Death of Norton Halper

Is Loss to the Community

* The death of Hollywood’s Norton Halper on July 9 is a real loss to many residents of this city who have been threatened and intimidated by the awesome power of the Community Redevelopment Agency.

Norton was a quiet, behind-the-scenes man who gave thousands of hours of his time each year to advise bewildered property owners, businesses and tenants who woke up one morning to find themselves on the CRA’s hit list of properties to be condemned in the name of redevelopment.

Northridge appeared on the hit list in 1989, when the CRA attempted to condemn almost 100 acres of industrial and commercial property along Parthenia Street that housed over 200 businesses with almost 3,000 local employees. The CRA wanted to redevelop the property with a huge shopping center, even though the massive Northridge Fashion Center mall is only two blocks away.

Norton Halper heard about our predicament and came to our rescue, spending weeks of his time driving to Northridge from Hollywood just to educate us about the CRA and to give us tactical information on how to save our businesses, jobs and property.

Even when diabetes resulted in the amputation of one leg and then the other, Norton was always there to help. The crutches and the wheelchair were nothing more than an annoyance to him; his desire to help never flagged, and his enthusiasm never waned.

In the end, thanks to Norton, we were successful and thousands of Northridge jobs were saved.

Rest in peace Norton. You will be missed but not forgotten.

WALTER N. PRINCE

Northridge

The writer is chairman of the Planning and Use Committee of the Northridge Chamber of Commerce.