I grew up in East Lansing Michigan where my parents were professors at Michigan State University. After high school, I headed off to the University of Michigan. I graduated in 1983 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and got a job at TRW working on ballistic missile flight test analysis.
I bought a house on the west side of Long Beach in 1986, and have lived there ever since. At that time the lower west side of Long Beach had a lot of drug and gang activity, so I started a neighborhood watch group. Not an easy task since the area in 90% Hispanic, and most of the residents don't speak much English, and I speak even less Spanish. But I managed to communicate, and got good attendance at the meetings. The effort was effective in reducing the flagrant drug dealing on our block.
That ended abruptly in 1993. I was awakened to gunfire, and I thought to myself, "Wow, that was a lot louder than usual." I got up and saw holes in my shades, and realized it was loud because they were shooting at my house! Thirty rounds from a nine millimeter, and I went to stay with friends for a few months.
Meanwhile, the cold war ended, the need for cold war engineers like myself declined, and I got laid off in 1991. I started a business cleaning mini-blinds and windows. Because of all the defense industry lay offs in the early nineties, real estate prices crashed. I bet everything I had that it was a great time to invest, and by the year 2000 I was making enough money from real estate that I could sell the cleaning business.
That same year, having dodged the bullet in 1993, I then decided to tempt fate again. I took over management of the El Capitan condominiums complex which was a blight upon the whole west side. There was rampant gang activity, drug dealing, and prostitution. When I started, we were averaging 2 calls for police service per day. I had purchased several units in the complex, and in the first year, every one of them was broken into. Friends strongly advised me against it, "Don't do it Andy, you're going to die Andy, don't do it."
I did it anyway, and today the complex is clean, quiet, and safe. We are in the process of finishing a major facelift, and I decided not to run for reelection to the Board of Directors. In January of 2014 I concluded my tenure as HOA President. My job is done because it can now be done without me.
It's time for a new challenge.
I bought a house on the west side of Long Beach in 1986, and have lived there ever since. At that time the lower west side of Long Beach had a lot of drug and gang activity, so I started a neighborhood watch group. Not an easy task since the area in 90% Hispanic, and most of the residents don't speak much English, and I speak even less Spanish. But I managed to communicate, and got good attendance at the meetings. The effort was effective in reducing the flagrant drug dealing on our block.
That ended abruptly in 1993. I was awakened to gunfire, and I thought to myself, "Wow, that was a lot louder than usual." I got up and saw holes in my shades, and realized it was loud because they were shooting at my house! Thirty rounds from a nine millimeter, and I went to stay with friends for a few months.
Meanwhile, the cold war ended, the need for cold war engineers like myself declined, and I got laid off in 1991. I started a business cleaning mini-blinds and windows. Because of all the defense industry lay offs in the early nineties, real estate prices crashed. I bet everything I had that it was a great time to invest, and by the year 2000 I was making enough money from real estate that I could sell the cleaning business.
That same year, having dodged the bullet in 1993, I then decided to tempt fate again. I took over management of the El Capitan condominiums complex which was a blight upon the whole west side. There was rampant gang activity, drug dealing, and prostitution. When I started, we were averaging 2 calls for police service per day. I had purchased several units in the complex, and in the first year, every one of them was broken into. Friends strongly advised me against it, "Don't do it Andy, you're going to die Andy, don't do it."
I did it anyway, and today the complex is clean, quiet, and safe. We are in the process of finishing a major facelift, and I decided not to run for reelection to the Board of Directors. In January of 2014 I concluded my tenure as HOA President. My job is done because it can now be done without me.
It's time for a new challenge.
