Glenview Neighbors Association — General Meeting Notes
Topic: OPD community Q&A, District 4 council office update, Ice Cream Social debrief, upcoming events Date:Wednesday, October 14, 2026 Format: In-person at the church + Zoom (Zoom audio was one-way for part of the meeting — see §7) Guests: Oakland Police Department patrol officers (incl. Sgt. Mullens); Rebecca Dean, Councilmember Ramachandran's office (District 4); Chris Adams, church community-events committee Online: Tandra (via Zoom chat)
Note: the Zoom recording begins about 28 minutes in, mid-way through the OPD discussion. The first part of the meeting (introductions and the start of the OPD presentation, including the "big five" crime stats they brought) is not captured. In-room speakers are not identified in the transcript, so most points below are not attributed.
1. OPD community Q&A
Report everything — OPD runs on data
The single biggest ask from OPD: report every incident, even an unsuccessful car break-in where nothing was taken. Officers estimate ~65% of car break-ins go unreported because they're so common.
Resources are allocated from crime data. If a pattern shows up (e.g., 14 car break-ins on one street), the special-resource section can turn it into an operation. Without reports, captains have nothing to justify deploying resources.
Without a victim willing to press charges, officers have no police power to act — "this is the person who did it, but I don't want to involve them" leaves them with nothing to work with.
How to report:
Property crime with no identifiable suspect can be reported online. You get a temporary "T number," then a real report number once it's routed to burglary. It still counts in the data.
For "just letting you know" calls, use the non-emergency number. Dispatch logs a "beat info" call that memorializes the incident in the stats even if no officer responds.
Sideshows: call them in. OPD runs dedicated sideshow overtime units on weekends but cancels them when there's no intel; no calls = no deployment. OPD is now identifying sideshow vehicles, writing warrants, and towing cars (30-day holds) after the fact. A neighbor reported a single-car sideshow at 6 am recently that no one called in.
Ask the captain for data. Neighborhood groups can request weekly/monthly crime data for the area directly from the captain, which also surfaces activity nearby that residents wouldn't otherwise hear about.
Staffing and structure
OPD is at roughly 550–600 sworn officers, down from ~750. Academy classes have shrunk from ~50 to ~20–25. Officer retention across departments is now like tech — people switch after ~5 years. Mandatory overtime continues for officers and dispatchers.
Crime Reduction Teams used to exist per district (1–5); now there's one for East and one for West.
Community Resource Officers (CROs) have been flexed back into patrol. The walking officer who used to cover the bottom of Park Blvd up to Montclair is gone — everyone has been rotated into patrol.
Officers are mostly young and many are from Oakland; a neighbor thanked them for recent extra patrols that helped resolve a local car break-in problem.
Flock cameras
Officers were emphatic that Flock is extremely effective — it replaces the eyes lost to reduced staffing. They described a recent robbery case (van with swapped plates, victim robbed of ~$9,000 and jewelry and left near Trestle Glen) solved the next day via Flock plus a resident's camera footage, with the suspects stopped in San Francisco holding ~$22,000 in cash.
The system can search by vehicle description (e.g., "white coupe on Park Blvd at 4 pm") without a plate, and alerts when a vehicle wanted in another city enters Oakland, giving probable cause to stop it.
Privacy safeguards per OPD: every search must be tied to an incident or report number and is logged by officer name, reason, and area; Flock has its own audit system. OPD can't take over a resident's cameras, but residents can share camera access with their HOA/neighborhood group, which can in turn share with police.
City audit: the contract (signed Dec 2025) called for periodic City Council audits that haven't happened yet. Per Rebecca, the city auditor's office just started the first audit (meeting last week); the auditor's office is understaffed. Whether a final contract is signed was an open question no one in the room could answer.
MACRO
Officers' view: MACRO frequently calls 911 for backup, reports every interaction as a "contact" (inflating stats), and does not take 911 calls away from police — 911 can only divert strictly medical calls, not mental-health crises.
Council office view: MACRO is useful for the right calls — e.g., an unhoused person wandering the neighborhood who could use resources. Call MACRO directly first; if they can't help, they call police.
MACRO direct line: 510-44-MACRO (510-446-2276). Suggested to add to GNA's website/communications.
Local concerns raised
Increasing calls about people walking the hills from encampments, occasionally assaulting people at random.
A reported spike on Townsend between Wellington and Everett over the last couple of months: car break-ins, catalytic converter thefts, a hijacking — flagged to officers.
A known problem house/property around the corner — officers confirmed it's among their most frequent call locations and they're aware of it.
Follow-up with OPD
Officers suggested GNA reach out to the captain (or Dorham) directly for ongoing contact and possibly a daytime coffee meeting instead of 7:30 pm. Avoid Tuesdays — council and commission meetings pull the captain away.
GNA expressed interest in making an OPD visit a regular (semi-annual-ish) feature of meetings.
2. Council office update — Rebecca Dean (D4, Councilmember Ramachandran)
Trucks on 580: The councilmember opposes lifting the ban. Caltrans' public comment period has closed; they presented to the Alameda County Transportation Commission claiming limited impact, with a final report (no recommendation) expected early 2027. Nothing changes unless the state legislature acts, and State Sen. Jesse Arreguín has said he won't take it up. Low risk; office will keep tabs.
Bulky Block Parties are back (funded in this year's budget): free monthly bulk-item drop-off to curb illegal dumping. Next one: Saturday, October 24, 9 am–1 pm, Edgewater Drive. You deliver the items; this is in addition to the one free residential pickup per year. Info on the city website and GlenFriends.
Vacant properties: The Oakland Civic Assembly (40 randomly selected residents, run by UC Berkeley and nonprofits) has been studying vacant commercial and residential properties and will bring recommendations to council in early November. The existing vacant property tax (~$3,000/yr residential, ~$6,000/yr commercial) isn't deterring large owners. The mayor is involved.
Tandra asked whether the city can give residents access to vacant for-sale homes / a list of vacant properties — only possible for city-owned properties (handled by the city's real estate division); privately owned ones no. Rebecca can follow up by email.
EV charging station at the bottom of Park Blvd (former gas station): still unfinished after years; wiring was reportedly stolen a few months ago. Rebecca will look into it.
Illegal smoke shops: The office is drafting legislation with other councilmembers. First step: a local ban on kratom and nitrous oxide so police and Special Permits can enforce and seize product (following other CA cities). Stricter fines for illegal smoke shops to follow, possibly early next year. Town hall on Zoom next Monday, 7 pm— Rebecca will email the RSVP link to Terry for distribution.
Budget: The mid-cycle budget passed in June; Councilmember Ramachandran led the process. The city remains in deficit for several more years (declining real-estate tax revenue, etc.).
Coliseum sale: Approved a couple of months ago; the city should get ~6% of sales from future events into the general fund. The county owns half and is still working out its deal. Rebecca will check on when revenue starts flowing.
Unreturned calls to the office: GlenFriends posts reported voicemails going unanswered. Cause: messages left on the general line (not option 1/2/3) went to a mailbox no one could access. That option has been removed — callers must now choose a specific staff member to leave a message.
Contact: rdean@oaklandca.gov
3. Ice Cream Social 2026 debrief
~250 attendees vs. ~400 last year; revenue a little over half of last year's. Considered a strong result given the bad weather. Ben's financial report is still to come.
Positives: good mix of activities (ice cream, bunnies, police, fire department, raffle), lines were manageable, all neighborhood businesses donated raffle items — "a feel-good Glenview event." Debbie was the only non-board volunteer present at the meeting.
Raffle/donation idea from old GNA files: past boards solicited by category (health & wellness, foodies, pets — dog walkers, massage therapists, etc.). Worth trying next year. Rajen was thanked as the one-man donation effort; the load should be spread.
Leftover ice cream will go to root beer floats at Bingo Night (§4).
4. Outreach, new residents & Neighborhood Watch
Recurring theme: people don't know GNA exists unless they're on GlenFriends or the email list. Attendance is low when there's no burning issue (contrast: Rockridge packed a meeting over the Trader Joe's safety issue).
Ideas discussed:
Welcome flyer for new residents via local real-estate offices (GNA had one in previous years).
A neighborhood sign/board (e.g., near Paulista or on Park Blvd by the light) announcing meetings and events — discussed before, never launched.
Neighborhood Watch: NW groups have largely faded into email lists. There's no known list of NW captains in the area. Suggestion: host a meeting for people interested in starting a NW group, and use safety topics (meet the captain) as a draw, then push info back out through NW groups.
Meals at meetings were tried previously and didn't boost attendance.
GNA's biggest constraint remains too few people to do the work.
Several attendees will be added to the GNA email list. Rajen has refreshed the look of the email blasts; open rates are good.
5. Upcoming community events
Bingo Night — with the church (Chris Adams)
The church's community committee wants to use its building as a neighborhood community center and proposed a family-friendly Bingo Night in November, jointly with GNA. Pastor Calvin runs bingo and has all the equipment; big room plus a separate quiet room for kids. Root beer floats with leftover ICS ice cream.
GNA agreed to be a sponsor in name (Terry and Calvin had already discussed) and will help publicize.
Date: tentatively Saturday, November 14 — Chris will confirm tomorrow. (Nov 15 would conflict with the planting party.)
Asks: 3–4 modest bingo prizes; business donations are an option but businesses were just hit up for the ICS — consider the ones that weren't asked or said no (GNA has the list). Planning meeting is in October; GNA invited to join.
Planting Party — Sunday, November 15, from 11 am
The church is converting its landscaping to California natives and pollinator plants (sheet-mulched already; design review with the church board Monday). Volunteers welcome. GNA is helping publicize; no GNA money needed.
Valentine's Dance Party — February
GNA plans a Valentine's-themed dance in February, likely in the church gym, and is forming a subcommittee to own it. Looking for: dancers, someone with a sound system, decorators. Possible instruction segments (Bollywood, line dancing, folk) from Terry's contacts.
6. Other
Traffic: the January traffic consultant favored congestion pricing; 580 is getting express lanes (HOV + paid), which is only partially that.
Attendees noted the police visit was the draw tonight; Rebecca attends most meetings.
7. Zoom
Zoom worked tonight, but for part of the meeting the room couldn't hear online participants (online could hear the room). Tandra participated via chat. Worth checking the room audio setup before the next meeting.
Action items
Send RSVP link for the Monday 7 pm smoke-shop/kratom/nitrous town hall to Terry — Rebecca Dean — This week; Terry to distribute via GlenFriends/email
Check on Coliseum revenue timing, the Park Blvd EV charging station status, and vacant-property list question — Rebecca Dean
Confirm Bingo Night date (Nov 14?) — Chris Adams — Oct 15
Publicize Bingo Night and the Nov 15 planting party (email blast, GlenFriends, Instagram) — Rajen / Terry — once date confirmed
Round up 3–4 bingo prizes; check unasked / declined businesses from the ICS donation list — Board
Add MACRO number (510-446-2276) and online-reporting / non-emergency guidance to the GNA website — Rajen
Add tonight's new attendees to the GNA email list — Terry / Rajen
Reach out to the OPD captain re: ongoing contact, area crime data, and a daytime meeting (not Tuesdays) — Terry
Financial report for ICS 2026 — Ben
Put out the call for a Valentine's Dance subcommittee — Terry — Next email blast
Draft a welcome flyer for new residents / real-estate offices; revisit neighborhood sign idea — Board — Future
Explore a Neighborhood Watch kick-off meeting / list of NW captains — Board — Future
Check room audio for Zoom participants before next meeting — Rajen