It didn’t take more than a day for the first shift at Fire Station 69 to grab lunch at Lenny’s Deli Tuesday morning. Four hungry firefighters showed up at 11:30 a.m., marveling at the extensive new menu. The Swarthmore restaurant opened Monday morning at 7 a.m. stocked with plenty of food’favorite deli items and home-baked bakery goods; a trained wait staff and chefs’many from the old Mort’s Deli and the Pantry; and, as it turned out, a computer system that bollixed up any hopes of fast service. ‘Everything that didn’t go smoothly was my fault,’ said owner Lenny Rosenberg, referring to a sophisticated computer system that incorporates the cash register with a touch-screen menu that relays orders to the kitchen. ‘You’d have to have a doctorate from MIT to use the cash register,’ said Monday’s manager, Randy Plaskoff.   The day started off with a steady stream of customers, all of whom enjoyed a 50-percent-off menu. But by 3 p.m. all orders were halted in order to catch up with the backlog of orders, with a promise that the restaurant would reopen at 6 p.m.   ’By 15 minutes to 6, every table was filled,’ Plaskoff said, adding that a line had formed outside the restaurant well before 6, so he let customers in early. But with 23 tables ordering simultaneously, service once again fell behind and continued that way as customers kept pouring in.   Plaskoff finally discovered that the computer was not communicating correctly with the kitchen. For example, an order for scrambled eggs, a side of potatoes and white toast came out as a scrambled, egg-white omelet.   By the end of day one, the bugs had been worked out and the flow of customers was moving well; the kitchen was still serving food at 9:15 p.m.   Rosenberg and his business partner Jack Srebnik have extensive restaurant experience. Srebnik, who owns two pizza places in West L. A. and three restaurants in the Palm Springs area, became acquainted with Rosenberg two years ago when he sold 17th Street Caf’ to him. Rosenberg had previously operated several bakeries in the New York area, and Nosh in Beverly Hills.   Rosenberg, anxious to get his new deli up and running, skipped a traditional soft opening in favor of Monday’s ‘we’re in business’ opening, and he admits he was stunned by the number of people who came through: over 1,000, he estimated. He was also surprised by the number of take-out orders, ‘especially at dinner. There was a line of take-out customers that flowed into the room for about two hours.’   Summarizing the day’s events, Rosenberg was convinced that with polite service and a good product, there would be repeat business. ‘We appreciated that people understood our glitches,’ he said. ‘They know we’re here for the long haul.’   In addition, he reiterated his philosophy concerning menu changes. ‘My view is that anything customers want, let’s try it,’ Rosenberg said, adding that the kids’ menu will be in place for three months, as a test. There are already have requests for whole-wheat pasta, vegetable sides and chicken tenders.

The City of L.A. is moving forward with a proposed ordinance that would place restrictions on sober-living and group homes.   Four of five L.A. City Planning Commissioners voted to approve the Community Care Facilities Ordinance at their hearing on February 10. The ordinance will now head to the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) for approval before going to the full L.A. City Council.   City Councilman Greig Smith, representing District 12, initiated the proposed ordinance in 2007 after hearing complaints from his constituents about panhandling, foul language, traffic congestion and excessive noise in connection with these homes.   On February 10, Palisades Community Council Chair Janet Turner and fellow members Jennifer Malaret, Jack Allen, Barbara Kohn and Chris Spitz urged the Commission to approve the ordinance with minor modifications.   They presented a letter from the Council, which voted unanimously to support the city’s efforts on September 23 after hearing from upset neighbors. There are three known sober-living homes in Pacific Palisades and more are planned.   '[The ordinance] is an intelligent and balanced approach to the needs of the disabled and the preservation of the residential character of R1-R2 neighborhoods,’ Turner wrote.   The proposed ordinance would add new regulations on state-licensed group homes and boarding houses operating in residential neighborhoods. State-licensed group homes serve recovering drug addicts, alcoholics, senior citizens, parolees and people with developmental disabilities.   State law prohibits cities from regulating licensed facilities with six or fewer residents differently from single-family homes, so those facilities cannot be affected by the proposed ordinance. The L.A. City Planning Department staff, however, is recommending that state-licensed facilities with seven or more residents be allowed to operate as long as they meet certain standards such as adequate parking, minimal noise and night lighting.   Sober-living homes, however, are considered boarding houses, which do not require state licensure, because they comprise a group of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts who have committed to living together as a family. Unlike licensed homes, the residents do not receive care, treatment, individual or group counseling from professionals, case management, medication management or treatment planning.   The Planning Department’s staff is proposing that the city code be amended to define ‘family’ as people who live in a single housekeeping unit with residents under one lease agreement. Any homes in R1 and R2 zones that involve more than one lease agreement would be considered boarding houses, and they would be prohibited.   Jeff Christensen, project director of The Sober Living Network (a nonprofit organization that advocates sober-living homes) told the Palisadian-Post that most sober-living homes have more than one lease agreement because landlords require that each tenant sign a lease in order to protect their property.   But he argues that the proposed ordinance will not be effective in preventing these homes from operating in residential neighborhoods because the sober-living industry will simply modify its lease agreements to comply if the ordinance is passed.   Christensen thinks that a more effective approach would be for the city to form a task force comprising multiple agencies to shut down problem homes.   ’Sober-living homes have been operating in this city for decades,’ Christensen said, noting they provide a safe and sober place for people. ‘For every single problem house, there are hundreds that are not problems. Many people do not even know they are there.’   Pacific Palisades resident Rebecca Lobl, who lives next to a sober-living home on Muskingum Avenue, argues that the mere existence of boarding houses changes the quality of life in single-family neighborhoods. She alleges that her family has experienced second-hand smoke and late-night disturbances. She has co-founded a nonprofit organization, the L.A. Coalition for Neighborhoods, to advocate for the ordinance.   On February 22, Lobl met with City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, representing District 11 (which includes Pacific Palisades), and presented him a 17-page letter outlining the coalition’s position.   ’The sober-living industry argues that it can successfully self-regulate its houses and that the only problem houses are either not sober-living houses at all or few and far between,’ Lobl wrote. ‘This is not the experience of many residents living in communities which have sober-living houses and other types of boarding houses in their areas.’   As of February 19, 25 community and neighborhood councils have passed motions, and 264 L.A. residents have signed a petition supporting the ordinance, according to Lobl.   To counter Christensen’s argument, Lobl said she believes the ordinance will be effective in preventing sober-living homes from continuing to operate. She pointed to the clause stating ‘the makeup of the household occupying the unit is determined by the residents of the unit rather than the landlord or property manager.’   ’This clause is the city’s effort to ensure that boarding-house businesses, which typically select their clients themselves, are zoned out of R1 and R2, but people who choose to live together and self-select each other, more like a family, are allowed to live in these low-density zones,’ she told the Post.   In the coming months, Christensen and Lobl plan to advocate for their respective positions by writing letters and meeting with City Council members. If the ordinance reaches the full City Council, it will require a two-thirds favorable vote in order to become effective because the Planning Commission’s vote was not unanimous.   Rosendahl told the Palisadian-Post on February 25 that ‘I am taking meetings with all sides of the issue. I’m sensitive to the people with addiction who want and need help, but I am also sensitive to the neighbors and the community and what impact [these homes] have if not done properly.’

The Rotary Club of Pacific Palisades plans to host a triathlon on Sunday, October 23 at Palisades Charter High School and along the residential streets on the mesa west of Temescal Canyon, the Asilomar bluff area.   ’It’s for all athletes who want to have a fun race,’ said Pacific Palisades resident David Card, noting that the Rotarians want to start an annual athletic event that would be different from the Palisades-Will Rogers 10K/5K run held on the Fourth of July.   The proposed triathlon will be in reverse as the adult/teenage contestants start with a 5K run, transition to a 10K bike race and end with a 300-meter swim in the Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center’s 12-lane competition pool.   A 5K run/walk and a junior triathlon, which the YMCA has done in the past, will take place at the same time, entirely on PaliHi’s campus.   The Rotary Club will donate the money collected from entry fees to the Boy and Girl Scouts, PaliHi, Paul Revere Middle School and the Palisades-Malibu YMCA.   Last Thursday, Card presented the proposal to the Pacific Palisades Community Council, which voted unanimously to support the Rotary Club’s efforts as long as at least 51 percent of the residents in the neighborhood favor the idea. The club will be required to obtain a special event permit from the L.A. Bureau of Street Services, which mandates that at least 51 percent of the residences within the proposed closure area support it.   The Council also asked that the Rotary Club inform the residents that their cars will be towed if they are still parked on the street on race day.   Card agreed and will now circulate a petition to residents. The triathlon course will be on the following streets: Bowdoin Street, Erskine Drive, El Medio Avenue, Asilomar Boulevard, Almar Avenue, Muskingum Place, Tahquitz Place, Miami Way and Arbramar Avenue, Wynola Street and Northfield Street.   ’I tried to design, with the help of a professional race advisor [Walt Walston of W2 Promotions], a route through the neighborhood that would be attractive to racers as well as minimize the impact as much as possible on neighbors,’ Card explained.   The triathlon is tentatively scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., and all the competitors should finish in two hours. Roadblocks will be set out as early as 6:30 a.m. The city will put up the ‘no parking signs’ a few days before the event, but they will not be enforced until the day of the triathlon, Card said.   ’Obviously, we will pick up the cones and closure signs and open it up as soon as the race is over ‘ that will be our highest priority,’ Card said, noting that he hopes that the selected day and time will be the least inconvenient for residents.   He added that if people need to travel somewhere on the day of the event, they can park their cars outside the course area. Parking for the event will be on Sunset Boulevard, Temescal Canyon Road and the PaliHi campus.   The triathlon will take place on the same day as the Chamber of Commerce’s Village Fair, which will be held on PaliHi’s campus following the race.   Overall, ‘We want to show off the [PaliHi] campus, show off the pool and also support the Chamber of Commerce,’ Card said.

Lifelong Palisadian Rich Wilken, one of the town’s most enthusiastic and hard-working volunteers, has been named 2010 Citizen of the Year, an honor bestowed by the Palisadian-Post since 1947.   Wilken, an architect by trade, will receive his award at a banquet on April 28 in the American Legion Hall, along with yet-to-be-named recipients of the Golden Sparkplug Award, presented annually by the Community Council.   ’Few residents have ever been as active as Rich in so many community organizations,’ said Post Publisher Roberta Donohue, ‘and few people can match his willingness to take on leadership roles.’   In 2010, Wilken once again coordinated the Fourth of July fireworks show at Palisades High, continued to serve as an assistant Scoutmaster in Boy Scout Troop 223, and remained active in the Optimist Club and the Lutheran Church (where he is past president of the congregation). Late in the year he agreed to serve as co-chair of the committee that is organizing various events to celebrate PaliHi’s 50th year, starting on July 4.   '[Rich] always seems to be ready to help where he is needed and when asked,’ wrote Village Green president Marge Gold in her nomination letter. ‘He is invested in maintaining the town’s character, is a longtime Palisades booster and epitomizes community involvement. They don’t get any better than Rich Wilken.’   When Rich was growing up in the Palisades, his father owned John’s Pastry Shop on Swarthmore and his mother later operated the Patio Coffee Shop. After graduating from PaliHi in 1964, and before becoming an architect (his projects have included Mort’s Deli, the Lutheran Church sanctuary and the remodel of St. Matthew’s Parish Center), he founded Wilken Surfboards, a company well known for custom-‘designing boards.   Wilken and his wife, Deann, who also grew up in the Palisades (they met at the Lutheran Church as teenagers), have been married for 36 years and have two grown children, Heather and Matthew, as well as a granddaughter. Deann earned every pin in the PTA arsenal and, for many years, has been administrator of the STAR after-school enrichment programs at Marquez Elementary, Canyon School, and Topanga Elementary.   The Post will announce Citizen of the Year ticket information in next week’s issue.