Post-Riot Recovery: And Miles Still to Go . . . : Municipal and federal initiatives, plus private programs, remain crucial

The Northridge earthquake shoved the 1992 riots from the consciousness of most disaster-weary Southern Californians. Rebuilding homes, businesses and lives damaged by the catastrophic temblor took precedence over making the city whole after riot fires were extinguished.

In the wake of the Jan. 17 quake, Washington sent billions of dollars in assistance to homeowners, business owners and poor people who lost homes, possessions or jobs. The flood of reconstruction diverted inspectors, contractors and others who had been working to repair riot damage.

The feds didn’t rush to rebuild after the 1992 civil disorder, which killed 58 and damaged or destroyed 2,314 businesses. Washington did allocate more than $1 billion, but much of that went to cover emergency costs and expenses related to the disaster, such as lost jobs and lost businesses. Then-President George Bush promised an “urban enterprise zone” to provide incentives for businesses to invest in poor areas of Los Angeles, but he ended up vetoing the pork-laden bill that emerged from Congress.

The Clinton Administration refined the notion, and last year Congress established the concept known as federal empowerment zones, complete with tax breaks for employers and new social spending to help disadvantaged workers. But this month Los Angeles--scandalously--was rejected in applying for the coveted empowerment-zone designation. Absent such help from Washington, the post-riot recovery is left mainly to local leaders.

RLA REMAINS A KEY PLAYER: In the immediate aftermath of the urban violence, then-Mayor Tom Bradley directed most of the recovery planning to a newly formed organization, Rebuild Los Angeles. The original RLA team concentrated on luring corporate America to Los Angeles.

Since last February, there has been a new RLA leadership team, headed by Linda Griego, who is a former deputy mayor, and Lodwrick M. Cook, retiring chairman of Arco. RLA has about 2 1/2 years left to achieve the promises made after the riots; it is scheduled to go out of business in 1997, after a life of five years. The RLA mission remains rebuilding, but it is broader now.

As RLA president, Griego is putting to use her civic experience and her background as an entrepreneur (she is one of the developers of Engine Co. No. 28, the trendy Downtown eatery) and is concentrating on creating jobs and redeveloping lots left vacant in the areas most heavily hit by the fires and vandalism. In these historically neglected neighborhoods, RLA has organized networks of companies in the furniture, toy manufacturing and metalwork industries. These small and medium-sized businesses tackle common obstacles to growth such as access to investment capital and new markets, finding skilled workers and negotiating environmental and other regulations. If the firms expand, they will create additional jobs in neighborhoods that sorely need more employment. To help manufacturers sell their products, RLA via a computer on-line system is linking companies with purchasers at major corporations. If big businesses buy locally, more local residents will have jobs. Jobs are as important as new stores and services in the affected neighborhoods, for unemployment, poverty and related social problems fed the civil disturbances.

Recovering from the worst urban upheaval in U.S. history will require a multitude of privately funded rebuilding efforts. However, government--in Washington, Sacramento and City Hall--must not abandon its responsibility.

A LESSON FOR LOS ANGELES: Mayor Richard Riordan, a consummate deal maker, should persuade more of his friends--corporate leaders, elite lawyers, bankers and foundation heads--to win the necessary agreements and commit the time and resources needed to make projects pay off in the form of jobs and services in poor neighborhoods.

He also must take to heart lessons learned from the city’s failed attempt to get a federal empowerment zone; yes, Washington politics may have played a part in the rejection but there’s no denying that Los Angeles hurt itself through its disorganized, less-than-stellar application. Riordan should take a sharp look at what went wrong--as he would scrutinize any disappointing business deal--and take steps to ensure that such a mistake does not recur.

And President Clinton, surely anxious to keep in the good graces of California voters, must find a way to get Los Angeles an empowerment zone that will encourage employers to do businesses in, and hire from, poor neighborhoods. Only that will bring about a complete recovery and prevent a repeat of a sorry bit of Los Angeles history. Thirty years ago, Watts exploded. That tragedy spurred a commercial and middle-class exodus that was never reversed. Such a dreadful departure should not be allowed to become the permanent legacy of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.