City orders removal of statue from sidewalk

Artist Mike Peery observes his sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi before he moved the statue from the front of his store comply with Mayor Jim Hahn's Operation Healthy Neighborhood program.

By Elizabeth Schneider

Not all saints are welcomed in Los Angeles, especially if they're considered an obstruction under the city's Operation Healthy Neighborhoods.

The program, launched more than a year ago by then-Mayor Richard Riordan to clean up neighborhoods by checking for "unsightly" or "hazardous" conditions on the public right-of-way, has identified East Hollywood artist and store owner Mike Peery as contributing to blight in his neighborhood by putting an 8-foot-tall statue of St. Francis of Assisi on the sidewalk in front of his store.

Peery, the operator of the art gallery Metal Maddness at 4357 Melrose Ave., feels that the statue is anything but unsightly, contending that it has contributed to his neighborhood's health and well-being. And although he's complying with the city's orders for now, he intends to fight it.

On Oct. 1, Peery received a letter from the Department of Public Works ordering him to remove his sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, because he had not secured a permit from the city to put it there.

Operation Healthy Neighborhoods ordered the sculpture's removal from the sidewalk because it falls under Section 56.08 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, which prohibits placing obstructions in public streets, alleys, sidewalks or parkways, including merchandise displays, vending machines, trash dumpsters, etc.

"Operation Healthy Neighborhoods is a citywide program that I established to decrease crime, educate residents on how to access city resources, provide safer and cleaner parks, and increase the quality of life for citizens of Los Angeles," Hahn says.

According to Street Use enforcement officer Michael Mooney, "If it's an obstruction and has no permit, then it must be removed."

"Every neighborhood in the city is being targeted, from Sylmar to San Pedro," Mooney says. Particular areas targeted have been picked by the mayor's and council's offices for cleanup.

The 8-foot-tall statue, which has stood outside Metal Maddness for the past three years, had become somewhat of a tourist attraction, says Peery, who notes that a church once held a prayer service at the statue's feet.

"He's become a landmark," he says. "We haven't gotten tagged since he's been out there."

It took Peery two years to create the statue for a customer who commissioned the work of art

"After building it, the customer couldn't pay for it," Peery says, "so we gave [St. Francis] a home."

Faced with a stiff fine from the city if he didn't follow the rules, Peery moved the statue over the weekend to the back driveway of his gallery -- a place he figures few people will be visiting.

"No one is going to see it back there," he complains. "I don't think Mayor Hahn, who put this law into effect, realizes that one change affects thousands of people."

Upset over having to make the move, Peery has written a letter to the mayor's office to inform them of his displeasure. In addition, he's considering circulating a petition with his neighbors, asking the city to change its mind.

"The neighborhood doesn't want it to go away," Peery says. "Maybe we can get the city to change its mind...[but] I don't know if it's a war we can win."

Elizabeth Schneider can be reached at (323) 932-6397, ext. 162, or by e-mailing her at eschneider@laindependent.com