About Sunset Strip Business Association (SSBA)

The Sunset Strip Business Association

The SSBA is a private nonprofit corporation run by Sunset Strip business owners in West Hollywood with approximately 200 members comprised mainly of businesses in the hotel, restaurant, retail, valet/parking and nightclub areas. Its directive is to manage the Sunset Strip Business Improvement District (BID), created in 2001, under contract with the City of West Hollywood, with the goal of providing the following:

• Security
• Street maintenance
• Public outreach
• Marketing “The Strip.”

View/Download the 2006-2007 Annual Report (PDF 998KB)

The Four Goals of the Sunset Strip Business Association:

1. Provide Private Security (Ambassadors) to The Strip
   The SSBA has contracted with the highly regarded Block by Block security company. The security team is a visible force on the corridor working closely with business security guards and Sheriff’s deputies from the West Hollywood station. In addition, they are ambassadors to the Sunset Strip providing information, directions and answers to questions for the many visitors of The Strip.
2. Provide Increased Street Maintenance Presence
   The SSBA has contracted with Social Vocational Services (SVS) to supply additional cleaning and maintenance services to the District. It serves Sunset Boulevard from the district’s west to east boundaries and the residential neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the Sunset Strip. SVS staff are on the job five days a week, from 6am to 2pm.
3. Coordinate Public Outreach Activities
   It is the goal of the SSBA to engage residents and businesses in a constructive dialogue to address and solve issues together that affect the Sunset Strip and its neighborhoods. All members are encouraged to attend and participate at the SSBA’s monthly Board meetings. These meetings are announced publicly, but members are asked to give the SSBA their contact information -- emails or address, so that they may receive meeting notices directly.
4. Market the Sunset Strip as a Premier Destination
   In the coming year, the Sunset Strip Business Association will mount an all around effort toward promoting “The Strip” – the businesses themselves, the energy of the area, the sense of being at the center of the entertainment world -- by conceptualizing, developing and implementing a targeted marketing campaign and program to promote it.

Clean & Safe

Safe - Security Ambassadors

Approximately 70% of the Association’s total assessment dollars are used for the increased public safety presence currently provided by Block-Block. They assumed the contract from Shield Security October 1, 2005. Block-by-Block currently provides up to 10 uniformed, highly visible security personnel. In addition, Block-by-Block also provides a security manager, who serves as the Director of Security for the Sunset Strip Business Improvement District.

Under direct supervision of the Director of Security, Block-by-Block officers provide a presence on Sunset Boulevard seven nights per week. Working closely with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department West Hollywood Station and the City of West Hollywood, the Sunset BID Security Ambassadors aim to improve the quality of life for residents and member businesses. The purpose of the Security Ambassadors is to reduce actual crime and unwanted behavior as well as provide a positive perception of safety on and near The Strip. The Security Ambassadors act as an extra set of eyes and ears for the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department. They also provide an additional role as ambassadors offering information and directions to visitors of the Sunset Strip.

Clean - Maintenance Team

Since the inception of the SSBA, it has contracted Social Vocational Services (SVS) to provide maintenance service for the Sunset Strip. Every morning from Wednesday through Sunday, 6 a.m. until 2 p.m., a group of five SVS employees come to the Strip and the adjacent streets to clean the remnants of the previous night. The sanctioned areas on Sunset are from ½ block west of Doheny Road to a ½ block west of Havenhurst Drive. SVS workers also go fifty yards up and down from Sunset Boulevard into the residential areas and into the smaller streets. The businesses and the residents on and near the Strip benefit in many ways from SVS’s maintenance service, which helps to provide a clean environment.

The current Executive Committee of the Board of Directors includes:

Dino Baglioni, The Standard 24/7 (President)
Kevin McCarney, Poquito Mas (Secretary)
Michael Spencer, Grafton Hotel (Vice President)
Jim Uhl, House of Blues (Vice President)
Mikeal Maglieri, Rainbow Bar & Grill/Whisky A-Go-Go
Ken Schwartz, Oliver Peoples
Michael Bezerra, Cabo Cantina/Trocadero
Michael Sirjani, California Parking Service
Justine Giannini, Mirabelle
Sulynn Jew, Hyatt West Hollywood
Ed Levy, The Viper Room
Brent Berkowitz, Katana/BOA Steakhouse
Bradley Burlingame, West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau (Ex-Officio)
Sharon Sandow, West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce (Ex-Officio)
Jeffrey Huffer, City of West Hollywood (Ex-Officio)
Mark Montgomery, Montgomery Management (Ex-Officio)
Chris Bonbright, Ramsey-Shilling (Ex-Officio)
Todd Steadman, Executive Director