Panel Backs $2-Million Plan for Merchants

Saying he was fed up with delays, Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon pushed through committee Wednesday a plan to spend $2 million for North Hollywood businesses hurt by subway work.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority had closed parts of Lankershim Boulevard for five consecutive weekends to repair roads torn up during construction of the Metro Red Line subway and station. The construction ended Oct. 19, a week earlier than expected. But the closures hurt sales.

Alarcon and Councilman Joel Wachs have threatened to withhold about $37 million the MTA needs to complete the Red Line until the agency presents a plan to mitigate the merchants’ losses.

One local business leader called the move “a good start.”

“It’s long overdue,” said Guy Weddington McCreary, transportation chairman of the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “When you come in and disrupt a business area, many people can’t hold on.”

Alarcon had initially suggested the MTA pay $9.7 million, but last month his council Transportation Committee asked for $2 million to $3 million instead.

“It just bothers me that the MTA is not able to help these businesses during the construction phase,” Alarcon said Wednesday. With construction done, he said, the agency was still moving too slowly to prop up the sagging businesses.

Absorbing the councilman’s ire was Ronald Deaton, the city’s chief legislative analyst, who was negotiating with MTA head Julian Burke. Neither Burke nor other MTA representatives were at the committee meeting Wednesday.

Deaton suggested a Lankershim Boulevard mitigation plan of about $1.5 million to $2 million, but said the details had yet to be worked out. He wanted to include the plan in a larger package involving $142 million the city had once agreed to pay the MTA for construction of three subway lines, two of which have been halted. Alarcon has advocated using some of that money to buy the Anthony Building in Sun Valley to use as a second Valley police bureau.

Alarcon said he wanted action.

“Ummmm . . ., “ Deaton said as Alarcon glared at him during the Transportation Committee meeting. Deaton tried repeatedly to ask for more time to nail down a plan with Burke, but Alarcon would not yield.

“OK,” Deaton said finally.

The committee directed Deaton to sort out the details so the plan can be presented to the full council by Nov. 6.

An MTA spokesman, Ed Scannell, said the agency had no immediate response to the committee’s action but planned to review it. The MTA has spent about $1 million in mitigation efforts in North Hollywood over the past three years.