After the Riots : NEWS IN BRIEF : DISASTER CENTERS : Aid Center Closes: Too Few Applicants

A joint federal and state assistance center in Pacoima, set up to aid those who suffered losses in the recent riots, was shut down Wednesday because it served only 150 applicants since it opened May 8--far fewer than the other eight relief centers.

“It’s by far the smallest number we’ve had at any center,” said Michael Allan, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“At the Ambassador Hotel, our busiest center, we’ve had 4,178 applications. There’s been an imbalance of applicants. Our second-slowest center, the Watts Senior Center, has had only 442 registrations.”

On an average day, fewer than 15 applicants sought help at the Pacoima site at the David Gonzales Recreation Center, where more than 20 representatives of federal, state and local agencies offered assistance. Most were owners of riot-damaged businesses in downtown or South Los Angeles who either live in the Valley or had heard that lines were shorter in Pacoima than at other centers.

A new Disaster Application Center opened Monday in central Los Angeles at the Kedren Community Center in Gilbert Lindsay Park, 4211 S. Avalon Blvd. The center has applications available for aid from a variety of federal and state agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration. The center will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information about assistance and the eight other locations, call (800) 525-0321.