MTA May Pay More to Lankershim Businesses

City officials will ask the MTA to provide more money for about 80 North Hollywood businesses hurt by a planned 26-day closure of Lanksershim Boulevard for subway construction.

Prompted by complaints from business owners who say the construction has already driven away customers and caused a raft of other problems, the City Council voted Tuesday to ask the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide more money to lessen the impact of planned repairs to Lankershim.

MTA officials plan to provide $150,000 worth of services to the businesses along Lankershim--including advertising and cleanup--while it is closed between Killion and Weddington streets.

But the city will ask the county transit agency to establish a program similar to the one set up for Hollywood merchants. That program included a $16.7-million fund that provided extra security and allowed for cash payouts to those affected.

MTA spokesman Ed Scannell said the agency must decide whether to close Lankershim around the clock for 26 days beginning Sept. 14, or to shut it down on six weekends and sporadic weekdays over a span of four months.

Agency CEO Julian Burke said last week any additional money for the North Hollywood merchants would have to be “factored in” before a decision could be made on the work schedule.

During the closure of Lankershim, work crews will restore utilities, pour concrete sidewalks, install street lights and perform other repair work.

Several business owners who appeared before the City Council on Tuesday said the subway construction had driven away customers, blocked access and even dirtied merchandise.

But Stuart Bogartz, a spokesman for one business group, warned against any funding program that would slow the pace of construction.

“The sooner the subway is completed, the sooner the businesses will be able to get back to normalcy,” Bogartz said.