Politics & Government

Rock & Blues Musician Joins Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council

Hammond Gabriel offers his skills and passions to the community.

The Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council voted unanimously at its monthly board meeting Thursday night to seat a new At-Large Director who told the council that Highland Park is his “favorite place on earth” and that he is eager to “contribute to the community.” 

Hammond Gabriel, a musician and self-described “freelance merchandiser,” was chosen for the at-large director position because of his stated desire to “make our community more visible and clearly heard.”

In a written statement attached to the HHPNC meeting’s agenda packet, Gabriel said he wants Highland Park “to continue to grow in a way that will retain its best characteristics and continue to be a nourishing, functioning and exciting place for this and future generations.”

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A bass guitarist for rock and blues bands, Gabriel said he worked for the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010 and as a Northeast Los Angeles business writer with Citysearch.com.

Gabriel told the council that he has lived off and on in the Highland Park-Eagle Rock area along York Boulevard for the past 10 years. Three years ago, he said, he bought a house on 52nd Avenue and Baltimore.

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Asked by At-Large Director Aaron Salcido which committees he would like to serve on, Gabriel replied that because he’s new to community service, he’d like to explore the council’s structure before making a decision about which committees are the most effective and best-suited for him.

The council’s outreach committee “sounds attractive” and he’d be “certainly interested in land use,” Gabriel said. “I know Highland Park is going through some changes and I’d like to help it retain its character.”

Starting a music event in Highland Park on the lines of the annual Eagle Rock Music Festival would be another project he'd like to explore, Gabriel said.


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