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Times Square Comes to Downtown and Then the Rest of Los Angeles |
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The CityWatcher
By Harold Katz
Much has been written about the controversy surrounding the sale of rights to one of our leading corporate citizens to put up 50,000 square feet of electrical billboards on the Convention Center.
Here are some thoughts I haven’t seen published, in no particular order of importance:
PRO: Every time I drive downtown, as I make the transition from the 10 to the 110 going North, I always am reminded that we have the ugliest convention center building ever built. There is nothing inviting about that structure and I have always found it an embarrassment when I’m driving out of town guests around to show off this city which I love. So on the positive side, the signs will hide the architecture.
CON: The intersection of the 10 and 110 is one busy transition road at almost all hours of the day and night. I can’t help but believe that there are going to be a lot of cars running into the car in front of them, though at slow speeds. Now if we had the bumpers I had on my 1939 Chevy, made out of heavy steel and with springs, the cars would just bounce off each other, no harm no foul. But now days a gentle tap can cost several thousand dollars to repair, times two.
PRO: The additional accidents due to the signs will be a boon to the auto bump shops and create a great many jobs fixing up the cars that have been damaged as the drivers read all the signs, hey something has to replace cell phone caused accidents
CON: One of my favorite Councilmember’s, who should have followed her brother into the Mayor’s office, is a supporter because the city will collect $2 million a year. With all due respect, I read, though I do not know it to be factual, that the medical building on Wilshire in Westwood gets $100,000 a month for one painted advertising mural, which is $1.2 million per year.
It would seem to me that the city should get a percentage of the revenue generated by the signs, the signs should be set up in a separate corporation and all funds segregated for ease of auditing, including a complete control of who is advertising and what they pay, with a minimum guaranteed payment of $1 million per year or $83,333 per month (74 normal billboards at $1,126 per month). Oh yes, add in severe financial penalties for trying to hide revenue and maybe even a minimum jail sentence for everyone involved, including owners. Not that I for one moment believe that the people involved would do that, but I’ve always lived by the rule that I believe everyone, but always cut the cards.
Has anyone got the facts on what billboard companies pay building owners for putting a billboard on the top of their building? I know some of our clients have signs on their buildings but I have never focused on what they get and I don’t have time to go searching out the facts, but I know it is a lot of money. This should be explored as to what market rates are and then a premium should be added for location.
This same Councilmember, and I really do like and respect her, stated that this is revenue the City never had before. Again with all due respect, we can legalize prostitution and drugs and tax it all and talk about raising revenue, we would run a surplus for years to come, and it would come from money that is already being spent but given to the drug cartels and criminal elements.
PRO: It will add a festive atmosphere to the area, as does L.A. Live when you drive around it. It’s nice having a touch of Times Square in downtown LA.
CON: I live on the 5th floor of a Westside condo with views to the West, South and East to the Ocean. I can watch the airplanes land at LAX and I can watch about 35 fireworks shows on the 4th of July. I fear that one of these days I’m going to wake up and all I’m going to see is bright flashing electronic billboards for as far as the eye can see and in all three directions.
So there you have it, the Convention Center billboard deal from a different prospective.
(Harold Katz is a long-time City activist, lives on the Westside and is a CityWatch contributor.) _
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 78
Pub: Sept 26, 2008
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