A summary of selected City Hall actions last week affecting central Los Angeles.

CITY COUNCIL

* HOUSING PROJECT IMPROVEMENTS: Approved using Proposition A funds to make improvements at two housing projects in Watts. At Imperial Courts, $2 million will be used to demolish the existing community building and replace it with a facility that will include a gymnasium. At Nickerson Gardens, $1.2 million will be used for community center refurbishment, landscaping and basketball-court improvements. Proposition A, which originally was aimed at park projects, was amended in 1993 to include improvements for housing projects.

* DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: Approved a motion to evaluate whether to create a business improvement district Downtown that includes the garment district and the flower mart. In such a district, businesses are assessed a special tax in exchange for various improvements, including increased security and landscaping. A district must be approved by 51% of the businesses that would be within its boundaries.

* STREET CLOSURES: Approved the following street closures on May 14 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the Fred Jordan Mission’s annual Mother’s Day brunch: Towne Avenue and Crocker Street, between 4th and 6th streets; 5th Street, between San Pedro and Sanford streets. The event will provide an estimated 5,000 free chicken dinners to needy families.

HOW THEY VOTED

How South-Central and Eastside City Council representatives voted on selected issues. * MTA PEACE-OFFICER STATUS: Approved a motion urging state lawmakers to oppose a bill that would grant full peace-officer status to Metropolitan Transportation Authority police. The bill would give MTA officers law enforcement authority anywhere in the city. Currently, MTA officers are authorized to enforce laws only on city buses and subway lines. The Los Angeles Police Department asked the council to join its efforts to defeat the bill. Sharon Papa, chief of the 425-member MTA police force, said that among the reasons her officers support the bill is that families would be entitled to survivor benefits if an officer were killed in the line of duty. The bill would also make the killing of an MTA officer a crime for which the death penalty could be sought. The bill, which is pending before an Assembly committee, would also affect officers of the Bay Area Rapid Transit; San Francisco police support the bill. Passed 12-1. Voting to oppose the bill: Jackie Goldberg, Mike Hernandez, Nate Holden, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Rudy Svorinich Jr. Voting no: Richard Alatorre.