Study finds lure of Chinatown fades with inattention.

Business leaders call for cleanup, new focus on crime

Chinatown, once a strong cultural, emotional, business and social center for Chinese immigrants, has deteriorated and is in dire need of revitalization, according to a study commissioned by the Chinatown Economic Development Council. A group of business leaders formed the council in June 1993 to promote and sustain the economic vitality and quality of life in Chinatown.

The council is separate from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which promotes Chinatown's cultural activities and businesses and has been in existence for 30 years. Some chamber members also sit on the council, but the two groups have not worked on any projects together.

Chinatown "is a deteriorating way-station for new immigrants who enter, stabilize and then leave like others before them, for greener pastures," the study concluded.

The study was conducted by Little Tokyo-based Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics Inc., a community-based nonprofit organization that aims to achieve full participation and equality for Asian Pacific Americans. Its conclusions were based on 15 interviews of business owners, business leaders and residents. Chinatown is bordered roughly by Sunset Boulevard on the south, the Los Angeles River on the north, Main Street on the east and Beaudry Avenue on the west. "Chinatown has a weak economic base that is growing weaker," the study stated. "Its businesses are primarily small retail and restaurants. They are deteriorating and being eroded by competition from downtown, San Gabriel Valley, Monterey Park, San Fernando Valley, Cerritos, South Bay and Westminster." The demand for Chinatown retail space has waned from its peak three or four years ago, according to David W. Louie, a broker with CB Commercial Real Estate Group and a member of the Chinese Economic Development Council. This is reflective of the general economic recession and the emergence of certain San Gabriel Valley communities as L.A. County's dominant Chinese cultural centers, he said.

Business during 1993 at Yang Chow Restaurant on Broadway was off 10 percent from 1992, said owner Kim Tak Yun, who claimed the smoking ban passed last year is partially responsible for the decline.

At Han Son Co., a Chinese medicine store also situated on Broadway, business is down 25 percent from what it was two years ago, said manager Larry Wong.

Louie said these declines are probably a result both of the Chinese population flocking to other parts of L.A. County and the recession in general.

"The economic picture as I see it now in 1994 is bleak," said Y. Scott Wang, president of the Asian Business Association in Los Angeles, which promotes business opportunities for Asians all over L.A. County.

Although Chinatown is a redevelopment zone, the L.A. Community Redevelopment Agency has neglected to make this community a priority during the past 20 years, Wang said. Storefronts are still outdated and the area's traffic problems haven't been alleviated, conditions that weren't discussed specifically in the redevelopment plan, he said.

"The city was able to do quite a lot with Bunker Hill but not with Chinatown," Wang noted.

During the past 13 years the CRA has developed 860 units of housing in Chinatown, 800 of which are designated as very low, low and moderate income housing, said Susan Totaro, the CRA project manager for Chinatown.

The CRA has also built a parking structure, replaced sidewalks and financed a bilingual police service center, where Chinese-speaking residents can make police reports.

Projects the CRA is currently working on include improving the Alpine Recreation Center and a retail center on Hill Street called West Plaza, and developing a cultural center on Yale Street, Totaro said.

The area needs more parking, better traffic flow and cleaner streets as well, said William Wong, chairman of the United Community Resources Agency, which promotes job development in Chinatown.

"I think we should stop the increasing crime," he added.

Because of the crime problem, people are afraid to walk the streets at night and most stores and restaurants close when the sun goes down, restaurateur Yun said. He added that this situation has become more pronounced since the April 1992 riots.

Some local restaurants even hire security guards to patrol outside their restaurants so patrons feel safe, Louie noted.

The community is located near a county detention facility and freed inmates sometimes contribute to the crime problem, Louie said.

According to the Leadership Education study, Chinatown lacks a common vision to guide its leaders and its future development, its resources are not meeting its changing needs and its needs are ignored by policymakers.

The study recommended the community establish a coordinating council, made up of business owners, residents, elected officials and others, to create a common vision for the community as well as a comprehensive plan to carry out that vision.

L.A. Councilman Mike Hernandez is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the CRA to secure funding for a more comprehensive, $300,000 study of Chinatown. He said the aim of that study would be to form a consensus of all the local business interests and landowners on the community's future. The process would be mediated by a third party to insure all interests were balanced, Hernandez said.

All the parties involved would come to a consensus as to who this third party could be. For instance, the American Institute of Architects could be one possible mediator. If any party involved objected to a particular choice of mediator, that mediator would not be picked, he said. The group would then create a plan to revitalize the area.

Leadership Education did not conduct a comprehensive study because it was only based on 15 interviews of business leaders and residents, he said.

Louie, meanwhile, has visions of improving Chinatown that go beyond the study's recommendations. He is working with the MTA to turn a future light rail stop at the corner of College and Alameda Streets into a retail hub.

A platform built alongside the station would connect it with Broadway. Retailers would line the platform and parking would be located beneath, Louie said. There would also be some type of connection between Broadway and New Chinatown, a walkway lined with shops and located between Broadway and Hill Street. New Chinatown, which isn't new per se, would also be cleaned up, Louie said.