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Our Work

the jack london improvement district

The Jack London Improvement District is a non-profit organization at work to create, promote and maintain an inviting environment for people who visit, live and work in the Jack London District.

Our office at 333 Broadway, Oakland 94607.

Banners from a 2015 marketing & development campaign.

Art-wrapped utility boxes from a 2016 maintenance & beautification project.

District Boundaries → Governing Documents & Annual Reports → Board Meetings →

renewal 2023

The Jack London Improvement District is up for renewal! Visit the link below for more information on how you can support us this year.

Learn more

Maintenance, safety, & Beautification

Jack London Improvement District partners with the organization Block by Block to provide a hardworking team of ambassadors to keep our streets inviting, clean, and safe.

Ambassador Hotline

510.363.0989

Cleaning Services

Intensive cleaning of sidewalks, gutters, and fixtures in the public right-of way to improve the street-level experience, particularly in areas of chronic neglect (such as the Broadway/880 underpass).

Special projects such as removal of hazardous fixtures in the public right-of-way, painting of street furnishings, removal of extensive graffiti in the public right-of-way and more.

Hospitality Services

On-call general business assistance

A friendly greeting and visitor assistance, directions, recommendations, and neighborhood information.

Outreach to the homeless and Street population to conduct welfare check

Umbrella escorts in the rain between any two points within the District on request.

Safety Services

Deterrence & reporting of unwanted behavior as they circulate and observe activity throughout the District

Requesting compliance with Oakland’s laws and ordinances.

Coordination with the Oakland Police Department to share safety and security information

Information to community members of safety practices.

Safety walking escort between any two points within the District on request.

AMBASSADOR OPERATING HOURS

Monday 7:00am - 3:40pm

Tuesday - Thursday 7:00am - 9:10pm

Friday 9:00am - 9:10pm

Saturday 9:00am-11:10pm

Sunday 12:00pm - 3:40pm

Neighborhood Crime Prevention

Jack London Improvement District is providing the ongoing support and outreach for Beat 1X NCPC. This group enables collaboration between the Jack London community and public safety officials through our Community Resources Officer and our Neighborhood Services Coordinator, sharing best practices and finding solutions for safety issues that affect businesses, residents, and visitors. Regular meetings are held monthly, on the fourth Tuesday at 6:00pm, at the Jack London Improvement District Office. We encourage you to attend a meeting, get to know your neighbors, and get involved in keeping you community safe. Ongoing projects and advocacy to address chronic blight and safety issues in the district

Go to the Community Resources page for more info and crime reporting information →

Broadway Betterment

The Jack London Improvement District is working towards a better Broadway that is inviting, active, and safe.

Current and past projects have included community visioning workshops, underpass improvements, way-finding, and public art projects.

see the projects

Formal Signage

In 2017, we completed the Wayfinding Signage Design and Placement Plan in coordination with the City, Port of Oakland, Jack London Square, WETA, Amtrak, Caltrans and community stakeholders. We contracted directly with MmM Design, City of Oakland's wayfinding signage design consultant. Installation was completed early 2019, with maintenance ongoing.

District Banner Redesign

We completed a reboot of our banner program with some fresh new designs!

Safety Signage

A curbside sign posted around the District from one of our 2017 safety and crime prevention projects.

Painted Pathways

In 2017 we developed a community and business-supported informal wayfinding program that is quick and inexpensive to deploy. We worked with business representatives as well as Visit Oakland on this effort. The project was completed in 2018. You can find the colorful pathways East of Broadway.

Building Art

The Jack London Improvement District is working to incorporate art and culture into the urban fabric of the District.

The Building Art Program was initiated to attract artists and identify space and resources to create and show work. Works to date include wall art, pop-up exhibitions, and original paintings on utility boxes in the District.

Our goal is to replace 3 vandalized art-covered utility boxes, and match contributing funds from private property owners to fund the Building Art Program to facilitate art installations, wall murals and art-wrapped utility boxes.

Explore art around the district with our map →

Want to get involved with any of these projects? Email us at info@jacklondonoakland.org or sign-up to stay informed and let us know about your interests in the neighborhood!

Marketing and economic development

**Promoting and Strengthening District Identity**

**Connecting Oakland's Waterfront with its Downtown**

Attracting and Shaping Great Development

Train Quiet Zone / Embarcadero Safety Improvements

Rail transit is on the rise through Jack London, and so is activity, visitor foot traffic, residential population, employment, and businesses. Community stakeholders in Jack London have long been interested in improving the pedestrian and vehicular train crossings in Jack London to create safer streets and facilitate a Train Quiet Zone. This long term project includes updating the original study for the project and fundraising for the capital improvements required to implement safer crossings and pedestrian and vehicular interfaces, and considers a Train Quiet Zone in Jack London.

The Rail Safety Working Group (RSWG) is an independent group of volunteers in the District organized to advocate for rail safety through the Howard Terminal EIR approval process. Read their project comment letter here: RSWG Comment Letter.

Special Events & Marketing Collaborations Promoting Local Businesses

To keep the community informed and engaged we will continue the sponsorship, partnership, or direct hosting of community events such as launch events for publicity of projects or developer outreach forums. Project includes District business events to drive foot traffic and exposure to participating businesses, create district-specific collateral for local hotels and new residential buildings, in addition to ongoing promotion and marketing efforts with the Jack London Brewing District and other partners.

Waterfront Warehouse District

Learn more about our preservation work at our Historic Jack London page →

Panel Talks

Interactive, educational events with local leaders and subject matter experts explore topics of interest to the neighborhood. Talks promote community engagement and inform District priorities in various areas of land use, economic development, and policy advocacy.

Watch the videos and read more about past talks: Go to Panel Talks page →

Wondering when our next panel talk is? Go to our events calendar →

National Night Out Block Party

Every year we celebrate National Night Out with a district block party! We provide sponsorship, partnership, and hosting to support National Night Out in coordination with participating businesses. This is a great way to promote community engagement and strengthen partnerships in areas of public safety, economic, land use, retail, community resilience, and business promotion.

Community and Advocacy

SeeClickFix Sweepstakes - Data Drives Deployment

For the month of May 2019, we launched our first ever SeeClickFix sweepstakes. Citizens utilized the City's SeeClickFix system to help solve problems in the public right-of-way for a chance to win a fabulous gift from a Jack London merchant. Two active and wonderful community members each won a wine tasting for two at minimo wine shop! On SeeClick Fix, users are able to report issues, vote to fix favorites, and track response from the City. Check out and track the Jack London Watch Area. Announcing next sweepstakes soon, so stay posted for a chance to be entered and help deploy resources to our neighborhood.

Work With Us

current Task Forces

Our task forces are open to the public! Join us as a volunteer with any of the following task forces. Email info@jacklondonoakland.org for more information.

Merchant Support Fund

Issuing, tracking, and supporting direct merchant grants

Cross Sector Public Safety

Advocacy advisors to staff, and oversight of innovative public safety fund First Responders meal sponsorship program

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Evaluate and advise all aspects of District work from governance to project implementation to further DEI goals

Renewal

Develop strategy, conduct outreach, host forums, engagement and communications as needed to achieve renewal summer 2023

Business Opportunities

GOT AN EMPTY SPACE OR A BLANK WALL?

Jack London is initiating a pilot project to match temporary art installations with vacancies and building walls in the District. Working with local arts groups, the District is working to bring vibrancy and beauty to empty commercial spaces, blighted areas, blank walls, and graffiti hotspots while engaging Oakland's unparalleled visual and cultural arts community.

Watch to learn more: “Illuminate Jack London” Jack London Improvement District with The Great Wall of Oakland.

Contact info@jacklondonoakland.org.

FOOD TRUCKS - 333 BROADWAY

We are looking for food truck applicants interested in operating at our corner of 4th & Broadway. Our goal at the Jack London Improvement District is to activate space and incubate small businesses, increasing foot traffic and overall vitality to the Broadway corridor. We are focused on breakfast and/or lunch, and are open to overlapping schedules and multiple vendors in the space. If your business is interested in working with us, please email info@jacklondonoakland.org to get an application.

Want to know about our volunteer opportunities? We would love to have you! Please fill out this form or email us at info@jacklondonoakland.org!

Testimonials

“Just wanted to compliment the Ambassadors and the work they did on the sidewalk—it looks gorgeous, like Oakland SHOULD LOOK!”
-Bob Rosen, Business and Property Owner, 4th&Castro
“Thank you so much for organizing these amazing trivia nights. Our team group text starts blowing up on Wednesdays with excitement about "getting together" on Friday - we all agree that trivia night actually makes it feel like the weekend matters now and we all really look forward to it. Priceless. We appreciate it so much.”
-Michelle Augenstein, Resident
“Thank you for all you have accomplished and for all good you provide to our neighborhood. You and your contributions are much appreciated.”
-GS, Resident
“My wife and I have lived in the District for 15 years, and own two businesses, the visible difference that the ambassadors have made is like night and day.”
-Chris Pastena, Owner Chop Bar & Lungomare
“Great resource for local businesses and the District in general. They've really helped us with the coordination involved in getting the Jack London Brewing District off the ground.”
-Aram Cretan, Federation Brewing
“I love the hands on involvement from all JLID team members.”
-Jennifer N, Portobello
“Thank you very much for putting together such an informative panel [A Ballpark for Everyone] I…can only guess at the effort that went into making that happen so bravo for doing so! And thank you for including me!”
-Helen S, Resident
“Let me just say I love the Ambassadors. My very first day moving into the District, I was unloading furniture from the moving van and an Ambassador welcomed me to Jack London and offered help! That was the first welcome I got to the neighborhood.”
-MR, Phoenix Lofts
“I forgot to thank you last month for the prompt response to cleaning up the parking lot next door to our client’s building at 3r d St. and Webster. Our client called the following week to thank us for getting action on the trash. It’s great to know the JLID can be so helpful.”
-Don M., Business Owner
“They [the Jack London Improvement District] just ROCK!!! They have helped me out so so many times over the past 2 years with all kinds of things I needed. I can not thank them enough.”
-Jackie Gallanagh, Business Owner, Slainte
“That was great! That was one of our busiest days ever. Thanks to everyone who helped put it together, and let's for sure do this kind of thing again. That's TEAMWORK!”
“It was awesome! I saw deep lines at every brewery which was amazing to see.”
-Aram Cretan and Max Silverstein, Owners of Federation Brewing & Original Pattern Brewing respectively, after a collaborative Jack London Brewing District Brewery Crawl