicals, Inc., at Del Amo Blvd & Denker Avenue, has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for environmental violations, yet the company remains firmly embedded in the neighborhood.
Embedded directly next to the Cheryl Green Boys & Girls Club.
Enter the Del Amo Action Committee (DAAC).
I’ll admit when I first heard the name, I raised an eyebrow.
That changed quickly.
DAAC’s leadership—and particularly its scientific experts—laid out in clear terms what a chlorine spill at Jones Chemicals could mean for nearby residents.
The answer wasn’t hypothetical.
It was dangerous and immediate.
Despite this, I’ve been told by people in city leadership to “be nicer” to Jones Chemicals.
That’s a tough sell.
Especially after a company employee openly cursed me for questioning why a Jones Chemicals truck was driving through a residential street in violation of DOT rules—and hollered at me again at a Harbor Gateway South Neighborhood Council meeting.
Environmental accountability isn’t a bland issue.
It’s not.
If city officials choose to partner with Jones Chemicals as event sponsors, that’s their call. I’ll simply report on those relationships. Anyone who’s worked in sponsorships…as I have… knows how quickly a bad pairing can unravel.
What matters is this: DAAC’s advocacy directly led to two City Council motions targeting Jones Chemicals, both sponsored by Councilmember Tim McOsker.
That’s what community pressure looks like—and it works.
More in-depth on Jones Chemicals…more specifically the Del Amo Action Committee.
The Silver RV Park Saga
The Silver RV Park in Harbor City project that refuses to fade quietly.
Built across the street from million-dollar homes.
Still unopened.
Still tangled in lawsuits.
Still costing residents and taxpayers time and money.
Green Meadows West residents, along with Councilmember McOsker, have opposed the project for years. The owner, Stewart Silver, isn’t backing down—and now he’s suing everyone involved for up to $20 million.
How did it get up to $20 million for the original $10 million? Because a similar Silver RV Park project in North Hills was also blocked.
By the Los Angeles City Council.
In response, LA City Council passed new restrictions on RV parks citywide.
Translation: affluent neighborhoods complained loudly—and were heard.
Here’s the part few people don’t like to say aloud: wealthy communities fight hard to protect themselves. Less affluent ones are told to adapt. I live in a gentrifying, less affluent part of Harbor Gateway South. Disrespect by residents in this neighborhood isn’t theoretical—it’s routine.
An RV park next to million-dollar homes isn’t about aesthetics; it’s about property values.
Let’s be honest about that.
At the same time, Stewart Silver followed the city’s approval process. The problem wasn’t the rules—it was the outcome.
And when cities change rules midstream, taxpayers often end up footing the bill.
“The only thing I can tell you is I will not give up till these parks are open and we’re compensated,” Stewart Silver wrote to me in an email.
This story doesn’t end in 2026.
And Finally, the Brown Act
If there’s a favorite hiding place for public officials, it’s the Brown Act—especially when questions get uncomfortable.
It’s one reason I stopped attending Harbor Gateway South Neighborhood Council meetings. Last year, LAPD leadership walked out of one of those meetings rather than answer resident questions.
The Senior Lead Officer.
The Sergeant.
Gone.
These positions earn roughly $200,000 a year on average in public salaries.
Public salaries.
That means we, the stakeholders here in the city of Los Angeles, are paying for the LAPD community reps to leave meetings and not answer questions related to issues happening on the streets we walk every day.
At that level of “public salaries,” silence isn’t an option. Accountability comes with the job.
More stories are coming on the Brown Act.
More stories about money.
About avoidance.
About institutions that vanish when scrutiny appears.
And yes—more stories from persistent columnists like me.
As I write this post I get an alert from Citizen’s App.
“Report of Man With Pistol in Car.”
Prior to that?
“Report of Four to Five Gunshots Heard.”
And the Los Angeles Police Department Harbor Division is fleeing out of a Neighborhood Council meeting and not taking questions about issues in the area they are sworn…”to protect and serve?”
AI says it best: that phrase “…signifies law enforcement’s core duty to safeguard communities and assist citizens…”
Thank goodness for the LAPD Harbor Division’s Gang Unit.
Those officers show up.
The Senior Lead Officer and the Sarge should do the same.
I’ve told friends and neighbors, even those in the political world here in Los Angeles, that I sometimes think about leaving LA for an easier lifestyle.
Leaving the Harbor Gateway South idea doesn’t go over well, at least to my friends and neighbors.
I get beaten up about it.
After further review—as they say in the NFL after throwing the red flag—I’m not going anywhere just yet.
Frank Sinatra said it well:
“L.A. is my lady… I think I’ll unpack my bags and hang around here a little while longer.”