Mayor Wants to Drop ’87 Street Scene

The Los Angeles Street Scene Festival was placed in doubt Monday after Mayor Tom Bradley asked City Council members to cancel the event, citing a money shortage and the legal troubles plaguing its principal City Hall organizer.

In a letter to council members, Bradley recommended deferring the Street Scene for one year and, in the interim, establishing “a citizens committee” to review the festival and propose changes if necessary. Bradley’s recommendation came while criminal and civil investigations are under way into the on-the-job conduct of the city official in charge of the event, Sylvia Cunliffe, general manager of the General Services Administration.

Favorable Reception

The reaction of two key council members reached after the mayor’s late afternoon announcement, including Council President John Ferraro, was favorable to postponing the event this year.

The Street Scene Festival, which attracted 1 million people last September to the downtown Civic Center, was struck by violence last year and was saved only after Bradley and the City Council members adopted new guidelines that would feature less alcohol, softer rock music and tighter security.

But in a blow to festival organizers, the mayor said Monday that he no longer favors holding the Street Scene this year and thought it “prudent” to cancel the event that began in 1978 and has been financed by a combination of public and private dollars.

“A preliminary estimate of the cost to stage the 1987 Street Scene exceeds $230,000,” Bradley told council members in his Monday letter, “and there is doubt that sufficient funds can be raised in time.

Additionally, Bradley said, the event should be put off this year because Cunliffe is on forced administrative leave and “therefore unable to do her part.”

Cunliffe said the mayor had not consulted her about his decision. “I think that it’s something that should continue, but he’s the boss,” she said.

The festival is ostensibly run by a nonprofit corporation--the Street Scene Committee--but the central figure in the festival has clearly been Cunliffe, who is presently the subject of investigations by the district attorney, Los Angeles police, a three-member special panel appointed by Bradley and the city administrative office.

Bradley last month placed Cunliffe on a 45-day paid leave of absence to allow investigators to look into accusations of mismanagement, favoritism and other allegations against her.

Ben Barkin, the committee’s president who lives in Milwaukee, could not be reached for comment. Willie Davis, committee vice president, was out of town Monday.

However, last week, Davis told The Times that while Cunliffe has been instrumental in producing the Street Scene, “we wouldn’t want it felt that it was totally dependent on Sylvia for its survival.”

Refers to Violence

Ferraro said he had not yet seen the mayor’s letter but called a one-year delay plausible, especially in light of the violence that marred last year’s event--which included a fatal shooting, an alleged rape and four stabbings.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Ferraro said of the proposed cancellation. “I think we got too wrapped up making it bigger and bigger. We have to be careful that we don’t let this become a monster. It will be good to have an outside committee review this.”

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, the chairman of the Finance and Revenue Committee, also called the moratorium on the Street Scene a wise decision. Yaroslavsky, who has been critical of Cunliffe for the city’s costs in financing the festival, applauded the recommendation that an independent committee run the Street Scene. He also said the mayor’s decision was not surprising because of Cunliffe’s lingering troubles.

“It was inevitable. Street Scene can’t function in this climate,” Yaroslavsky said. “It’s been clear for years that Street Scene is a product of the General Services Department, and that department is in disarray.”