TV Anchor: A new initiative is already in full swing thanks to Teamwork LA. From now on, shoes hanging from utility lines will be removed. Here’s Dianne Lee with more on the new initiative and how it impacts the community.

Diane Lee: Hanging shoes like this often represent all sorts of negative connotations. Students from a neighborhood school where a pair of hanging shoes found speak out:

Student #1: I thought it meant like a gang members killing somebody from an arch rival gang and they’re hanging their shoes or something.

Student #2: I think it makes the neighborhood look kind of dirty. Like, it doesn’t make it look that clean when they’re hanging up there. It doesn’t look that nice.

Diane Lee: Now, thanks to Teamwork LA, the sight of hanging shoes will become a sight of the past.

Unidentified Speaker: There are dozens of locations throughout Hollenbeck Division itself where we have identified shoes hanging from power lines. And what they suggest to the community is that there is a problem there, it’s tacky, it looks bad, it may suggest a crime problem. Let’s get the shoes off the power lines and working together we’re doing that.

Diane Lee: By collaborating efforts from different city departments and by working together this program addresses neighborhood problems.

L. A. Mayor Richard Hahn: We think it’s part of what we need to do to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods. It’s part about cleaning up L.A., and I’m glad we’re moving forward with this program. We want to continue to do things like this. And I think you only get this when you bring the different departments together and you identify a problem, find out who has the resources to deal with it, and then you come up with a simple common sense solution to fix it.

Diane Lee: And fixing this problem is the responsibility of everyone, and hanging shoes from power lines can cause power failure.

Utility Spokesperson; The shoes not only cause a blight as has been said, but the they can cause operational problems certainly they are dangerous for anyone else to try to remove, so what we would encourage all our customers and public to do is what the mayor said: use the 311 system. We will respond as quickly as we can, as you see.

Diane Lee: Since the new initiative, over one hundred shoes have been removed in four months. And all you have to do is call 311 with the location of the shoes. I’m Diane Lee for L. A. This Week.

TV Anchor: If you see hanging shoes in your neighborhood, you are asked to call 311. Your call will remain anonymous and the shoes will be removed within 24 hours.