Ueberroth Denounces Critics of His Role : Project: ‘Rebuild L.A.’ chief rejects idea he can’t be sensitive to the needy.

Peter V. Ueberroth, who has been appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley to lead Los Angeles’ rebuilding effort, on Wednesday denounced critics who suggest that a white man residing outside the city cannot be sensitive to the needs of riot-torn neighborhoods.

“I’m white, I can’t become black,” Ueberroth said during an interview on “NBC News with Tom Brokaw.” “I was appointed by a black. The people who are going to talk like that are going to stand on the sidelines anyway. So tell them to get out of the way.”

Ueberroth, who guided the city through the triumphant 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, is serving as the unpaid czar of the city’s recovery program dubbed “Rebuild L.A.,” a daunting economic, social and political undertaking.

Some members of the city’s minority communities, especially those in riot-devastated areas, have been skeptical about whether Ueberroth has sufficient understanding of the neighborhoods he is charged with repairing. Ueberroth lives in Laguna Beach and operates a Newport Beach investment firm.

During the NBC interview, he said the recovery program for Los Angeles “is more than rebuilding what was there. It’s making it right for the first time. . . . It’s been neglected.”

He emphasized that communities, the government and the private sector must join forces.

“We need the private sector to now play a role that they have kind of ignored in the past,” Ueberroth said.