Community Coalition and residents celebrated a significant victory on Feb. 16, 2010 after the City decided to maintain in place the corrective conditions imposed on Century Market in 2008--these are some of the strongest conditions ever placed on a liquor store.

About 20 Coalition members who live in the vicinity of the liquor store at 39th and Western Avenue arrived downtown to the Century Market hearing where a Zoning Administrator would determine next steps for the liquor store. Community leaders like Les Benson, Celia Castellanos and Bruce Patton gave eloquent testimony of what the area was like before when Century Market operated without thought or concern to the well-being of the neighborhood. They spoke of the improvements seen in the last year after direct community action forced the City to enforce a set of corrective conditions. Residents are seeing less loitering and less trash. 

“Century Market is not compatible with the resources and the service providers that are located right next door,” said long-time resident  Celia Castellanos, pointing out to the Associate Zoning Administrator that the liquor store stands next to a public library, a park, Portals mental health center, ACOF housing for the homeless, and T.H.E. Clinic. 

“We don’t want to close down their business, but I think the community would be better off without the sale of alcohol in the area. The conditions have worked and we shouldn’t do away with them,” she said to the Zoning Administrator.

A Century of Struggle

After years of ineffectual battling to make the City of Los Angeles take action against Century Market, formerly known as Century Liquor, and other nuisance businesses, Community Coalition saw a chance in 2006 to push the community’s agenda.

The Coalition organized a community meeting with the new Director of Planning, Gail Goldberg, where residents presented her with testimony on how nuisance businesses foster crime and violence in their neighborhoods.

Two years later in 2008, the City determined that the operation of Century Market constituted a public nuisance and imposed corrective conditions on the liquor store.

Then in 2009, Community Coalition launched the Communities Rising campaign to revitalize the 39th and Western community and residents again voiced their concerns with Century Market. Community Coalition organized an action targeting the liquor store that brought the attention of not just the press, but of city officials like Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The community scored a huge victory when the City decided to uphold previous corrective conditions and even added new tougher conditions proposed by the community. 

Business Nuisance 

In 1993, the City first determined that Century Liquor constituted a public nuisance but no action followed. The liquor store changed owners and whatever traction the community gained was lost in subsequent years. It was customary for residents to see individuals loitering outside the liquor store with opened containers of alcohol, dealing drugs, and engaging in other unsavory activities like prostitution and gang-banging. 

Today, residents are finally starting to see changes but these changes have been long in coming and are the result of years of community organizing. Residents are happy to see Century Market clean up its act but more change is needed in order to heal the 39th and Western Avenue neighborhood.