L.A.'s Lame New Year.

CITY WAS BADLY OUTCLASSED BY PARIS AND NEW YORK ON BIG NIGHT, BUT WHY?

ONE question seemed to dominate the conversation last week at health clubs, offices and restaurants all over Los Angeles:

Why are we so lame?

Starting at about 12:02 a.m. on Jan. 1,2000, Angelenos were forced to take a cold, hard look at themselves and ask some tough questions. Why did Egyptians get an elaborate laser show under the pyramids? Why did Paris get fireworks outlining the Eiffel Tower? Why did England get the Millennium Dome?

And most importantly, why didn't we get anything cool like that?

Apathy is nothing new in L.A. But at a time when the entertainment capital of the world could have claimed center stage -- or at least one of the stages -- many complained that the quality and enthusiasm of the local "Celebrate L.A. 2000" events were, at best, lackluster.

Which, in a city that has a hard time forming a collective opinion about most any community happening, was itself striking.

"I don't know if people were freaked out or just tired of the whole thing, or they just decided to stay home because of the rain, or if it was because we. made the same warning that we do every year about people firing guns into the air," said LA. County Sheriffs Lt. Dennis Beene, of the Emergency Operations Bureau. "But there was nothing more than a handful of folks (out). It was booorring. Traffic was just like a typical Friday night, and I think we were a little underwhelmed by it all."

The odds certainly were not in favor of LA. when it came to throwing a bash for the ages. First off, there is no tradition of a New Year's Eve celebration like there is in New York. L.A. also lacks a central place where people gather, which helps explain why the city-sponsored events were spread out in several areas. And by the time the clock struck 12 here, most of the world had long started celebrating (by that time, a good portion were already hung over).

Plus, it rained.

For those who did want to hit the streets, the city staged "Celebrate L.A. 2000," which included 13 hours of continuous festivities at five locations: San Pedro, Grand Avenue, Civic Center, Baldwin Hills and the Van Nuys Airport. Each of the sites had a range of food booths and live performers. Free tickets were required for entry to the events.

"Some people say there's no civic spirit in Los Angeles and I really, really disagree with that," said Adolfo Nodal, general manager of the L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs, who acted as executive producer of Celebrate L.A. 2000. "Fiesta Broadway (to celebrate Cinco de Mayo) draws 400,000 people each year. I feel very strongly about what we came up with and how we tried to celebrate some of the major neighborhoods in L.A. We were just as good as anybody else, and we looked good on the world stage."

Some people would disagree. During ABC's 24-hour coverage of the New Year around the globe, the Pacific Time Zone was primarily represented not by Los Angeles - its biggest city by far - but by Las Vegas.

The sight of L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan and Jay Leno throwing a switch to light the Hollywood sign in a predominantly residential neighborhood - and sans fireworks because of the perceived fire danger - couldn't compete with 250,000 people on the Vegas Strip.

Even cooler-than-thou San Francisco managed to set off fireworks and get 200,000 people.

As it turned out, many of L.A.'s hotshot entertainment types defected to other cities to help ring in the New Year. The Washington shindig was produced by Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones and hosted by Will Smith. Don Mischer, known for producing the Emmys and the Kennedy Center Honors, was overseeing Barbra Streisand's show at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

So what does it take for L.A, to throw a real party? If not the millennium, then what?

Backyards, not public spaces

"I don't measure L.A. by how many people turned up to see the Hollywood sign, for God's sake," said John Argue, an attorney who worked to bring the 1984 Olympics to the city. "Personally, I went to a delightful black-tie party at a beautiful home in our neighborhood and it was lovely. The charm of Los Angeles is in the backyards of people, not our public spaces, and that's just the way it is. If you live in some of those other cities, you would want to get out of your tenement and get out in the street. But in L.A. you don't have to, because you have a better situation."

So there.

Nodal in particular believes attendance at the city's events was scuttled by the rainy weather.

"We actually had to cancel a couple of acts because it was impossible to get them on stage without electrocuting them," he said. "In Crenshaw, we worked out an agreement with Sears where we got all the towels in the towel department to mop up the stage and equipment. It really required a Herculean effort to keep all of it going."

For some, though, the "rainy weather dampened the party" excuse didn't quite cut it. Even Riordan reportedly chastised Angelenos for being "sissies" for not attending the events.

It also rained in San Diego, but 15,000 people showed up at the Balboa Park Exposition 2000 event for fireworks, a masquerade ball and extended hours at the museums. Tens of thousands of others gathered on thousands of others gathered on the waterfront and bars of the city's Gaslamp District.

Back in L.A., some folks who attended the five city events said the crowds were extremely small - and may have totaled even less than the 20,000 estimated by the city. The final price tag was $4.1 million, most of which came from private funds and in-kind donations of service.

More than $1 million came from the city - an expense that raised the ire of many when it was announced as part of the budget.

'Bombarded by hype'

Even indoor events fizzled. The much-hyped concert at Staples Center featuring the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt attracted less than a sellout crowd.

Still, some insist that just because L.A. didn't cut loose for the millennium doesn't mean it isn't a partying kind of place.

"This is a town that gets bombarded by hype," said political consultant Sherry BebitchJeffe. "I don't think we should be penalized because the (millennium) was the most-hyped event in the history of the world since I've been a part of it. L.A. was sophisticated enough to not get sucked in by it."

The last time Angelenos really got into a community-wide celebration was the 1984 Olympics - a time when it ran with the opportunity to wow the world.

David Simon, president of the L.A. Sports Council and a member of the team trying to get the Olympics to return to the city in 2012, asked rhetorically, "Realistically, how could we have compared to other cities (on New Year's)? We're not known for doing things on New Year's Eve. But I think if we have the Olympics again, people will be just as excited."

Why? Because the Olympics take more than a decade to organize, and the financial and emotional payoff for a host city is a lot bigger than a rousing five-second cheer at midnight.

With that in mind, some believe there's no reason for Los Angeles to hang its collective head in shame, because the mainstay celebration in the area doesn't occur on New Year's Eve, but rather the next day.

"In the Southland we are centered on Pasadena, with the Rose Parade and game," said Bebitch-Jeffe. "The fact that we still had 200,000 people going to view the floats a day or two after the Rose Bowl says something."