Plot Thickens in Drive to Evict Scene of Crime Bookstore, 14 Shops

Mystery continues to shroud the Scene of the Crime in Sherman Oaks.

Merchants and residents have tried for nine months to learn why the landmark bookstore, which sells only mysteries, and 14 neighboring shops are being evicted from a quaint, block-long row of Ventura Boulevard storefronts between Woodman and Ventura Canyon avenues.

So when the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. spread the word that the developer who has bought up the block would reveal his plans Wednesday night, the crowd was so large that the meeting had to be hastily relocated from a bank community room to a nearby school auditorium where there was more space.

But developer Jacky Gamiel of Beverly Hills was not among those in the crowd. Instead, he dispatched his lawyer to announce that there was nothing to announce.

“There is no specific project yet at present,” attorney Benjamin M. Reznik said. “That’s because none exists.”

The audience of more than 125 was quick to voice its skepticism.

Evictions Criticized

People complained that Gamiel’s Jama Enterprises has hurriedly kicked out the small mom-and-pop proprietors in the 46-year-old row of storefronts--something that most landlords do not do until the last minute before redevelopment projects begin.

They were quick to seize on Reznik’s comments that Jama “wants to create a plaza in the middle of the block with fountains” and “there’s no reason by the end of the summer they couldn’t be pulling a permit” as proof that construction is imminent.

They suggested that Jama is hurrying to demolish the one-story shops so it can replace them with three-story buildings before Los Angeles city officials consider a proposal to limit new construction in the area to a height of two floors.

“It’s easier to get approval when the tenants are gone and there’s nothing but bare dirt at the site,” said Richard Close, homeowners association president. “The city will likely reduce what can be built there. So the race is on.”

Reznik disputed that contention, however. “I don’t view it as a race . . . . I can only ask you at this point to trust me. We’ll be back with plans and drawings long before permits are pulled.”

Developer Criticized

But the meeting began disintegrating when Reznik denied that Jama has given the block’s tenants a quick and unceremonial boot. He said the firm gave merchants a year’s notice to move.

“That’s a lie,” shouted Ruth Windfeldt, owner of the popular 14-year-old Scene of the Crime bookstore. She said she learned of her eviction nine months ago--after trying for eight months to ferret out information about her lease and then hiring an attorney to press for the information.

Her shop, which features a red-walled Victorian decor and an adjoining tearoom where novelists have lectured on murderers and spies, has earned a place on the Los Angeles tourist bus circuit over the years.

Windfeldt charged that Jama is trying to oust her before her new 20,000-volume bookstore is ready for occupancy in the historic Wiltern Building in Los Angeles. She urged the crowd to view Jama’s plans cautiously: “As a homeowner here myself, I want to be sure the developer is telling the truth.”

Changing Looks

Reznik pledged that Jama will work closely with a homeowners committee being formed to study his development plan, although he acknowledged that the block’s small-town storefront look will probably disappear.

“The quaintness aspect does not work economically for this developer, or perhaps anyone on the boulevard,” he said. “My clients are open to all types of uses . . . including each of these tenants. Whether they can afford to return or not, I don’t know.”

On Thursday, the four remaining merchants on the block--including operators of a Unocal gas station who learned only this week that they are being evicted--said they won’t be back.

“I have to be out by the end of the month and I don’t have another place yet,” said Victoria Thomas, owner of the 20-year-old Candy House womens’ formal wear boutique. “I’ll have to put my merchandise in storage. That means I’m going to miss the prom season.”

Mary’s Lamb restaurant co-owner Terri Greenberg said her new Studio City location is about two months from completion. She stressed that Gamiel has been “really quite agreeable” with her, however.

Unocal manager Paul Thoegersen said he has tried for weeks to check out rumors that his 48-year-old service station’s site was recently acquired by Jama. “We found out conclusively last night at the homeowners meeting.”

“We’re really getting the shaft. Other merchants have other stores they can move to. But the value of land is so high there’s just no room any more for gas stations.”