The Catwoman complained, and Supreme listened.
The hip clothing store on Fairfax Avenue just outside of WeHo has taken a number of steps to address complaints from neighbors including Julie Newmar, famed for her role as the first Catwoman in the original “Batman” TV series) who owns a nearby building.
The major complaints have been about customers who gather on the sidewalk three to four days before Supreme opens on its celebrated “drop” day, when new merchandise arrives. Newmar and others have complained that the customers sleeping on the street sometimes get into fights, block traffic to other shops and urinate on the sidewalk.
Robert Oliver, field deputy for L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz, in whose district Supreme lies, told WEHOville that Supreme now has a staffer who greets clients when they arrive, registers their place in line and alert them on their mobile phones when it’s their turn to enter the store. That allows those prospective customers to go about their lives without sleeping on the sidewalk. And it is expected to relieve adjacent businesses from the sidewalk crowds that they says have scared away their customers.
“My staff has been working on this issue for months,” said Koretz in a statement about the issue. “Finding solutions for this situation has not been clear or easy, as there are legal challenges in holding a company responsible for the actions of its customers. For this reason, I’ve decided to take a different approach. I have instructed my staff to work with the business in order to help them become better neighbors and community members. My Field Deputy, Robert Oliver, has worked closely with Supreme, as well as the City Attorney’s office and other City agencies to mitigate the impact of this business. Supreme has expressed a strong desire and willingness to take proactive steps to control its (in)famous line while maintaining its successful operation.
“Going forward, Supreme has agreed to limit the number of individuals who line up for product releases by implementing a registration system that allows patrons to come back at an allotted time. They’re also securing bathrooms and trash cans, and bringing in a janitorial service that will clean up the street. Supreme has also expressed an interest in partnering with the local Neighborhood Council to beautify and maintain Rosewood Garden pocket park.
“Supreme is also working with Fairfax High School and other local business and organizations, and they have added uniformed private security guards for their releases. I am strongly encouraged by these steps, and I believe that by working together and not against one another, we can create a Fairfax that is a clean, safe and vibrant hub of both culture and commerce.”
The photo above, showing the relatively empty sidewalk near Supreme before its “drop day” opening today, indicates the system may be working. including Julie Newmar, famed for her role as Catwoman (of Batman fame) who owns a nearby building.
[…] move, as they feared the store would result in crowded sidewalks and increased traffic. The brand faced similar complaints with its Fairfax store, where customers would camp out for days in anticipation of its weekly […]
[…] move, as they feared the store would result in crowded sidewalks and increased traffic. The brand faced similar complaints with its Fairfax store, where customers would camp out for days in anticipation of its weekly […]
[…] move, as they feared the store would result in crowded sidewalks and increased traffic. The brand faced similar complaints with its Fairfax store, where customers would camp out for days in anticipation of its weekly […]
Hopefully this also begins to address the terrible & violent crimes & assaults that have skyrocketed in our neighborhood the last year
Everyone reading this should know that it was Hank and WEHOville who were the first to report on this story which in turn triggered a wave of media last week that lit a fire under Supreme. Thanks again, Hank!
Looks like the problem was solved pretty successfully. Kudos to a job that seems well done.
Hank, you’ve repeated some paragraphs in this article. You might want to check on that.
Thanks for the alert! Just fixed it
This makes sense, I guess, although now I wonder if there’s going to be a secondary market in the line registrations in addition to the product.
PS: There’s an editing error here – the article duplicates about half-way through, starting over from nearly the beginning.