Councilman’s Cleanup Day Draws Protest

Los Angeles Councilman Mike Feuer’s start-up of a street cleaning program for Fairfax Avenue on this week turned into an unexpected debate over plans to establish a business improvement district in the area.

As Feuer used a steam-cleaning wand to blast gum off a sidewalk, a half-dozen protesters waved placards criticizing the selection of a consultant for the proposed district along Fairfax and Melrose avenues.

Some merchants and Feuer have supported the district--in which property owners pay for improvements such as security, street cleaning, landscaping, and marketing campaigns--as a way to revive the ailing shopping district.

The event Thursday was aimed at showing the community that a spruced-up street could be attractive to shoppers. Feuer had secured $28,000 in city funding for the yearlong effort.

“I am fundamentally committed to making Fairfax and Melrose the jewels they once were,” Feuer said.

While the protesters have no argument with renewal efforts, they said that the community did not have enough input over the selection of the consulting team Stoorza, Zeigaus & Metzger, and David Taussig and Associates, which will research the creation of the tax assessment district.

Feuer said the selection process was fair and that a panel of city representatives and three area business owners chose to award the $65,000 contract to the Stoorza group over two competitors.

Protesters also complained about the area’s lack of parking for customers and accused Feuer of moving too slowly to create more parking.

“We feel like there is a lot of obstacles,” said Randi Chernov, owner of Max’s Bar and Grill on Fairfax Avenue.

“The people who live around the area are all affluent people but nobody’s coming here.”

Jackie Cantor, manager of Cantor’s Fairfax restaurant, dismissed the complaints, saying Feuer is working diligently to improve the area.

“Its very frustrating because [Feuer] is here trying to help us revitalize the street and get a cleaner street so that people will want to shop and here these people are protesting,” Cantor said.