[speeder]

Across the parking lot, Sheriff’s Department motor deputy Justin Forbes stands with his arms folded, watching the action. He’s been on the job since the summer of 2020, when the problem started to get out of hand.

“The landlords complained that there was no parking for their customers or even their employees,” Forbes says. “So we were called in to assist.”

LONG BEACH, CA - AUGUST 10, 2021 - Jonathan Rodriguez, 20, stands next to his 1963 Impala SuperSport lowrider at Speedy's Metal Finishing in Long Beach on August 10, 2021. Rodriguez did most of the updates to his car at the place owned by his father, Luis "Speedy" Rodriguez. "During quarantine I would spend a lot of time doing upgrades to the car," said Jonathan. He added new batteries, added new coils, changed to one-way hydraulics and fixed the convertible top. Jonathan is a member of, "High Class Car Club," which was co-founded by his father. California's aftermarket industry, which is the largest in the nation flourished during the pandemic. It's made up of companies that help people modify their cars to help them go faster, run more efficiently, corner better, brake shorter and look better. These companies did record business in 2020 keeping up with owners like Rodriguez. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
BUSINESS

We’re souping up our rides. The neighbors are furious

Sept. 13, 2021
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Soon all of the parking places at Malibu Village are full, and the lot is a traffic jam of cars racing their engines, showing off their exotic livery and trying to find a place to park.

Half the lot can’t be accessed, because drivers failing to find legitimate parking places have left their cars in one of the two driveways. Feresten and Zuckerman must come in from the other side to take the saved spaces in front of Malibu Kitchen. Soon, they are joined by Leno and Meyer.

There, sitting on the raised porch like panelists on a game show, the automotive celebrities will hold court for the next two hours, eating bagels, drinking coffee and meeting fans.

Bruce Meyer, left, chats with Jay Leno chat at the Malibu Country Market.
Bruce Meyer, left, chats with Jay Leno during a gathering at the Malibu Country Market.(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Leno, wearing his accustomed denim-on-denim, can hardly stay in his seat, so pestered is he by men, women and children who shyly ask if he’d be willing to pose with them for a picture. (He gamely responds to each, “Sure, sure. Howya doing? Where are you from?”)

Kids particularly want to talk to Feresten, to share their excitement about their favorite cars. Farah’s wife, Hanna Stein, greets a pre-teen fanboy who seems to have grown 2 feet taller, she says, since she met him on a Sunday morning a year ago. A man holding a pair of boa constrictors films himself while inviting Leno to touch his snakes.

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Grisanti, who moved to Malibu in 1978 and has held office since December 2020, responds irritably to the idea that Feresten, Farah, Leno and others have no responsibility for the Sunday gatherings.

“They’re swell guys, but they got obsessed with making sure they get a zillion hits on their podcasts,” the mayor says. “What comes across is, if you want to see Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, come to Malibu.”

Businessman and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Steve Soboroff, whose Soboroff Partners owns and manages shopping center properties around Southern California, says he spends about $20,000 a year to post security to manage traffic at his section of the Malibu Country Mart.

“We tell people, ‘If you want to come in and get a coffee, that’s fine. But if you want to raise your hood and hang out for four or five hours, go somewhere else, or you’ll be towed,’” he says.

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“It’s not Leno and those guys. They’re fine. But someone who says they went to Whole Foods and bought a stalk of celery and then wants to hang out for four hours? I won’t tolerate it.”

Despite the patrols, the problems persist. Most vocal about them are the local businesspeople who, like Malibu Kitchen’s Miller, say the situation is intolerable.

“They have ruined our business,” says Avital Stone, who identifies herself as manager on duty at the Marmalade Cafe, across the parking lot from Miller’s restaurant.

Auto enthusiasts gather at the Malibu Village Shopping Mall on Sept. 26.
Auto enthusiasts gather at the Malibu Village Shopping Mall on Sept. 26.(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“Before 10 o’clock, our customers can’t get into the parking lot, and after 10, they can’t find anywhere to park. The car show — it’s been made clear they are not wanted here. But I truly believe that if they didn’t block off the parking lot, they’d all be gone by 10. If there was no blockade, it would be better.”

A year or more after the situation began to get ugly, no end is in sight. The cars continue to show up. The barricades stop them from entering certain lots. Businesses that are open get no business. Businesses that open later find their parking lots full. And the police presence hasn’t had any discernible effect on traffic accidents or fatalities along PCH.

The gilded swords continue to clash. Nearly everyone involved is unhappy, though different voices offer different accounts of who’s at fault.

The police and the mayor blame the car guys. The car guys blame the landlords. The shopkeepers blame both. Everyone says the Lamborghini drivers are the worst. And everyone also seems to agree that the current solution — barricading the lots until mid-morning in the hopes that the car fanciers will get bored and start going someplace else — is a failure.

The only person who expresses any enthusiasm for the late-morning schedule is Leno.

“I like it better this way,” he jokes. “I used to have to get up at 6 o’clock to get here. Now I can sleep in and still not miss anything.”
CALIFORNIA