Not thanking the Academy: Hollywood businesses express frustration over Oscar-week closures.

When a portion of Orchid Alley between Orange Drive and Highland Avenue was closed Feb. 8, few pedestrians or motorists gave it a second glance.

But the blockade, coming a full three weeks before the Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre, marked the beginning of another season of increasingly disruptive closures for a number of Hollywood businesses.

By the time the awards ceremony takes place Feb. 29, many full blocks around Hollywood & Highland will have been closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic for as many as six days.

"We are shut down whether we like it or not," said Brian Sayers, director of special events for the Knitting Factory, a local nightclub.

Justas area businesses are beginning to reap the rewards of Hollywood's recovering economy, so too have they started to rue some of its popularity.

After Hollywood Boulevard was closed off on New Year's Eve in 2000 and 2001 to give revelers a taste of Times Square, howls from merchants prevented the city from renewing permits last year.

Then there are the irregular activities, like when the block in front of Hollywood & Highland was closed for a week in 2003 for the filming of "The Italian Job." Or when Hollywood Boulevard between Orange and Sycamore was closed for a day so students from Hollywood High School could draw a 160-by-60 foot portrait of Audrey Hepburn--in chalk.

But the biggest disruption remains the Academy Awards, which moved to the Kodak in 2002.

Retailers at Hollywood & Highland, the massive complex that houses the theater, are prepared. A clause is written into their leases requiring them to stay closed on the day of the Oscar ceremony.

Many of the neighboring businesses that intend to stay open, primarily restaurants, complain that sidewalk closures and tight security prevents potential customers from making their way down the boulevard.

Then, after the long awards show lets out, many attendees head for after-parties in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood, forsaking local venues.

That may begin to change.

Under pressure from City Councilman Eric Garcetti, whose 13th District includes Hollywood, and the Hollywood Entertainment District Property Owners Association, officials at the Academy this year have agreed to provide attendees with a list of nearby restaurants that are open after the Oscars.

The list will be handed to the ceremony's guests when they arrive to pick up their tickets at the box office (the Academy doesn't mail them).

"We are not recommending any restaurants," said Dawn Newell, an Academy spokeswoman who noted the list will be in alphabetical order. "It's just something we are doing as a courtesy."

That won't likely have a huge impact on nearby businesses this year, since the 1,600 Oscar attendees who don't have an invite to the exclusive Govemor's Ball probably have plans to go to other parties around town.

Still, Garcetti sees the gesture as a good start. He hopes that in a few years Academy guests will swarm bars and restaurants along Hollywood Boulevard after the event--much as was true in the early years of the ceremony, when it took place at the storied Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and then later at the Pantages Theater.

"I think Hollywood has made such great strides and that we are finally ready for our close-up," he said. "We would like the economic activity from the awards to spill over into the community. We shoulder a lot of the inconveniences and the security costs and we would like to share in the celebration with the Academy afterwards."

Studying the problem

The city has commissioned a study of the impact of frequent closures for movie premieres, private parties and film shoots. While the findings haven't been released yet, Garcetti said that work on reforming the city's street closure policies is planned in the next month.

As for the closure of Hollywood Boulevard for the Academy Awards, Garcetti said the city tried to make it less of a problem to businesses by gradually closing off streets.

"There isn't a full street closure except for the last two days," he said. "It's kind of a phased-in closure and we try to minimize it and keep traffic flowing."

For now, only certain Hollywood restaurants and nightclubs are on the list distributed to Academy members.

"We're looking for restaurants and nightclub venues where people can get food," said Kerry Morrison, executive director of the Hollywood Entertainment District, a business improvement district. "I don't want anyone to get stuck on the wrong side of a velvet rope."

Some establishments are planning special events this year, including The Knitting Factory, which is staying open and holding an after-Oscar party with free admission to those with ticket stubs.

Gilbert Nesbitt, general manager of Paladar, a Cuban restaurant on Wilcox Avenue, hopes the list handed out with Academy Award tickets will boost what has typically been a lackluster night. During entertainment award shows, he said, the restaurant's business plummets by 80 percent, he said.

"Normally awards shows hurt us," Nesbitt said. "Most of our clientele are music and film industry people and on those nights they are out partying."

Nesbitt isn't planning any special events for the restaurant or Nacional, the adjacent nightclub under the same ownership. "If we knew we would get a large amount of people, it's something we might consider," he said.

Not every restaurant has embraced the revival. Musso & Frank Grill, the venerable steakhouse a few blocks east of Hollywood & Highland, traditionally closes on Sunday nights and doesn't plan to change that this year.

"They said they would consider changing that next year if this is a hit," said Morrison, who is coordinating efforts between restaurants and the Academy. "They have a set schedule and changing it at this point would be too difficult."