Street Hopes to Root Out Seedy Image : * Business: A merchant group is trying to spruce up York Boulevard to attract nearby college students and residents.
Sara Craig, a sophomore at Occidental College, goes to nearby York Boulevard about twice a month--when she wants a quick hamburger from the local stand, or a drink from a college bar called The Big O.
For the most part, though, the deteriorating commercial strip, with its predominance of auto body shops and mini-markets, has little to offer her.
“They really don’t have what we need,” she said. “There are no good places to eat or drink. And it has a (reputation) of being unsafe. You hear rumors about drive-by shootings all the time.”
York Boulevard merchants concede that their street is far from being a desirable place to shop for Occidental students, or for residents, most of them Latino, in the adjacent neighborhood of single-family homes.
That is why a small group of about 15 merchants and concerned community members are launching a campaign to turn the sleepy street into a dynamic business district.
Though they feel--and police confirm--that York’s reputation among college students as a dangerous place is exaggerated, the merchants believe that they could draw many new customers by sprucing up existing businesses and attracting new ones. “What does this boulevard have to offer the community?” asked Donna Sauno, 35, who opened Honeysuckle Florists on York six months ago with her sister. “There are no stationery stores, no pharmacies, no dress shops. . . . If there was more variety of businesses, every business would benefit.”
At the head of the revitalization campaign--which has yet to come up with a name or formal structure--is Joe Coria, marketing director for Family Care Specialists, a medical group that bought an office building on the east end of York Boulevard last year.
Before the medical office opened, Coria said, someone fired shots into the waiting room. The doctors subsequently installed a security grill. Once the office opened, several patients and staff members’ cars were burglarized. The building is now patrolled by a security guard during business hours.
Concerned about the crime, the doctors decided that something had to be done to make the boulevard a better, safer place to do business.
Coria walked the length of the boulevard twice, talking to merchants about their concerns. He subsequently organized the community meetings, and said he is committed to working on the project until York is a thriving business area.
“We don’t want to just come here, see patients and leave,” he said. “We want to change the community.”
Although still in the early planning stages, the effort has already drawn wide outside support.
At the group’s second meeting Tuesday night, the community group met with City Councilman Richard Alatorre, who offered his encouragement and promised to help.
“This is a very important street,” Alatorre said. “A lot can happen here.”
A member of the city’s Community Development Department said his department would provide advice and identify financial resources to improve the street’s appearance. Members of the Arroyo Arts Collective and Carlos Chavez, the community relations director of Occidental College, are also participating in the effort.
Chavez said he would like to see the street become more pedestrian-oriented--with businesses such as bookstores, coffeehouses, and restaurants.
“It’s real clear that what Oxy students need are things like a bagel shop, a doughnut shop, and places to hang out,” he said. “But those things aren’t happening. What we’d like to see is a more pedestrian-friendly commercial strip.”
York has many household service stores, including hardware stores, dry cleaners, beauty salons, print shops, florists, and shoe repair and reupholstery shops.
But many of these businesses are run-down, and many more storefronts on the heart of the boulevard are empty. Local merchants agree that new and different types of businesses are needed to inject life onto the street.
“Would you go shopping around here?” asked Maria Podsakoff, the owner of Tiffany’s Beauty Salon. “Not even me--I wouldn’t go to shop here.”
Podsakoff, who bought her business just a year ago, said she sometimes regrets setting up her salon on York.
“It’s in the wrong place. You have to buy close to other shops,” she said. “But I am here now.” Though the revitalization group has yet to develop a plan to lure new businesses, it is already taking steps to give the street a face lift.
Artist Peter Quezada offered to paint murals on large walls that are frequently defaced by graffiti. Alatorre’s office has also scheduled a March 14 cleanup day, to sweep, paint, plant trees and bring merchants together to discuss future plans.
Sauno’s own experience tells her that cosmetic changes to the buildings can make a difference. After she painted the outside of her flower shop a bright, sunny yellow, she said, more people started coming in.
“Every little bit would help out this community,” she said.
