Burger King Starts Up a Sizzling Debate Over Plaza’s Development

If the residents who live in the middle-class homes north of the Ward Plaza could have it their way, a yogurt parlor, an eclectic bookstore or even an upscale croissant bakery would be going up in their neighborhood shopping center, not a Burger King restaurant.

But many of those who live in the low-income apartments south of the plaza find the idea of having a fast-food restaurant in the neighborhood quite appealing.

The two viewpoints clashed recently when ASR Development Co. Inc., the owners of the shopping center at La Cienega Boulevard and 18th Street, announced plans to lease space for a Burger King restaurant on the north side of the center, across the street from the middle-class homes in the Crestview neighborhood.

“They are trying to trash our neighborhood,” said Mel Howard, a resident of Garth Avenue, who said he put his house up for sale as soon as he heard a Burger King was coming. “It’s going to bring gangs and dope dealing right outside our doors.”

Howard was one of more than 100 members of the Crestview Neighborhood Assn. who met with Councilman Nate Holden and the developers last week to argue against the Burger King, which they said would breed crime, litter and noise.

A. Stuart Rubin, who heads ASR Development, denied the project would harm the neighborhood. “We have done everything we can to make this project work,” he said. “We have a lot of money invested here, and it is just as important to us to make sure that the neighborhood is safe. We have done a lot to improve this center, and people just need to trust us.”

For years, the Ward Plaza shopping center has been sandwiched between the two types of neighborhoods--the low-income Cadillac community to the south, which has been plagued by drugs and gang violence, and an integrated, upscale community of single-family homes to the north.

“The difference here is economic,” said Deana Tasini, project manager for the shopping center. “They want a bookstore or a small croissant shop, but there is no way that it could work out there. A fast-food restaurant could work here.”

Since taking over the center in 1986, Rubin said he has done a lot to improve the mall’s image, which has suffered since 1980 when two gunmen herded nine employees and two customers into a walk-in refrigerator of a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant, robbed them and, for no apparent reason, opened fire, killing four and wounding five others.

“When I bought this place people kept telling me I should have my head examined,” Rubin said. “But we believed it could work. We believed we could turn it around, and we have.”

Since he took over, Rubin said the Montgomery Ward and the Bob’s Big Boy have been renovated. The center has also attracted a Circuit City, a Music Plus and a Toys R Us.

Rubin said he has made a number of concessions to accommodate the residents, including moving the restaurant 100 feet way from the street in his architectural plans, hiring a security guard to control traffic and noise, and installing a digital box for customers to make requests on the drive-through, instead of using a voice box.

He also asked for a six-month probationary period on operating the drive-through until 2 a.m., the most objectionable feature to many residents.

“He has done a tremendous job, but we think he is on the verge of making a grave error,” said Howard Kaplan, another resident on Garth. “I told him that his security guards are not going to protect me on my block.”

Councilman Holden, whose district includes the center and who has been involved in the negotiations, said that “ultimately, the developer has the right to put whatever he wants on the property.”

But Holden also questioned the value of allowing the drive-through to operate until 2 a.m.

“I definitely think it should be closed before then,” he said. “I would question why anyone would want to be out buying a hamburger at 2 a.m. They ought to be in bed.”

Despite that, Holden said he doesn’t believe the community would be overrun by gangs because of a fast-food restaurant.

Residents south of the center agreed. “I think it would be a great asset to our community,” said Sol Thomas, who supervises an apartment building in that area. “There is plenty of security over there, and it certainly would make it easier to get something quick to eat.”

“It’s just another place to eat,” said Don Carr, who was washing his car on Garth. “You are going to have violence anywhere. This is Los Angeles. You can’t stop a restaurant because it might someday cause problems.”