MTA PANEL TAKES NO STAND ON NOHO.

Byline: Douglas Haberman Daily News Staff Writer

An MTA committee made no recommendation Wednesday on a request by Los Angeles City Council President John Ferraro for the transit agency to pay $1.3 million to reconstruct Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.

Ferraro, who says the 2.1-mile stretch between Bluffside Drive and Chandler Boulevard was weakened by subway construction, has called for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide money to rebuild the street.

But at its meeting Wednesday, the MTA board's construction committee simply passed the request along with no recommendation to the full board, which will consider it April 29.

The MTA's chief executive officer, Julian Burke, told the construction committee that he had been too preoccupied with other issues, particularly a federal court order to reduce passenger crowding on buses, to reach a recommendation on Ferraro's request. Burke said he will make a recommendation by next week's board meeting.

Ferraro aide Renee Weitzer attended the committee meeting with city staff members who were ready to present evidence of the subway project's impact on the street, but the committee postponed the presentation.

Weitzer said the MTA drilled holes in the street as part of the Metro Red Line work and patched over them, but the patches are coming loose and cracks are spreading out from the holes.

Business owners on Lankershim Boulevard have complained about the condition of the street, contending it keeps some customers away.

Fred Cohen, owner of Luggage For Less at 5144 Lankershim Blvd., said the overall effect of the years-long subway project has been to drive some merchants out of business while costing others tens of thousands of dollars or more in lost revenue.