Neighborhood Assn. May Call It Quits

The Panorama City Neighborhood Assn., described by residents, merchants and city officials as a force behind positive change in the community, may soon disband because of a lack of dues-paying members, association organizers said Wednesday.

“This month is the last month--we can’t go on forever,� said Armand Ungar, a Panorama City architect who, together with the owner of a property management firm, founded the association in 1993.

Ungar said his firm, Ungar and Associates, and Foresight Management Inc. bankrolled the association since its inception, hoping that dues paid by members eventually would allow the association to become self-sufficient.

But that hasn’t happened, said Leslie Yamashita, who was hired by Ungar to run the association on a full-time basis.

The association currently has about 50 dues-paying members. “More people have got to start contributing,� said Ron Mayer, a principal of Foresight Management Inc., which manages about 280 low-income apartments in Panorama City.

One of the association’s first victories came in 1995, when the group waged a campaign to limit operating hours and sales of a liquor store located in a residential area. The store was once a magnet for criminals.

The association also pressured the owners of so-called “problem� apartment buildings to clean up their properties and evict tenants who caused trouble. But the association’s biggest contribution, Yamashita said, was in establishing and maintaining open lines of communication.

“Just knowing there was an office where somebody would always schedule community meetings, always get the newsletter out and always keep people informed, that has raised the level of commitment,� she said.