You may have seen the article in the Los Angeles Times last week about the unusual audition in New York. One-man bands and various street musicians were trying to impress the judges so they would get the right to perform in that city’s subway stations. Those deemed the best were awarded prime spots.
If you’re like me, about halfway through the article, you muttered aloud: Why can’t they do that in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater?
If you’ve been there lately, you know that the stretch of sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard between Orange and Highland avenues has become the Wild West of Los Angeles, the jungle where tourists get shaken down and traumatized with no Tarzan to save them.
On any given day, a dozen or more costumed characters – Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Darth Vader – congregate and obligingly offer to pose with tourists. They ask for tips, and most of the time, all goes well. In fact, it’s kind of cool when done right. But some of the characters explode in feigned rage when offered a couple of bucks, demanding more. And if a poor tourist opens up a pocketbook to search for a $5 bill, the character may snatch a $20 bill – or more – and walk away.
A few steps east from Grauman’s on the crowded sidewalk, you’ll encounter CD vendors. They nonchalantly hand you a CD as you walk by, and if you’re naïve enough to take it, they suddenly tell you it costs $10. Don’t bother handing it back; they won’t take it. They want money. “You can afford to help a struggling artist,” they yell.
Drinking, drugs, obscenities and aggression are part of the scene. Fisticuffs occasionally erupt. And with videos of the Hollywood hustlers harassing tourists on the Internet, Los Angeles is getting a black eye. “I do believe it’s hurting tourism,” said Kerry Morrison, who’s chief of the Hollywood Business Improvement District. Businesses are fuming because would-be customers are scared off.
For a street performer, asking for tips is perfectly legal. Aggressive vending – naming a price, touching the customer – is not. But the law is seldom enforced.
However, to suggest that authorities haven’t tried to solve the problem is unfair; police cracked down in spring 2010. After that, many of the street vendors disappeared. Morrison called that the “summer of peace.” But you know this familiar story: A lawsuit was filed and a federal judge ruled in November 2010 that the street performers were protected by the right to free speech.
“Since then, it’s gotten worse,” said Morrison. Dispirited officials apparently felt that resistance was futile and the characters came back more numerous than ever.
In recent months, however, another effort quietly began. Business groups have been meeting with city staff, the police, the City Attorney’s Office and others with the goal of asserting command over the lawless sidewalk.
But the going is slow because the situation is tricky. Unlike street musicians who occupy one spot, the characters and CD pushers roam around. That means prime spaces can’t be awarded. And any new system to control the street characters means, say, a permit system may have to be created, along with a small staff to oversee and police it. In other words, a new bureaucracy.
“Everything you can suggest, there’s a reason why it can’t be done or it would be difficult to do,” said a frustrated Leron Gubler, the head of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He said the city wants to do something but is cautious after the lawsuit.
No doubt. But just think of this: The New York subway system used to be synonymous with filth and hooliganism. But New York managed to get control of it. I mean, the city even auditions musicians to perform there, bringing a touch of class to the commute.
If New York can accomplish that with its subway system, surely the creative minds in L.A.’s City Hall can figure a way to restore law to a one-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard.
Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
