Just a Subway Ride Home

How many times has it been said that North Hollywood’s hopes for revitalization are riding on the opening of the Red Line subway station?

Probably about the same number of times urban planners have warned that rail alone is not enough to turn around a neighborhood. What it takes to root out problems of crime and blight is cooperation between transit and developers.

Yet with the subway line scheduled to open in June, prime land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority around the subway still stands empty. Riders will emerge from the subway to find empty lots and boarded-up buildings--hardly a reason to take the train to North Hollywood.

That’s one reason a proposal by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the outfit that brings us the Grammy awards, to develop two MTA parcels near the station is so promising.

The academy envisions a six-story apartment building called Encore Hall next to the Red Line station, with retail shops on the ground floor. The very presence of the Grammy group would strengthen North Hollywood’s ties to the entertainment industry.

Equally promising is that more than half of the 160 apartments would be reserved for music-industry retirees, who would receive assisted living services and subsidized rent. The housing units fulfill a promise the academy made to take care of indigent and elderly musicians--a promise on which the group’s charitable arm, MusiCares, has been slow to deliver. The academy has been criticized for spending only 10 cents of every dollar it raises on its primary charitable function, which is providing assistance to needy and ailing musicians.

The academy’s proposal is not without critics. Members of an MTA subcommittee and of a citizens panel set up by the city to advise redevelopment in the area question whether affordable senior housing is the best use for such prime land.

It’s smart use. The ever-more-crowded east San Fernando Valley needs housing, especially affordable housing. Clustering apartments next to public transportation makes sense--especially for the elderly, some of whom may prefer not to have to drive.

Other MTA parcels remain available--although, frankly, developers have not exactly been breaking down the door. Another office and retail complex planned for near the subway has been considerably scaled back--and its housing component dropped entirely.

The project suits North Hollywood’s identity as an arts district with a growing theater community.

Planners envision retired musicians working with young, up-and-coming performers in the NoHo Arts District and in area schools.

Mayor Richard Riordan’s office asked the MTA board to fast-track talks so that the academy can meet a June 30 deadline for state and local funding for the project. The MTA is not known for moving fast, but this is one proposal that should get serious, speedy action.