Central Los Angeles

LOCAL VICTORY: It took plenty of blood, sweat and community canvassing, but it all paid off for homeowners in the Windsor Hills area of Southwest Los Angeles. At a hearing before the county Business Licensing Commission, commissioners last week voted 4 to 1 against the opening of United Pawnbrokers at 5001 La Brea Ave.

“It was a victory for the whole community,” said Tony Nicholas, president of the United Homeowners Assn., which represents households in Windsor Hills and surrounding areas.

Residents had been fighting a shop proposed for a mini-mall island at the intersection of La Brea, Stocker Street and Overhill Drive. Nicholas and others protested the opening of United Pawnbrokers as a potential crime magnet and an affront to the affluent community.

“There are already too many pawnshops in the [adjacent] Crenshaw area,” resident Walter Dubuclet said. “We don’t need another one in the black community.”