To the editor: Your articles about Langer's Deli and the sad state of the area around MacArthur Park are of interest to me, as our family was subject to the same problems over 30 years ago.
Our family owned Edward's Steak House at 733 S. Alvarado St. My father opened the restaurant in June 1946 and Al Langer opened his delicatessen the following year. Like Norm Langer, who currently runs Langer's, I used to take boat trips on Lake MacArthur Park.
Unfortunately, we were forced to close in 1990 as a result of crime in the area. Although we had parking for about 100 cars and three caretakers, our customers did not feel safe.
At the time, we worked diligently with then-Mayor Tom Bradley and Councilwoman Gloria Molina to address this dire situation. We were one of the founding members of the MacArthur Park Community Council. Unfortunately, this area was not a priority for city leaders, a problem Langer faces today.
Today, 34 years later, it is very frustrating to see Langer's and other companies suffering the same problems. My father has passed away, but my mother is 100 years old, alert and sad.
Ken Rausch, Long Beach
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To the editor: I am the third generation of my family to eat at Langer's. My father knew Al Langer.
Originally, the deli had a single storefront, but it expanded in the 1950s and 1960s. I consumed many No. 2 sandwiches (corned beef with tomato and Russian dressing) while working at a print shop on Hoover Street and Washington Boulevard.
Langer's was a lunch spot for local politicians, staff of the B'nai Brith Messenger and other local newspapers, Los Angeles Police Department officers and troops, and many more.
Will the city simply stand by and allow yet another thread of Los Angeles' historic fabric to be destroyed, as happened with the Richfield Tower and historic neighborhoods cut in half by the 101 and 10 freeways?
Toby Horn, Los Angeles
