Re “Miracle Shift in Ice Arena’s Future? Maybe”
Fresno attorney Mike Karagozian, whose family has owned the land on which the dying Culver City Ice Arena sits for the duration, had a question instead of an answer when the newspaper reached him this morning:
“Have you kept up with all the ballyhoo the last couple of weeks?”
When the reply was affirmative, he said sharply, “Then draw your own conclusions.
“I have no comment on it right now,” Mr. Karagozian said 17 hours after City Hall had informed him that despite his signed lease with Planet Granite as the next tenant, a 52-year-old document uncovered last Monday night holds that the land only may be as an ice rink.
“You can’t draw your own conclusions on that?” he said of the bombshell City Hall press release.
“My conclusions don’t mean anything,” the reporter said. “Yours mean everything.”
“Not to the press they don’t,” said Mr. Karagozian, “not at this point.”
Finally, the longtime landlord took what appeared to be an adversarial position – not surprisingly – in opposition to City Hall’s findings.
“What you might do,” he said, “is you might check, it might be a little helpful for you. You might be able to write an article on it. Check this. Check the General Plans, the Master Plans for the area because as I recollect, the last time I had, it was whatever you call this bull – , General Plan or Master Plan for that area, I believe is all strictly commercial.
“But I might be wrong,” Mr. Karagozian said.
“Other than that, I don’t really have any comment at this time.
“You can draw your own conclusions on that.
“You don’t need me. I’ve got no comment at this time.”
Intrigued, he asked the reporter’s first name, he asked: “Where did you get the name. That’s a Persian word.”
After swinging back to the main line of questioning, Mr. Karagozian promised that “I will talk to you later because this just came up.”
The Meaning of Time
A City Hall source estimated this morning that if, after the present inconveniences are resolved, Planet Granite is allowed to open on Mr. Karagozian’s land, at least nine months will pass before any commerce is conducted there.
