Land Profits in Hollywood

Your article implicates A&M; Records in a conspiracy to exploit the redevelopment of Hollywood for cynical, greedy purposes. This is misleading on a number of counts.

A&M; has never participated in land speculation. The land we bought, we use. We have never sold any of our Hollywood holdings and those holdings comprise only our place of business, the A&M; entertainment complex based at La Brea and De Longpre.

While the issue of urban redevelopment is inevitably a sticky one, the tone of your article seems unfair. This is not a model community being hacked apart by cruel and random profiteering, but a carefully considered move to restore an important historical area.

The neighborhood is a mess. Cars parked there are routinely vandalized. Drugs, prostitution, street crime and an air of unease pervade central Hollywood. This area must be restored if Los Angeles is to be taken seriously as a cultural center. Hollywood is a big part of what makes this city unique, but now it’s hard to see the history beneath the rubble.

Yes, our voice is heard by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, but our only interest is the restoration and maintenance of the proud tradition of the city in which we work. We want to provide a safe environment for our company and we want the city to be all it can. That strikes us as responsible community activism.

GIL FRIESEN

President

AM Records