City of Alhambra

This city must need parking ticket money. I got a parking ticket here because they only had one sign at the top of the block and I was parked at the bottom.
I drove around to be sure I had violated the law when I found the one posted sign.
Bait and switch action going on in this crappy city.

Okay, this is china town, more like china city. If you go to any big department store like costco, its a total mess. They hit you with the cart and dont apologize, cut you off and act like nothing happened, park their cars like retards. I moved here two weeks ago, i get mad every time i step out of my house. People are sooooo freaking rude and cant drive crap. Seriously, people in alhambra need to go back to school and learn some manners. At least go get driving lessons before you kill somebody. I just got hit by a car that was crossing at red light few minutes ago.

Except the library, everything else about this city is awful like what Marie M said.

The staff working there are ALL snobby and rude. I’ve gone there on three separate occasions to get help with my metro tap card. I went there again today to buy a monthly pass, but was told that «we only serve Alhambra residents» and I «would have to fill out an application that proves that I am low income.» The form also asks for other personal information that I do not feel is necessary to provide. The monthly pass is $ 43 and with this application I would save $ 9.75. I don’t care about having the $ 9.75 discount, I JUST WANT TO GET A BUS PASS! FYI Alhambra City Hall IS listed as an authorized location to purchase and reload bus passes on the MTA’s website! But for some reason Alhambra city hall decided on their own that they will turn away the general public and basically refuse them service. Also, I am a new resident here in Alhambra, just moved here 3 months ago, but I felt so unwelcome at my own city hall. I also don’t see why it should matter so much if I am low income or not to get a bus pass if I’m already ready and willing to pay the full amount. So many people from adjacent neighborhoods like El Sereno and Pasadena come to Alhambra to eat, shop, watch movies, etc and bring income into this city, the city employees should be a bit more hospitable! They deserve zero stars. TOTAL BS!!!

Hate this city!!! You basically can not park anywhere.

Stupid city. Me and an entire row of cars received street sweep tickets by Main Street near the Work Source. I fought the ticket, took pictures of the corner of the street and by my surrounding area of my car, showed them they did not have any signs. And of course the city ALWAYS wins saying there were signs. I guess the city UNFAIRLY RIPS OFF their own Alhambra citizens. It’s a shame that they steal money this way basically handing out wrongful tickets. Also other cities do NOT require street over night parking, but Alhambra does. Alhambra needs better rules where they will not steal money from us residents

You people are hilarious. You complain about parking restrictions, but don’t want the streets looking like the streets of East L.A. with busted cars parked on the streets for years. You can’t have both! Is it the city’s fault you don’t read the signs? If you’ve lived in the city for a while you know when trash day is, when you can’t park overnight without a permit.

Anonymous D. that is on point … yes em you know whats up its all true …
so with the cash flow you must find the cause of traffic and its possible that the cops dont sit in traffic like the rest of us… and if they did your number one money maker legal and ofcourse for good reason… traffic is not mysteriously happening. when you take 45 min to cross town you know were the cops should sit and its usually two or three people when you reach the front that are going 15 miles below the posted signs speed … a ticket is given for going to slow and either questioning the possibility that they even passed any behind the wheel and the what has almost been an accident so many times makes me wonder about the shake downs. after 12 driving (i call that witching hour).
i find the problem every day almost as much getting hit and having to know that im aware what honking means for me … embarassing is the only tool to scare this driver. and point at the sign posted, this i feel works better but the city could use the money to make repairs to the mission rd. rumble and crumble and use the money to kick back on new buildings for pay machines and ideas that kill the poor and keep the people who dont have four or five family members willing to stay in same place … but focus on «below limit posted driving its a cash cow on atlantic and garfield i mean you might even need four or five officers at different points i. its possible that i have seen this happen and many more know driving just like i describe that after a few tickets that will clear alhambra traffic and accidents up real quick. its not at night its in broad daylight and its many incidents and i was almost hit in traffic 2 times were i t was unbelievable … and its getting worse i cant even think that the person even passed a behind the wheel, i believe a retest would give a fail. i would money down 95% odds that a good a bet
but not allowed to have fruit machines regulated ones would be crazy oooooooooaaaaahhhhh or choices of where to go ooooooooahhhhhhhhhbest money making ideas come from las vegas but just a few low key machines. dear water store why cant you be so close and so honest

So tired of this place with their parking restrictions all over. I don’t mind paying for a parking permit, but at least put my money to maintaining streets. Pavement quality is terrible and streets are dirty… Get your act straight!

Its the Worst City to live in, They give sooo much parking tickets their. Any excuse to take your money!, City hall the employees are not helpful, you ask them one question they act like your bothering them .Not good Customer Service. Their getting payed for Nothing !!!

I am waiting for the answer from City of Alhambra about the illegal conversion and addition since Oct. 21, 2013 up to present time.
I contacted city 10/​21/​2013 for TRSPASS. I waited in city hall over 3 hours. The police could only see me at my home and said that it is okay for a neighbor came over to do build a concrete wall without prior notice. From then on my neighbor kept coming over to do whatever she wanted. She put the ugly hinge that was rusted with graffiti on my side of the wall. One day I tried to remove the hinge in my yard, my neighbor called police. The police came, checked my car and my house. Then told me that I could not remove the hinge or they would put me in jail.
I also filed complaint on Oct. 28, 2013 about the ILLEGAL CONVERSION AND ADDITION. Inside garage the lights are chandeliers with air condition. The panel windows have screens and blinds. The on-​site parking attached to the garage is a room with a door for people to go and out. Up to April 12, 2015 I did not hear anything.
I filed another formal complaint 12÷9÷2013. Officer Harvey left me a message 12/​10/​2013 that she approved the concrete wall. According to city municipal code, wall or fence is not the jurisdiction of code enforcement. Besides she is not an inspector to inspect and approve the new construction. However as a code enforcement officer she should check contractor’s license and she failed to do so. She should also demolish the illegal conversions, but again she failed to do so.
I wrote a letter with pictures to Mayor 2÷21÷2014 and no response. I called mayor 3÷14÷2014 he said he did not get my letter and will have someone contact me in a week. I received a letter 3÷21÷2014 from BUILDING OFFICIAL AYLA ERFIGEN. she stated that the concrete wall got approval on 11÷4÷2013 and based on her site inspection THE WALL WAS BUILT ACCORDING TO PLANNING STANDARD.
BOTH MONICA HARVEY AND AYLA ERFIGEN could not see the chunk pieces of concrete attached on the wall. They could not see the unevenly side of the wall and the gate could not attach the wall but used hinges joined the gate and wall. They ignored that an unlicensed contractor cannot do the job over $ 500.
I saw few houses north on the same street, the room next to garage was demolished and the garage was converted back from living quarter. The illegal conversion and addition next door is still there over ten years and ready to live in anytime.
I orally complained to city about the illegal conversion of the parking structure into a living quarter on 10/​21/​2013 nothing happened. I filed a formal complaint on 12/​09/​2013 nothing happened. I wrote a letter with pictures to Mayor on 2÷21÷2014 nothing happened. I called mayor on 3÷14÷2014 nothing happened.

If you enjoy getting parking tickets for parking on a street with no signs warning you not to park — or signs so far from where you’ve parked that there may as well be no signs — visit Alhambra. Parking enforcement in this city (and Pasadena) are a racket designed to siphon money from its residents and visitors from out-​of-​town.

Since about the year 2000 Alhambra public employees in general, which includes the police and library personnel, have become more and more entitled and obnoxious. They see the «little people» (those who are not public employees) with suspicion, indifference, or downright hostility.
The reason: Alhambra is now run for the most part by people who do not live here, and by corporations that are not here. There is no identification at all with the locals by Alhambra public employees, because they do not see anything in common with residents. They just want to wring money out of us.
They had a much friendlier attitude to the public back in the old 20^th Century.
The cops practice outright racial profiling (Blacks get hassled for anything, Hispanics are assumed to be using pot, and older White males like myself are hassled because the cops think they have cocaine). I was stopped by cops who doubted that I live here (I guess older White guys are supposed to pack up and go) and obviously think that guys of my demographic have no business living in, shopping, or visiting Alhambra.
My favorite anecdote is about calling the city to report graffiti all over the sidewalk, left by gang members loitering there. The Alhambra employee, who knew my race, thought that I did not know gang graffiti from construction markings because of that. This took a complaint letter to get it cleaned up.
I know a Hispanic man living here who gets hassled and searched all the time by the cops.
In the library recently, I reported a lost eyeglass case and, since I have terrible sciatica, asked by phone if they could have an employee drop by where I was in the periodical section to retrieve it for the «lost & found.» My call was met with suspicion. The idiots apparently thought that I had stolen it.
This sort of stuff is now par for the course in Alhambra.

Cute, little Main Street with lots of small businesses and restaurants. They have a nice movie theater as well. However, there are not many reasons for me to want to come to Alhambra. 38 Degrees Alehouse is a cool beer place to hang out, and Grill ‘Em All has some great burgers. Other than that, no real need to seek out this part of LA
parking — free parking in the movie theater garage, which is close to most places in the heart of Main St

Cool City «Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley» the start of the Chinese Mecca of foods. Only 12 square miles with their own Police and Fire Dept.
Surrounded by Los Angeles, South Pasadena, San Marino, Pasadena and Monterey Park. Almost every store you can imagine here or in the next city. Costco, Target, CVS, Office Depot, Big 5, Staples, 168 but with 99 Ranch in Monterey Park and San Gabriel.
Ton’s of every restaurant cuisine possible. Like Chinese has southern style Cantonese or Northern Shang Hai and everywhere in between. Don’t forget they have In & Out burgers to the north end, Costco pizza & hot dogs on the west along Fremont, Valley blvd starts Hawaiin Food Factory, Lupitas, Jack in the crack, DerWeinerschiel thorough Atlantic and Garfield to New Avenue

After a recent excursion on Main Street, I remembered a recent website voted Alhambra the 6^th most boring city in California. Clearly, that was some lazy nonsense analysis.
Where Alhambra really shines is value for money. I can get an hour long foot massage, an outstanding meal at name-​the-​Asian-​restaurant and drinks at the Rabbit hole for under $ 60. Then, I can walk over to Rick’s to see a free band or DJ. Not bad! Plus, they’ve got salsa dancing at the Granada, which is always a plus for me.
So give Alhambra a break. They’ve got way more diversity and value than a ton of other cities I can think of.

To the City of Alhambra:
Do you feel that it may be malnourishing for the community to make residents and their guests pay to park on their own residential streets? Honest law-​abiding people new to town will miss your parking signs if you place them one per block as some of your blocks are extremely large. How could you be more sensible and courteous in the way you treat the people who are both living in your city and visiting?
My first week in town, I got two tickets, because they put signs over 200 yards apart and it’s incredibly easy to miss them if you aren’t already aware of the cities odd method of parking management. One ticket was for street sweeping where the sign was nowhere in sight, and the second ticket was for parking over night from 2am to 6am on a quiet residential street, again with no sign in sight. This is how I discovered that Alhambra doesn’t post enough parking signs and requires a permit to park in it’s neighborhoods overnight. They charge 3.50 per night or $ 60 per year.
From the other stories I’ve heard on here, it likely won’t pan out to contest these citations so I will be paying Alhambra $ 106. Welcome to Alhambra.

Who runs this city?
Who was the genius that came up with the idea of putting in those islands all along the middle of Valley Blvd? You know… The concrete islands that force cars that want to turn left to wait until traffic moves past the islands before they can proceed any further.
So you took the busiest street you have and then purposefully created bottlenecks and made traffic even worse! And then you wasted the peoples money to do it!
What a failure.

**Quick Note: 2^nd Street between Main and Commonwealth is a One Way street heading southbound. 1^st Street is NO LONGER a One Way street!**
I’ve lived most of my life in the sweet little city of Alhambra. Though it’s no Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, or Arcadia, I’ve seen this city slowly blossom into something beautiful.
It’s a sweet little suburban are with many delicious restaurants, a nice movie theater, many stores to shop at, a nice park, and grocery stores, and so much more! At night, there are clubs and bars along with restaurants or dessert places that open late. The night life and events in Alhambra are endless! An annual tree lighting ceremony in a small plaza on Main St., and an annual Chinese New Year festival on Valley Blvd. are only 2 of the MANY small events that this city throws for it’s residents and our friends! I swear they throw events for almost every holiday!
One of my favorite things in Alhambra would be their Independence Day Fireworks show at Almansor Park. Also, every Sunday, there is a small farmer’s market on Bay St. that everyone can enjoy. I see that they’ve tried to mimic Old Town Pasadena, even going as far as turning some streets into one way streets, but it’s still not as busy. Another great thing is how much the APD is part of the community. I love that they keep their residents up to date with everything going on through social media.
Although I tend to venture out into San Gabriel, Arcadia, and surrounding cities, I’m happy to be a part of Alhambra. It’s convenient, diverse, and so much more!

Very cool city. I just wished their downtown development project had been more successful. Still a good mix of small nightclubs & bars but most of the big anchor restaurants are gone. Still home for Shakas, Starbucks, The Diner on Main, Rick’s, etc. And now they have added Alondra Wings and The Boiling Crab which are nice additions.
Great as they have Costco, a big target and even a Fresh & Easy. Sadly Super A is also gone. And there is a mix of car dealers — not as grand as they use to be but also the home of Alhambra BMW which is a fave of mine. And they haven’t redeveloped the large shopping center that contained Mervyns — the only shop surviving there is a Ten Rens and Radio Shack.
Still away to go for their redevelopment scheme. Hopefully they fill the empty shops soon. Still a great little city. I wish their saturday night summer street parties come back too. The farmer market still survives but is in the morning and isn’t as large as Monrovia’s or South Pasadena’s. I’m happy that Fossilman’s is still alive and still pumping as well.