There’ll Be Trouble at Hawthorne High, Pool Hall Foes Claim

Battle lines have been drawn between the Centinela Valley Union High School District and a developer who plans to build the nation’s largest 24-hour pool hall next to Hawthorne High School.

The developer, Jerry Jamgotchian, president of Equity West Development of Torrance, has the permits needed to open a pool hall in a vacant building in the 5100 block of El Segundo Boulevard. But now, Jamgotchian is seeking a liquor license, and some school officials and residents say that spells trouble with a capital T.

Bad Influence Feared

They say the sale of liquor at the pool hall will promote gambling, loitering, gangs and the sale of liquor to minors.

“I oppose the whole situation,” board member Ann Birdsall said. “We just don’t want it there to be tempting for a child.”

District Supt. McKinley M. Nash said: “I personally feel it is (going to establish) an undesirable educational climate.”

Jamgotchian defends his project, saying the 25,000-square-foot pool hall will be well-maintained, will attract only upscale young professionals and will not affect the nearby school.

“I’ve told them maybe 600 times that I have no interest in serving minors,” Jamgotchian said.

The $1.5-million pool hall--the owner prefers the term billiard center-- will include 56 pool tables, a bar, several large-screen televisions and a food court with five food booths, he said. Remodeling will begin in three weeks, and the opening of the pool hall is scheduled for November.

“I have too much invested for there to be any problems,” he said.

According to a spokesman for the National Pocket Billiard Assn. in Milwaukee, Jamgotchian’s pool hall would be the largest in the country. The second-largest, with 50 billiard tables, is in Florida, he said.

Jamgotchian went before the city Planning Commission in July to request a permit to sell liquor, which was met with vehement opposition from residents and representatives of the school district and a local church.

The commission voted unanimously to reject his request.

Since then, Jamgotchian has sought to appease his opponents by offering to make the pool hall a private club for members only. He has also told the school board that he will limit the hours liquor is served and has offered to give the school board the right to revoke his liquor permit if the pool hall is found serving liquor to a minor.

However, Jim Mitsch, Hawthorne’s director of general services, said that regardless of Jamgotchian’s offer, only the city has the right to revoke a liquor permit.

Jamgotchian has also offered the district a one-time “impact fee” of $250,000, which he suggested could be used for teachers’ salaries or the purchase of new computers.

Agreed to Reconsider

In light of these new conditions, Planning Director Michael Goodson said the Planning Commission has agreed to reconsider Jamgotchian’s request for a liquor permit. The hearing will be held within the next four weeks.

If Jamgotchian receives a permit he can apply for a liquor license with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Goodson said.

Jamgotchian said that if he gets a liquor license, the pool hall will be open only to customers 21 and older. If he does not get a license, he said that he will open the food court area to all ages but that the pool table area would be off limits to those under 21.

However, Jamgotchian’s peace offerings have been rejected by many opponents.

“I don’t think there is going to be anyone in the community that would approve of a pool hall sitting right next to the high school,” board President Aleta Collins said.

Collins said she was insulted by Jamgotchian’s offer of $250,000. “No way would we take $250,000 or any amount of money to allow this to happen,” she said.

Called a Bribe

Birdsall agreed and called the $250,000 offer a bribe. “You can’t put a figure of money on a child’s life,” she said.

Jamgotchian said the money is intended to help the district improve its educational programs and insists that it is not a bribe.

The Rev. Earl Thornton of the Delaire Assembly of God Church in Hawthorne said he opposes the sale of liquor at the pool hall. “Those types of establishments attract the less-than-best type of people,” Thornton said.

He said he also fears that when the pool hall opens, students from the high school will skip class to loiter there.

Although Jamgotchian said he will enforce strict dress and behavior codes to prohibit loitering, Stennis Floyd, a longtime resident whose son graduated from Hawthorne High School last year, said the pool hall will be a “drug haven” for gangs and prostitution.

“We don’t need a pool hall in Hawthorne,” he said.

Floyd said he thinks the young professionals Jamgotchian intends to attract will not drive into Hawthorne to play pool.

“The yuppies won’t come here,” he said. “Why doesn’t he take his idea to Hermosa Beach where the yuppies live?”

Jamgotchian, who owns a 6,000-square-foot pool hall in Montclair, said pool halls are becoming very popular on the East Coast and said he is trying to encourage a similar trend here.

“I’m on the leading edge and that is why I’m taking all the flak,” he said.

Robert Clark, director of community development in Montclair, said he has heard of no complaints involving Jamgotchian’s pool hall in that city.

Jamgotchian said there are thousands of pool players in the South Bay but very few places to play. Jamgotchian said he thinks his pool hall in Hawthorne will attract customers from as far north as Marina del Rey and as far south as Long Beach.

He said the customers at his pool hall will “not be there to gamble, they are just going to try to improve their skills.”

Although residents and school officials have said they will continue to oppose his request for a liquor permit, Jamgotchian said he is not concerned. He said that once the pool hall begins operating, his opponents will realize that their fears were unfounded and will reconsider their opposition.

“Once the place is built and operating they will be convinced there is no problem,” he said.