A Reason to be Upset?
”I have no doubt,” Mr. Feldman said, “that Les believes he is 100 percent correct in fighting” against City Hall, which is close to officially acquiring Mr. Surfas’ warehouse, by eminent domain, in a hostile negotiation. “I don’t get upset over what Les said about me — he didn’t say anything harsh. He didn’t say that I cheated him, which would have bothered me. So he really did not say anything about me that I would be afraid to show my grandchildren. He has a view of me not too different from his view of other people who don’t agree with him. Where is he coming from? I have given that thought. Mind you, this is my estimate as somebody who has dealt with him and has read what he says. For the life of me, I don’t understand why he is doing all the things he is doing (to retain his warehouse), given some of the things he has been involved in. I think he feels he was a local person who was wronged by big government and by a big developer. He felt he had a better idea that was of more value to the community. This was not necessarily for himself. We all like to make money. Money was never the driving force for me. I don’t think it is for Les, either. I may think he is wrong. But I think he felt he was wronged by the Redevelopment Agency and by the other people — I might be amongst them. Once he gets that in his mind, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The Landlord Years
During the “10 or 12” years of Mr. Surfas’ tenancy, Mr. Feldman said, “he was the nicest person when he needed something. In the last analysis, he never reneged on any agreement. I never disliked him. But he was too unpredictable for my taste. I remember one time when the City Council asked me, ‘Are you willing to bring Les Surfas into your development?’ I said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘I could work with him. But not in a partnership.’ Les was too mercurial.” Mr. Feldman said he has rooted for Mr. Surfas on occasion. “When he bought the warehouse (which is at the nexus of an eminent domain showdown with City Hall), I commended him for having the acumen to do it,” Mr. Feldman said. “I told him, ‘You did a great job. You stepped up and bought that property. I admire what you have done.’ All of us had the opportunity to buy the property, but Les did. He did it, and he did it well. It would be hypocritical for me not to admire what Les did. I wouldn’t want to be involved in the process with him, though, because he probably would drive you crazy. And vise-versa. But it doesn’t mean I begrudge someone who does something good. He did that well. But I don’t think he is doing things well now.”
Bouquets for an Agency
Mr. Feldman disagrees with Mr. Surfas’ claim that he is a victim of City Hall. “This is what I find frustrating,” Mr. Feldman said. “Both Les and I have benefited over the years from many, many things the Redevelopment Agency has done. The Agency is not perfect. We are not perfect. Bureaucracies are not perfect. Any group of people acting together have their flaws. But my God, the Redevelopment Agency has done wonderful things. They created the value that allowed Les to step up and buy a piece of property at $150 a foot when it sold at $60 by the previous owner. And at that time, it was the highest price ever. The Agency created the value. They still are. They are going to create value for my property and for Les’s property, whether I participate, and I may participate in the development (on the west side of National Boulevard south of Washington).”
A City’s Reputation Soars
Mr. Feldman contends that the Redevelopment Agency is responsible for bringing Culver City up to date and endowing it with a strongly favorable image, a label long missing. “For too many years,” he said, “it was ‘Culver City who?’ Where is it? Nobody knew. Now when you go through residential neighborhoods, you see young people and baby carriages. Go to public meetings. They are nothing like what they were years ago. People are participating. Culver City is a healthy, vibrant community. That did not happen by accident. That happened because of good leadership and great staff. I have been in business here for 30 years, and in a small city, the professional staff is what makes the community go. I have never felt strongly about anything, except now I see Les Surfas attacking the very agencies and people that brought such value to this city. I went to Hamilton High School before there was a Culver City High School. I was around for Ascot Raceway. I have been around all these years. I have a connection to this city that has done so well. How can you look at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the restaurants, what’s happening on Washington Boulevard, Parcel B — and then turn your back and use Prop. 90 (on the Nov. 7 ballot) to gain your means. I don’t want to think he is selfish. I want to think he is just so consumed by thinking he is right that he finds justification to do things I don’t understand. I don’t know why he misunderstands government. For the most part, it is made up of good people. I don’t know of anyone who has met the people of the Redevelopment Agency who doesn’t like them. They pursue their business in what they perceive to be the best interests of the city that hired them. Those people helped make this city a cohesive, exciting, multi-faceted community. How can you turn your back on these people because you didn’t get your way? I don’t think Les is doing this for money. I don’t think he sees himself as dishonest. I just don’t understand — except he is so sure he is right.”
Ballot Proposition Rejected
In Mr. Feldman’s view, “it will be terrible if Prop. 90 passes — even though it resonates. It would be horrible. I don’t have to make a judgment. In today’s world, people have access to information they need. They can find out about the man who backs it and the kinds of things he is involved in. If his goals resonate with people, they should vote for Prop.90 without even reading it. Otherwise, they should read the editorials, pro and con. So many of the (redevelopment) projects we see that we like are a blend of ideas. I am sure people who lost their property to these projects had a better idea. Hopefully, the process in California allows them to get a fair price for their property. I had a piece of property (acquired by the city), and I got a fair price.”
A Reversal of Recent History?
In a moment of irony, Mr. Feldman recalled that a couple of years ago he and his partner Wally Marks were bidders, as was Mr. Surfas, for a large project along National Boulevard. “We were trying to buy Site A and Site B from the Redevelopment Agency,” Mr. Feldman said. “But the city didn’t agree that I had a good plan. I knew that part of the process was to condemn Les’s property. This is why I don’t know how Les can justify what he is doing now. If Les had been the successful bidder, he would have had to condemn my property. And the motel. And the other people. So the process of condemnation was okay when his project was the better project. But it was not okay when his ox got gored. The only way I think he can justify (his protest) is to believe that his project at that time was so much better for the community, for him, that it was worthy of the condemnation of others’. But their projects are not worthy of his condemnation. What the city has offered Les really is a fair market price, because that is what the city is obligated to do. If it goes to court, I am willing to bet that he will not get any more money than the city has offered.”
A Harmful Posture?
Mr. Feldman declined “to put a label on what goes on in Les’s mind. But I believe his passion has blinded him — to the detriment of the community, to the detriment of the state, and probably to the detriment of himself. Somewhere along the line, he is going to have to go back to these same people, asking for changes in his property if he wants to go 5 stories. What drives him? I don’t know. I can’t put a label on it.” For the sake of clarity, Mr. Feldman, a neighbor of the Surfas business, said he has “admiration” but not “affection” for Mr. Surfas. “I have admiration for his business acumen, for the way that he made the business (internationally dealing Surfas Restaurant Supply and Gourmet Foods) grow. He came back from real problems. He made it a success. He has done a great job on what was Site B. But I would not want him to be a partner of mine — unless he showed some kind of reciprocity toward me because I don’t hold grudges. I would not want to go out on a social coffee with him. Even at that, I would be wary because there have been times when he has been very nice to me. But he needed something. He seems to have a good marriage, his son is working for him — that is worthy of admiration. It is not easy to do in this world with all the strains of business. He has never cheated me — ever. He always has lived up to his end of every bargain. Does that make sense? I am not angry. I am more saddened at not completely understanding why he has turned his back on those who have helped him.”
Bill Feldman on Bill Feldman
Having thoroughly measured and analyzed his neighbor and former tenant, Mr. Feldman was asked to introduce himself more comprehensively than he had. Perhaps it was not surprising that in a miniature autobiography, one who prefers no public attention would speak in the third person: “Bill Feldman is a local person, a 1950 graduate of Hamilton High School, attended public schools, had the benefit of good parenting, good opportunities. He found a career as a real estate broker of industrial properties. Early in his career, he determined he did not want to be Willie Lohman in ‘Death of a Salesman.’ Not having good financial connections, he wanted to raise money from people who trusted him, primarily clients. He bought many properties, with a little of his money — because he didn’t have much — and a lot of his friends’ money. His investors came from people whom he had served as a broker. They felt he was working only for them, not for the commission. He didn’t have any family to back him, and he was reluctant to ask friends and family for money because he didn’t have that much confidence in his abilities. He is no saint. He has made mistakes. But he would like it to be said that he practiced integrity and served his clients well. He has been successful, especially in seeing the future opportunities in properties, remodeling them, taking risks with them. You have to know when to take a risk. This business can be a crapshoot. In ‘Vegas, the odds always are against you. No way you can change them. But if you are thoughtful, knowledgeable and patient, the odds will be very much in your favor. You have to know when to be a risk-taker. He is not poor and he is not a mogul, but he is successful.”