Finally, RLN has raised the issue that so many have feared, PBID.
I write in response to your recent column that addresses the structure that has oppressed the arts district for more than 20 years. PBID, or the Property Business Improvement District, has focused on one goal; increase property values and raise rents in downtown San Pedro. They have certainly accomplished those goals, at great cost to the many artists who had studios and galleries downtown. There has been a slow, steady pressure that culminated with the tumultuous takeover of the First Thursday Art Walk at the end of 2025, and the introduction of the Night Market, which brought ebikes and trinket sales to the street.
PBID’s aggressive marketing campaigns are paid for through mandatory taxes totalling $3.6 million. They use our tax money to stage festivals that generate income for the PBID, but only exacerbate the already exploding traffic in a town that developers have overtaken. The claim that PBID has lowered crime rates during its tenure is patently false; violent crime rates have fallen throughout LA County by nearly 20% in the past five years. PBID put a guy on a Segway, strung festive outdoor lights over the street, and called it crime control. Property owners have complained that the original promise of PBID to clear alleys never materialized, although the guy on the Segway will walk you to your car if you want.
The history of artists struggling for agency in the arts district dates back to the first days of taxation in 2005, when artists staged a “crime scene” action. Yellow tape blocked the entrances to studios that were being taxed out of existence. 7th St. used to be gallery row, but more profitable businesses have moved in as costs rose.
I’m glad your writer attended one of the many discussions being held to discuss this challenge, but his dismissive comments about the lack of direction and coordination seem like victim-blaming. Over these twenty years, San Pedro gained recognition as one of the first California Arts Districts with the establishment of the Waterfront Arts District. This has enabled organizations like Angels Gate Cultural Center to qualify for grants supporting arts in schools and to host Arts Open San Pedro. This highly attended citywide tour featured over 100 artists in April 2025 and is set to return next month, with the goal to inspire the discovery of art in San Pedro.
During my time in San Pedro, I have been fortunate to serve as an arts writer for RLN, as an assistant to artists, and as a gallery sitter, which gave me a deep insight into the talent that resides here and the people, young and old, who frequent the art walk. PBID needs to get its boots off the necks of the artists who built the arts district, rather than turn First Thursday into a monthly carnival. Do not renew their chokehold on the arts district. We don’t need a “manifesto” as this writer states; we need the end of taxation without representation.
Thank you,
Andrea Serna
San Pedro