Van Nuys

I just bought a house in Van Nuys (Lake Balboa?) in 2008. I live west of Balboa, north of Sherman Way, on the border of Reseda. My neighborhood is fairly quiet. A large chunk of people who own houses in my neighborhood have lived here for over 20 years.

I have 3 issues with the street that I live on:
-There are no street lights on my block, making my street really dark at night.
-The street asphalt is deteriorating and needs to be repaired; I put a request with the bureau of street service (BOSS).
-The houses immediately surrounding my house and across the street are multi-car households (3-5 cars) that always have cars overflowing onto the street and are constantly parked in front of my house for days at a time.

VV's note unfortunately did not include Bob's Big Boy drive-in, which was the leading social hub for teenagers and their hot cars from the 1950s until it closed and was torn down (sometime in the 1980s, if memory serves). Although the Toluca Lake Bob's and some others remain, it's just not the same as cruising Van Nuys Boulevard and Bob's on Friday and Saturday evenings back in 1958-67.

I've noticed the people who grew up in VN have the most positive comments compared to those who just lived there.

At least we're not bickering over boundries like Sherman Oaks residents are.

Strongest memory for me is the excitement of Birthday parties at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor on Van Nuys Blvd near Sherman Way. (BTW a new Farrell's opened up at the Mission Viejo mall in Orange County)

Ah, gotta love the partofshermanoaks.org campaign! Apparently, by arbitrarily renaming our neighborhood to link it up to Sherman Oaks, our gang issues will suddenly disappear, people using our street as a dump will stop dumping, and "we won't see war no more," as the old freedom song promises. Fat chance. Try livingindenial.org...

Thing is, I'm actually rather proud to live in Van Nuys - I just don't want a bunch of people greedy for higher resale values on their homes changing my neighborhood's name.

I grew up near Kester and Saticoy, VN had great places, residents of old Van Nuys will remember the following places that aren't there anymore:
Food Giant Grocery store, HiLo drugstore, Alpha Beta Grocery, Ed Pink Racing engine building (wow they were loud), Chandler's Lumber, Fedco department store, Butler Brothers dept store, Ajays Electronics, Vons grocery with the snack bar, "The Big Donut" (like Randy's Donuts with the large Donut on the roof), Cupids hot dogs, Pup-N-Taco, Lloyds Meat Market, The Copper Penny restaurant, Zodies Department store, Busch Gardens (the bird shows, log ride and elevated brewery tram tour were great), The VN Drive In, Sambo's restaurant and later Mambo's, Chiefs auto parts, Roy's Market, Ducker's Deli and Pepe's Go Carts. I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

I grew up in VN in the early 70s. I have fond memories of my friends and I riding our Stingray bikes along top edge of "the Wash" flood control channel. starting behind Fedco and cutting through neighborhoods all the way to near Hazeltine. It was really like an urban version of "Stand By Me" where many an adventure occured.

Van Nuys brought a lot of good childhood memories. Being able to travel anywhere in the great San Fernando valley and being able to return to home sweet home. These streets are old and paranormal activity has been witness by several neighbors as myself. I no longer stay in van nuys but it is always a place called home.

I lived in Van Nuys for the past 10 yrs. Recently I moved to a neighboring county. Then I receive adds in my mail that says... Beverley Hills qaulity, Van Nuys prices.... Now I know why I got the looks when I told others I live in Van Nuys.

Boy, poor old Van Nuys always gets a bad rap. I've lived in Van Nuys for 30 years. I attended and excelled at each of the Van Nuys public schools, bought property in Van Nuys and became a highly educated professional, shockingly, while brazenly walking the "gang infested" streets of legend/myth.
I now have children in each of those same schools. I stay because my community means much to me, I believe we can use more people like me, and our schools need students and parents like us. I've seen the area become more diverse, and, yes, there are instances such as the horrible tragedy on Kittridge Street. What I have never seen, though, is the outright racism exhibited by critics of the area - such as those who vehemently and loudly strive to disengage their properties from our much maligned "minority-ridden" zip codes.
My community has long been brown and black and yellow, and I am now seeing middle-class white Americans moving in to our "dangerous" streets. The home prices and rent-controlled apartments are bringing them in, and the community is as accepting, or nonchalant, as it has always been. Working class people busy with raising a family and paying the bills rarely have time to ostracize newcomers.
Thankfully, I earn enough now to allow me to live anywhere I want and when I visit those other "affluent" parts of the city I find neighbors who worry too much about how long garbage cans are left on the curb or whether someone's Christmas display is too bright. I prefer my neighborhood's "live and let live" style.

I lived in Van Nuys back in 1969-1971 and attended school there. It is shocking how the neighborhood had deteriorated when I returned to show my kids the "old neighborhood". It is now a gang infested area- I was afraid to drive around it. I live in another state now and never intend to live in LA again. Too many people with too little education and family values.

I was born in Van Nuys, but nowadays I feel like I'm in a foreign country. Most of my business (and hard earned dough) is spent in cleaner neighboring communities. Tired of grafitti on my walls and beer bottles on my lawn.

A wife missing for thirty years somewhere in the area. Last address Van Nuys. Kren where are you? Blue need to speak with you.

Looks like all of Van Nuys south of Oxnard just became part of Sherman Oaks... time to update the map again!

Interestingly, you have Van Nuys Jr High (Middle School) in Sherman Oaks.

My family lives on DeCelis Pl., one street West of Hayvenhurst in the San Fernando Valley.
I have lived in "Van Nuys" my whole life, starting in an apartment staring into the parking lot of Van Nuys High (also the school I attended) and I can honestly and objectively say the culture, environment, DECOR, vibe and scenery of my family's current residence on de celis is representative of the Van Nuys I have grown up in.
All the ethnic hispanic stores and restaurants continue from van nuys blvd to balboa.
All in all, as a 22 year resident (i'm 22 years old) of Van Nuys I would say the western most boundary of Van Nuys would extend out to Balboa.
I hope this last iteration of your LA map isn't final. Good luck with the rest of your readers' inputs.