David Feige is tired.
Tired of the noise blasting from bars near his multi-story Venice Beach home. Tired of the people dealing drugs, urinating and fighting in the alley. Tired of asking restaurant owners, repeatedly, simply to follow the law.
But now, his fight to get several establishments on one iconic block to tone it down has turned personal — and frightening — after “wanted” posters with Feige’s photo suddenly appeared around town, dubbing him “The Venice Karen.”
“Who builds a multi-million dollar house right behind Hinanos (Est. 1962) and then calls the police 30 times in one day to complain about the noise?” the signs read. “Last seen manically calling 911 from a brand-new Mansion.”
The posters escalated a neighborhood dispute into a public attack that Feige, who is 60 and the newly elected neighborhood council president, says has added untold stress to his life. He is now dealing with threats on social media, including someone implying his house should be set on fire, according to screenshots he provided.
“It’s painful and upsetting,” Feige said in an emailed response to questions about the posters. “What surprised me about it was how many people just took it as true.”
The Venice Karen posters have brought focus to a concern shared by many of Feige’s neighbors. At its heart is the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, L.A.’s willingness to enforce its laws, and questions about what residents should expect to tolerate in neighborhoods known for their raucous nightlife. The struggles for these Venice businesses reflect a broader reality for others in L.A. that continue to suffer from consumer habits changed in the pandemic, rising inflation and a flagging economy.
“The Al Fresco program has served as a lifeline, helping local businesses survive and recover from the pandemic,” a Mayor Karen Bass spokesperson told The Times in an email when asked about the city’s code enforcement for bars and restaurants. “The program has been a success for the local economy and has supported hundreds of businesses across the City.”
But Feige and his neighbors want a better middle ground.
The former public defender is not the only local with a complaint. Multiple residents described to the Times how dramatically the nightlife changed in their neighborhoods during the pandemic and how seriously it has affected their quality of life.
But as Feige and other residents try to push several restaurants and the city to take action, the question remains whether they have pitted themselves against an entire culture, or are simply making reasonable demands for peace and quiet.
It’s Venice, after all.
‘We are Venetians’
It wasn’t always like this, Feige insists.
For the first approximately 10 years that he lived in his house less than a block away from Hinano Cafe, Feige had no problems with the establishments on the Washington Boulevard block that ends at the pier.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, however, Los Angeles began allowing restaurants to serve people on sidewalks and parking areas. The program continued even after the pandemic let up.
Now, restaurants blast music from outdoor speakers and allow people to gather outdoors long after the 11 p.m. cutoff on Fridays and Saturdays mandated by the ordinance, Feige said. The establishments didn’t all add extra bathrooms for the new customers, leading to people relieving themselves wherever they see fit. Fights, drug dealing and mayhem are the norm.
Trying to get the city to do something is “utterly ineffective,” Feige said, because each city department he complains to directs him to another department, which then directs him to another.
So last year, Feige tried to take matters into his own hands.
After Hinano Cafe applied for a permanent al fresco authorization, he wrote up a petition asking that the Venice Neighborhood Council oppose the permit, with eight letters in support.
He also reached out to other restaurants on the block, with some success, meeting personally with managers or owners of Cabo Cantina and the Venice Whaler and convincing them to simply turn the music down when it got too loud. It worked, he said.
“We are Venetians. We are used to some crowds and some noise,” Feige wrote in last year’s petition to the Venice Neighborhood Council, which included 88 names in addition to his own. “But not this.”
‘It’s Venice Beach’
The walls of Mike Targon’s third-floor bedroom on Ocean Front Walk were shaking as he was trying to recover from an operation last month. The culprit: Nalu Vida, a seafood restaurant at 1 Washington Blvd., was hopping that Saturday afternoon, with music outside.
Targon, 76, messaged one of the owners.
“I just had heart surgery yesterday, and the constant sound of your bass is driving me nuts,” Targon recalled texting. “I’m getting close to taking a bat to the speakers.”
He got no reply, he said, and the music kept going. Desperate, he called Feige and asked for help. Feige called the police, but with no clear effect, Targon said.
Christian Warren, co-owner of Nalu Vida, admits the restaurant doesn’t have a permit for the live outdoor music but says the monthly event, called “Second Saturdays,” has been a boon for the local economy.
He said that, although he didn’t hang up the posters and doesn’t know who did, he doesn’t disagree with the label it slapped on Feige.
“He took it upon himself to be the narc,” Warren said. “He’s the Venice tattletale.”
Soon after Warren launched Second Saturdays, he said Feige started showing up and recording, telling Warren that his restaurant was violating city code and that if he didn’t change what he was doing, he would get the patio closed. (Feige told The Times that he was documenting how loud the music was.)
“It’s Venice Beach. It’s always been vibrant. It’s always been loud,” Warren said. “There’s got to be a little give on both sides.”
‘The Venice Karen’
The owner of Hinano Cafe, the only restaurant named in the posters, denounced the attack on Feige.
Mark Van Gassel said he’d been working with Feige to figure out a solution, including seeing if he could rent port-a-potties to reduce public urination, asking the city to dial up law enforcement, and training his staff to move customers inside earlier to avoid violating al fresco program rules.
But he also said some issues are beyond his control, such as customers he kicks out loitering by a liquor store next door.
He said he was working to close the outdoor spaces down on time, but, “when you serve somebody a hamburger and it’s 10:20 at night, and it’s supposed to close at 10:30, you kind of have to let them finish.”
‘Survival’
Beyond the restaurants themselves, Feige and other neighbors are frustrated with the city, which they said has given them an endless runaround when they’ve sought help.
The city indicated that, with limited resources, officials must pick their battles and focus on violations of the law that pose an actual danger to Angelenos.
“The primary goal of code enforcement is to bring operators into compliance and resolve issues so that businesses can continue serving the community,” Department of Building and Safety spokesperson Devin Myrick said in an email. “When concerns are reported, they are reviewed and prioritized based on immediate risks to health and safety.”
At least one Venice resident has found ways to adapt to the noise.
Barbara McCarren, a sculptor and installation artist, said she and her husband renovated their home on 29th Place to keep the noise out. It still hasn’t been enough, so the couple will often sleep with earplugs. McCarren said she has started joking with her husband, who is 81, that their lives will improve as they age and lose their hearing.
Like other neighbors who spoke to The Times, McCarren, 67, said the issues began during the pandemic. In a letter to the Venice Neighborhood Council last year, she wrote that since the city allowed outdoor dining and drinking, the neighborhood had become “unlivable.”
As the city looks into the complaints and Feige and his neighbors face off with some of the local restaurant owners, many of those same businesses are facing a critical deadline — under city law, they and every other establishment that wants to continue serving people outdoors in Los Angeles has until July 1 to get a permanent al fresco license.
Van Gassel said his Hinano Cafe restaurant is on the verge of obtaining his.
Nalu Vida’s co-owner Warren said he needs the license for his business to survive, which is why he and the other co-owner decided recently to stop hosting live music outside — to stay in compliance with the ordinance and improve their chances of permanent authorization.
“We are focused with complying with all rules,” Warren said in a text message. “We need that patio for survival.”
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