Parking shortages, other woes hit South Fairfax neighborhood.

LITTLE Ethiopia, a two-block stretch along Fairfax Avenue between Olympic Avenue and Pico Boulevard, is bursting at the seams.

While the appearance over the last two decades of so many Ethiopian restaurants in the small area is a sign that the tiny community has made economic gains, it has also added tensions as the business and ethnic makeup of the area shifts.

"Many of the businesses are Ethiopian, the residents in the community are elderly Jews, and as you go down the street, there are more Hispanics and blacks," said David Hakimian, owner of Westaid Pharmacy. "This isn't La Cienega where there is parking. There are too many restaurants here for such a small community.

Steven Jacoby, a Czech emigre who owns a small floor-covering store in the district, said crime also is a problem. "In the daytime, it isn't so bad, but at night it's dangerous with undesired characters," he said.

Some nearby residents have opposed giving full liquor licenses to the bustling Ethiopian restaurant scene, arguing that to do so would exacerbate the parking problem by forcing patrons to look for spots on residential streets.

Louise Nemschoff, who lives a block west of Little Ethiopia, got involved with neighborhood politics when a local restaurant sought a liquor license--later denied--seeking to expand into a nightclub.

"One of the businesses wanted a waiver of zoning requirements to get live dancing and entertainment and move up to a full liquor license, all without more parking," said Nemschoff, a lawyer and member of the nearby Carthay Square Neighborhood Association.

"We objected because parking is a humongous problem in the neighborhood," she said.

"What is needed to make this a viable business district is parking, parking and parking. There isn't enough parking for the current level of business."

Refugee influx

The area has undergone a slow metamorphosis over the past 15 years, as civil wars and droughts drove many Ethiopians to the United States beginning in the 1980s, said Pini Herman, a demographer and principal with Phillips and Herman Demographic Research.

In Los Angeles, the Ethiopian community numbers 5,500, one of the smallest ethnic groups in the region. The Ethiopians have gathered in an area that at one time was a center of the city's Jewish community.

The immediate neighborhood still has some 2,000 Jewish households, Herman said. Added to the mix is the Hispanic population living in a row of apartment buildings on Fairfax between Whitworth Drive and Pico, and a Korean church sandwiched between them all, Herman said.

"I have never found a neighborhood in Los Angeles as diverse and integrated as this one. But this is not an Ethiopian residential community," said Nemschoff.

Ellie Goldstein, president of the NationalCouncil of Jewish Women, a non-profit group that helps women, children and families, noted that the history of the community has become blurred as its demographics change.

While the majority of Ethiopians don't live in the immediate area, the community's commercial life has formed around the dozen restaurants, as well as clothing and jewelry stores, a travel agency and other small businesses.

About a year ago, the Ethiopian American Chamber of Commerce was formed as a political vehicle to provide a place for networking, business training and advocacy matters. For many merchants, the biggest issues are parking, a desire to buy rented buildings from absentee landlords, and an overabundance of thrift stores.

There are five thrift outlets in the district, and most of the owners declined to talk about the prospect of being nudged out. But the handwriting could be on the wall.

Joe Foote, owner of the Outlet thrift store, has been at his Fairfax address for 28 years. He said business isn't great, and he conceded that his days may be numbered.

"This is all Ethiopian now," he said. "Eventually, they'll run the whole place."

There's also an ongoing effort by the new chamber to return the Los Angeles Marathon tothe race's route in the neighborhood. Ethiopia has a tradition of excellence in the marathon and the race ran through the Little Ethiopia district until recently, when organizers opted for a flatter, easier path.