Owner of iconic L.A deli says he could close his doors in a week, calls on city to take action

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Located across the street from MacArthur Park, Langer's Deli just celebrated its 77th anniversary.

"It is probably the best pastrami sandwich I've ever had," said customer Tina Nelis.

The restaurant sees a steady flow of customers throughout the day. But owner Norm Langer said he is seriously considering closing his doors for good.

"I need the park cleaned up. I need 7th Street cleaned up," said Langer.

Langer cites concerns over trash, drug use, and the presence of street vendors, saying some have moved closer to the business since the Metro plaza nearby was recently restricted.

"But the vending is not only the issue. It's the issue of the gangs collecting rent. It's the issue of, I'm not going to say fentanyl or any other drug. It's the drugs period," he said.

The restaurant has long been a staple for locals and newsmakers, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who spoke with Eyewitness News about the situation.

"I have spoken to Mr. Langer a couple of times and look to be meeting with him soon. We need an overall strategy and approach for MacArthur Park because there are a multitude of issues that take place right there," said Bass.

As it pertains to street vendors, Metro said it is temporarily restricting its plaza as it works on launching a pilot vending program to improve safety and customer experience at the station. Sidewalk vending is allowed in the city of Los Angeles, with different permits required depending on items being sold.

Meantime, Langer is threatening to close his restaurant within a week.

"One week. I either see some things happening within the week, or I'll lock it up," he said.

The local neighborhood council said it has been in touch with Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area.

"I think more and more things are coming," said Andrew Wolff, president of the Macarthur Park Neighborhood Council. "I think initially it was a little slower than maybe we would have liked. We felt that we were in a crisis over the past two years, especially."

The councilmember's office said in a statement to Eyewitness News:

"In her first 20 months in office, Councilmember Hernandez has brought in an unprecedented level of funding to MacArthur Park to address the decades of underinvestment in the area. She is coordinating a multi-agency approach to address the crisis at the park and break the cycle of neglect and disinvestment by deploying a full-time clean team to the area, bringing in a street medicine team to provide services to people experiencing homelessness, leveraging federal funding to explore an expansion of 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 is calling on leaders at every level of government to join her in this urgent work."