Noise Dispute Between Nightclub, Neighbors Escalates

The controversy between a popular mid-Wilshire nightclub and neighboring residents who say it and its patrons are too noisy escalated Monday.

First, Superior Court Judge Miriam A. Vogel denied an attempt to bar enforcement of a midnight curfew and a ban on dancing imposed by the city, which supports the residents.

Then, Albert Lum, attorney for the nightclub, Wall Street, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., immediately filed a notice of appeal, setting the stage for a possible standoff between the club and the city this week.

Lum said his appeal action stays enforcement of the curfew and dancing ban for 20 days while the state Court of Appeal decides whether to review the case. But Deputy City Atty. Jeri Burge disagreed with Lum’s interpretation of the law and said the city will “proceed with enforcement” as soon as Vogel signs the denial order.

So when the club, which is closed Monday nights, reopens tonight, “There will be normal operations, whatever that includes,” Lum said.

Burge said she does not know what action the city will take if the nightclub allows public dancing tonight or stays open past midnight.

The events were the latest in 18 months of turmoil since the club opened in February, 1987, and turned the once famed El Rey Theatre, a 52-year-old Art Deco building that some residents had hoped to see preserved as an architectural landmark, into a nightspot.

Ever since, nearby apartment dwellers have deluged police and city officials with complaints of late-night noise from both the club itself and boisterous patrons who they said were partying outside, throwing bottles or driving up and down side streets with radios blaring.

Because of the complaints, the city imposed the midnight closing time for Sunday through Thursday nights and a dancing ban unless a special permit is obtained. The club then sought an injunction against enforcement of those conditions, maintaining that they would, in effect, shut down the club.

Wall Street’s three-year conditional use permit was originally obtained from the city Zoning Administration in December, 1985, through the support of the local Miracle Mile Residential Assn., after officials said the club would be too disruptive to the surrounding community and had turned down its first application.

The city permit incorporated almost all of the terms of Wall Street’s agreement with the association, which said that the club would be an “entertainment center,” with events “appealing to all ages,” and dancing only an “ancillary” activity.

Since it opened in February, 1987, however, the neighbors and city officials found that the club had not carried out the agreement and had become a discotheque. The permit set the club’s hours at between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., however, a departure from the club’s agreement with the community that it close at midnight five nights a week.

Almost ever since, the club has successfully fought city attempts to scale the hours back. At the same time, Lum maintained that those same hours “dictated the presence of dancing,” and forced the club to make dancing the primary, instead of an “ancillary,” activity, in violation of its permit.

At Monday’s hearing, Judge Vogel told Lum: “I think what your client has tried to do is capitalize on this . . . to use these premises for a matter that was not intended.”

When Lum sought to present evidence that the nightclub was unfairly accused of creating a public nuisance, Vogel said he had already had the opportunity to do that before the Board of Zoning Appeals.

“I think there is substantial evidence in the record to support the findings they (the city) made,” Vogel said.

“I don’t love America anymore,” Charles Glenn, a native of France who is a co-owner, said dramatically when he emerged from Vogel’s courtroom.

“They’ve had 18 months to get it together with the neighborhood,” said Jackie Smaydy, a local apartment dweller who was in court to observe, adding she had almost “gotten into a fistfight” with a club patron who tried to urinate in her building’s driveway Sunday night. “Now we just want them gone.”