PERSPECTIVE ON LOS ANGELES : Seeds of Renewal Have Been Planted : What remains is the long-term task of empowering residents in neglected areas to help themselves.

The inescapable question that every person in a leadership position needs to confront is: What has been accomplished since April 29, 1992--since Los Angeles was visited by the worst urban violence this nation has ever known? This query is fair, assuming that it is rooted in a much deeper question: How did things get so bad and who is responsible for reversing this devastating trend? A trend that many had privately concluded--in word and deed--to be irreversible?

It is not necessary to recount the systemic factors that contribute to the preponderance of social ills that plague our cities; however, the efforts we have sought to make during the past year were and are informed and affected by decades of ever more complex problems compounded by misguided public policy with respect to employment, education, health care and housing. Therefore, progress or the lack thereof has to be measured against that set of issues and conditions. Without excusing local government, the political economy of the nation is the appropriate context in which the crisis in Los Angeles must be evaluated.

With national press focused on us, we have been exposed to a series of sentiments that would have us think that nothing of consequence has been accomplished--largely because the reminders of last year’s destruction are ever present. And, the pain, so pronounced, in so many places, continues to make itself evident in the unemployment lines, jails and homeless shelters.

Granted, RLA (formerly Rebuild L.A.), Community Build, Operation Hope or the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Recovery and Revitalization have not done enough to improve the quality of life of communities so desperately in need. Frankly, the response to the crisis has been very disappointing in certain instances, and in some cases, it has been patently insulting. The ineptness, the power plays, the grandstanding, the personality conflicts, the fatigue, plus an unrelenting recession, are all real. And yet, a considerable amount of energy, expertise and goodwill have been displayed.

According to the Building and Safety Department, of the 1,300 structures that were destroyed or damaged citywide, about 600 demolition permits and 400 rebuilding permits have been issued. Further, about $500 million in recovery assistance has been provided to individuals, businesses, nonprofit groups and city-administered programs in impacted areas. More than 2,500 business people have received loans (averaging $90,000) to repair or replace their damaged or destroyed property. Almost 2,400 impacted business people have received loans (averaging $25,000) to assist in meeting ongoing business expenses.

Determined not to have a repeat of the aftermath of 1965, the LA Community Partnership was formed by the Board of Public Works to handle the extensive demolition and cleanup needs. Approximately 90% of the work of the partnership was awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses and local contractors representing $5 million in demolition, clearance and recycling contracts. About 380 people were hired for this work.

This is hardly an exhaustive account of the recovery response. Significant though it may be, even a more complete report would not be an adequate response to the gravity of the problems that predated the upheaval and those that were worsened by it.

Los Angeles’ multiracial human infrastructure needs major overhauling. Take South-Central Los Angeles: about 30 people killed related to the unrest, $400 million in damage, by far the most heavily hit part of the city. Arguably, its 700,000 .residents, mostly African-American and Latino, in large part felt and still feel disenfranchised and disillusioned after years of being ignored and abandoned by supermarkets, financial institutions and local government. Alienation is a straight path to destruction.

The death and destruction associated with last year’s upheaval are hopefully behind us. The year of struggling through the beginnings of recovery has ended. Now we must focus on revitalization. Revitalization must be equitable and must center on the needs and hopes of the residents of the communities most devastated, not just by the fires and looting of last year, but by the institutions (public and private) that are duty-bound to serve them. The City Council’s recent establishment of five new redevelopment study areas, which correspond to those areas most devastated by the upheaval, is encouraging.

The grand opening of the Community Financial Resource Center and the Southern California Business Development Corp. in South-Central Los Angeles signals hope for effective multiracial, public/private partnerships with local participation. The Urban League/Toyota Automotive Training Center launched its innovative training and employment efforts last week in a renovated facility (work done by minority contractors) on Crenshaw Boulevard. Smart and Final replaced the store destroyed last year, near the intersection of Vermont and Manchester, the corridor that suffered $15 million in damage. In the same area, small businesses are reappearing: Collin’s shoe store and Sir Tony’s clothing store. Shell Oil Co. recently showcased its minority-built, state-of-the-art service training center, which is staffed by local residents and designed to make young people employable. Next door, the Mid City record store and a coin-operated laundry opened Saturday, highlighting the compatibility of businesses, large and small. The community rejoices at these accomplishments because it says that a variety of businesses can thrive in South-Central, not just liquor stores and their attendant problems.

Finally, we must do what we have not done in the past: empower the residents of Los Angeles, particularly in areas like South-Central, to revitalize their own communities. It’s a matter of self-respect, self-help and self-determination.

DR, TED RABB