The owner of Langer’s Deli, an iconic Los Angeles deli, threatened to close permanently due to numerous problems in the MacArthur Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, including high drug use, garbage problems, and a growing number of street vendors.

Since 1947, Langer’s has operated at the same Los Angeles location, next to MacArthur Park. Over the decades, the deli not only became one of LA’s iconic restaurants, but was also called the best deli in the country, serving an iconic pastrami sandwich. In the early 1990s, the restaurant faced significant difficulties during the crack epidemic and nearly closed. However, it survived thanks in part to the opening of a new subway station nearby, and thrived in the decades that followed.

That was the case until recently. For over a decade, the number of street vendors in the area has increased dramatically. Many of them block a large portion of the sidewalk for several blocks around the park, all centered around the nearby metro station. Recent restrictions on vending around the station have pushed the vendors further out, and many are invading the deli. At the same time, more and more homeless people and drug addicts in the area are using drugs like fentanyl and leaving behind needles and other dangerous residue. In addition to these two major problems, the area has also become littered with trash.

Many deli customers became increasingly wary of going there. Norm Langer, the owner of Langer’s Deli, threatened to close the deli in the coming weeks if nothing was done about the problems.

“It’s not safe,” Langer said Tuesday. “There are too many needles. Too much fentanyl. Too many drugs. People are walking around here, taking off their clothes and walking around naked. You know, it’s crazy. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s appetite, but there is a problem with defecation on sidewalks because someone was on drugs. There’s something there. They’re trying to make money off of fentanyl. They’re lying unconscious on the sidewalk, and the city is not doing anything about it.

“The park needs to be cleaned up. 7th Street needs to be cleaned up. But it’s not just about selling goods. It’s also about the gangs that collect the rent. It’s about – I’m not saying fentanyl or other drugs – but drugs. For a week. Either I see something happening within the week or I close down.”

Because of Langer’s historical significance to the city of Los Angeles, the potential closure of the restaurant was such a big issue that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass actually met with Langer to discuss the matter and try to do something to fix the problems.

“I’ve spoken to Mr. Langer a few times and will be meeting with him soon,” Bass said. “We need an overall strategy and an overall approach to MacArthur Park because there are a number of problems there.”

On Wednesday, she finally met him in person at the deli, working quickly against the clock of Langer’s ultimatum.

LA Mayor meets with owner of Langer’s Deli, who may close due to safety concerns https://t.co/qjeOgaD7Ui pic.twitter.com/S2HmkibKPo

— KTLA (@KTLA) 28 August 2024

While some of the blame is placed on the city itself for not doing enough to address the problems, much of the blame is placed on Los Angeles City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez. Many have said that problems in MacArthur Park have increased because of Hernandez’s delaying tactics. For example, a complete ban on street vendors in the area has not been imposed, as the majority of residents of the neighborhood and the city want. Residents want to see the reinstatement of street vendor bans citywide, many of which were lifted earlier this year.

In response, Hernandez’s office said Wednesday: “In her first 20 months in office, Councilwoman Hernandez has poured an unprecedented amount of funding into MacArthur Park to address decades of underinvestment in the area. She is coordinating a multi-agency approach to address the crisis in the park and break the cycle of neglect and disinvestment by sending a full-time cleanup team to the area, deploying a street medicine team to provide care to the homeless, leveraging federal funds to explore expanding the park by closing Wilshire Blvd., and securing funding from the City’s Opioid Settlement Fund to address the opioid and overdose crisis. She is committed to seeing this through and calls on leaders at all levels of government to join her in this urgent work.”

But residents say that’s not enough and that Langer’s threat of closure in the coming weeks may bring more changes than lawmakers have done in recent years.

“Some preliminary polls have shown that residents want sweeping changes in these things soon. Not only does Langer want it, but they’re an LA icon, so when they threaten to close, people listen. Mayor Bass met with the owner less than 48 hours after he made the announcement. What does that tell you?” Los Angeles pollster Luke Rogers told the Globe on Wednesday.

“People want cleaner streets and sidewalks and more frequent garbage collection. Other polls have shown they also want the encampments to be dismantled, although that will happen sooner rather than later thanks to the new state law. Residents also want large-scale crackdowns on drug use and more police to make sure they stay away.

“And then there’s the issue of street vendors. This is a little more controversial, but in general people want them to go away too, or to have just a few vendors per block, like hot dog stands or fruit vendors or whatever.

“Basically, people want the area to be clean again. The homeless, trash, drugs, gangs and illegal dealers have to go, and the sidewalks have to be cleared for pedestrian traffic. We had a comment section, and in Spanish, one resident wrote, ‘We want our neighborhood back.’ That was the general sentiment. And now you can tell why Langer’s is threatening to close. That’s how bad it’s gotten.

“From a larger perspective, it’s a mix of problems that threaten many businesses in urban areas of the state. These problems threaten businesses from Sacramento to San Diego. And it took an iconic place like Langer’s to really bring these problems to a head.

“Based on the mayor’s response, you can expect that we will see a lot of cleanup projects and other things in the area soon. The only thing that will take longer is the street vendors, as many are operating legally with permits. But even then, the issue can be expedited.”

As of Wednesday, Langer had not commented on growing efforts to address the issues he raised.