Delay Urged on Sculpture Proposal

A proposal by the Community Redevelopment Agency to spend $84,000 on a surrealist sculpture as the entrance to the NoHo Arts District has divided the community, with the head of one group calling for a delay until there is more local scrutiny.

Glenn Hoiby, who chairs the elected redevelopment Project Area Committee, asked the CRA board Monday to postpone action until his panel has a chance to review the proposal.

Hoiby said the citizens committee has asked the CRA to develop a streetscape improvement project for years but has not been briefed on any plans, including the proposal for a sculpture.

The work of art by Steven Schubert is proposed for Lankershim Boulevard at Burbank Boulevard and Tujunga Avenue. In a report asking the CRA board to approve the expenditure, Schubert is quoted as saying “The image, surreal in nature, is representational of the qualities embodied in the NoHo Arts District. Primarily its resurrection from neglect and decay and its emergence as a destination center.”

Responded Hoiby, “It sounds like an exorbitant amount of money for something the PAC has never been briefed on.”

He said the message of the artwork, that North Hollywood has been resurrected, is “premature.”