A local State Farm Insurance Agent has been a consistent blight on our streets and neighborhood over the past year and continues to be a repeat offender by hiring workers to paper fliers on car doors promoting her insurance business throughout the communities of Highland Park, Garvanza and Mount Washington.
The activity usually happens late at night when workers strategically place her flyers on car doors, which commonly fall from the vehicles or are discarded by the car owners. Julie Montenegro of State Farm Insurance has engaged in this practice for well over a year now and despite having been contacted by dozens of concerned neighbors regarding the litter nuisance it causes on our streets, she still persists. Sadly, it seems that Ms. Montenegro views our local community as that of a parking lot of a big box discount retailer.
On Monday morning of this week whilst out for a stroll I collected over 20 of her discarded fliers on a single block in Garvanza. Our neighborhood deserves better than this.
Ms. Montenegro, there are far more professional ways to promote your business in the community--perhaps consider advertising on one of our local community blogs or in a local newspaper. I’m sure you would appreciate our business but we ask you to appreciate our neighborhood foremost.
Thank you.
When I was watching Howdy Doody, there were commercials telling me "Give a hoot, don't pollute." Lady Bird Johnson was telling us not to litter. Maybe I was brainwashed, but I'm mindful of not throwing things on the street. In a capitalist system, a necessary evil is advertising. Andrew, your problem should be with your neighbors throwing ads on the ground, instead of the recycling bin. Go talk to your 20 neighbors. Be active teaching them not to litter our community. You seem to be aware of littering, so I'm confident you picked up more than just those fliers on Monday morning, I'm sure you picked up a lot of trash thrown about by your neighbors. I hope you took pictures of all the trash you picked up. Organize your neighbors to clean up your street. Then the movement will spread to all of Garvanza, and Highland Park, and NELA, and LA, and California, and then the world! Wouldn't that be a good idea?
Julie Montenegro isn't the only local business that uses the service of flyer distribution. Just this morning I got a bag of cereal samples on my gate, a tree service flyer for trees I don't own, and a few days a go I got some pizza flyer too. Did it blight my community? No, not really. Did I get mad? No, not really. I think there are bigger and better battles to be fought in our community than a personal pet peeve about insurance flyers. (Like tagging.)
I sent 15,000 flyers out this week to residents of Highland Park and surrounding parts to offer them the opportunity to apply and WIN a three color paint job for their home. on 27th. I cant wait! But, sorry in advance if people in your street littered. In a world that idealizes the internet, some people are just plain still into holding something in their hand, and making a dare I say it....phone call to speak to a human being. Julie is approachable, and she cares. I just bought a commercial building on York Blvd that I intend to restore and I know Julie at State Farm will get my business. I do agree with the littering thing though. I too wish people would not littler. Maybe we can run a local campaign on that instead. I do see your point Mr. or Mrs. Author, but lets be in solution mode. I cant remember the last time I picked paper off my car and threw it on the ground. I dont think I even owned a car it was that long ago. Maybe Julie can run a competition, who ever KEEPs their flyers at the end of the month gets a free car wash? I dont know. But i'll put my thinking cap on. Jo O'Key
Yes, understandably there are greater issues that we all face in the community, like the increase in crime along the Monte Vista Corridor earlier this Summer. Yes, I get it, but with some of the bigger problems, let's be honest, we have our hands tied as regular citizens and some problems are better handled by LAPD and The City of LA. However, there is an opportunity for us as members of the community to band together and try make our streets and communities, cleaner and to a certain degree a bit more respectable. My concern is the way in which Ms Montenegro distributes flyers on cars, not on the windscreen but jammed in the car door which either blow off or drop when the door is opened. I think it's careless. I called Ms. Montenegro over a year ago when the flyers first started to appear, initially, she acknowledged and said she would reconsider her strategy, but obviously relented and increased circulation. clvngodess, you bring up an excellent point! Ms Montenegro could possibly direct mail her flyers, that would give people a real choice by keeping or recycling it.
The reality is that we all have seen plenty of businesses come and go along our commercial district. Especially during this recession, we need to support all of our local businesses. Make a special effort to shop, eat and do business in Highland Park, even newer bars and restaurants on York are not guaranteed customers. If you want nice businesses, you need to support them.