Government can’t fix LA alone, and it shouldn’t have to. That’s why I’m proposing private-public partnerships in city services as the key to LA’s comeback.

On Sept. 15, we broke ground on the Palisades Recreation Center. Construction is officially underway after nearly a year-and-a-half of tireless work from our many partners, bringing us one step closer to restoring one of the neighborhood’s most cherished gathering places. 

The Rec Center has always been part of my family’s story. My kids grew up here, and we spent countless summer evenings watching baseball games on these fields.

Anyone who lives in the Palisades knows what this place means. It’s one of the centers of our neighborhood, where families come together, children play and lasting friendships begin. We all knew that bringing it back would help bring the community back together.

We made that happen by refusing to wait for the normal process to run its course. In April 2025, Steadfast LA, LA Strong Sports, the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Recreation and Parks formed a public-private partnership to fund, redesign and rebuild the space.

From that point on, the city, community groups, designers, builders and private-sector leaders have worked at the same table. Decisions and approvals moved faster, and the community had a real role in shaping the future of this place. That’s what can happen when government, business and residents have clear responsibilities, a shared deadline and no patience for unnecessary delay.

The public-private partnership model makes use of private sector leadership, working alongside city departments. It puts decision-makers at one table, cuts unnecessary reviews, gets departments talking to each other and keeps the community involved, allowing us to move with urgency while preserving safety and public oversight.

It can be used on a case-by-case basis. Where it works best, it brings private-sector standards of accountability to the public sector.

Over the past year and a half, I have watched the city clear obstacles, bring agencies together and put shovels in the ground while giving the community a real voice. The hard truth is that the rest of LA is not working this way, and residents feel it every day. Across the city, problems that were once frustrating have become destabilizing.

LA is the worst place in America to buy a home, but instead of making it easier to build, the city can make a homeowner adding one room wait months for an approval that should take weeks. Emergency response times are rising.

Billions have been spent on homelessness, but thousands still sleep on sidewalks because the agencies running these programs face no deadlines and no consequences for failure. Our broken insurance market has left many families with thin coverage, and some with none at all.

These failures are a clear sign that LA’s government is losing its ability to perform its most basic responsibilities. When Angelenos can’t afford a home or other necessities, rely on emergency services, or trust that public money will produce results, how long will it take for them to move elsewhere?

Residents and businesses still care about their neighborhoods, but the problem is a political system that answers to special interests and career operators whose lives revolve around politics rather than the daily demands of raising a family or running a business.

Too many of our city’s politicians have abandoned the individuals and families who simply want safer streets, functioning services and a better quality of life. 

Things need to change, and we’ve seen that they can. We saw it at work with the Pali Rec Center, but the same approach can work anywhere from Boyle Heights to Studio City.

Together, we can make this standard across the city: one accountable team, clear timelines, agencies reviewing plans at the same time, permits measured in weeks and residents shaping projects from the beginning.

LA has some of the best builders, architects, engineers, technology and capital in the world. We have community groups that know their blocks better than any outside consultant. We have businesses that want to invest in the neighborhoods where their employees and customers live, because they understand that healthy communities support families, workers and local economies.

For too long, many of them have been waiting for the city to give them a meaningful chance to help. And we don’t have the luxury of continuing to waste those advantages.

Start with the services Angelenos count on every day. While response times climb, private security patrols can add eyes on commercial corridors. During fire season, water trucks and trained crews can back up firefighters, and donors can pay for equipment and programs the budget doesn’t cover. These partners have people and equipment ready now, and they can put them to work in days instead of waiting for the next budget cycle. When the city falls short, it should say yes to that help.

That doesn’t mean the city can shirk its responsibilities. Keeping streets safe, fighting fires and delivering basic services remain the city’s job, and Angelenos pay their taxes expecting the city to do that job well. Private help needs to add to public services instead of replacing them.  

The Palisades model looks like the city putting one accountable lead in charge of each major project, publishing firm deadlines and inviting qualified businesses and community groups to help deliver the work. It means business leaders stepping forward with funding, expertise and people who know how to execute, and residents who demand clear timelines and measurable results from everyone involved.

The Rec Center rebuild shows what Los Angeles can accomplish when government, businesses and communities work together. It shouldn’t take a disaster to create that urgency.

Los Angeles is one of the greatest cities in the world. But greatness cannot survive endless delay, disorder and excuses. The people who call this city home deserve a government that delivers for them.

Rick Caruso is a businessman, philanthropist and the founder and chairman of Steadfast LA.