ARMENIAN BUSINESSMAN ACTS AS MEDIATOR FOR COMMUNITY
By Jason Kandel, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Dec 23 2007
When a trio of older Armenian men was robbed last month at a Tujunga
park, they didn’t go to the police.
They went to Jerry Hovsepian.
The longtime resident and community advocate called 911 for them
from his Commerce Avenue market and translated when the cops arrived
minutes later.
"None of us could call the cops, so we went to the store," Garnik
Galostian, 72, a former watchmaker from Iran, says through Hovsepian.
"Without Jerry, we all would have gone home without reporting it."
Hovsepian, 51, is the de-facto community liaison, friend and ear for
many Armenians and others in the northeast San Fernando Valley.
The humble man waves to everyone he passes in the Mayberry-like
neighborhood and helps organize cultural and community events with
a welcoming hand.
He cares deeply about quality-of-life issues in his community, trying
to help keep the neighborhood safe.
"He is someone … who really wants to make the difference in a
community," said Jackie Keene, a field deputy for Los Angeles City
Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who is working with Hovsepian to push for
the installation of cameras at Little Landers Park, where the men
were robbed.
"He’s invaluable, a wonderful resource. He really is trying to make
a difference up there."
Lloyd Hitt, president of the Little Landers Historical Society in
the Commerce Avenue neighborhood, agrees.
"If I have a problem, I got Jerry," Hitt said. "He’s everybody’s
buddy."
Hovsepian deflects the praise, saying simply: "It’s not about me.
It’s about others. It’s about people."
That’s because he understands community. He grew up playing soccer
in the streets of Tehran, raised by a mechanic father, a selfless
man who never hesitated to help friends and family in the neighborhood.
"When people needed help, they would go to my dad," Hovsepian said.
"He would help people without letting everybody else know that he
did it."
And Hovsepian knows the challenges a newly arrived immigrant can face –
learning a new language, trying to understand a new culture.
He came to the United States in 1977, with his first stop in Irving,
Texas. He moved on to Glendale, settling in Tujunga in 1985.
For three years he has owned Commerce Produce and Deli, a
2,500-square-foot ethnic market featuring Armenian pastries and a
case stuffed with fresh-cut beef, poultry and fish.
The former real estate agent and television producer at a Glendale
Armenian channel, he saw the need for a local grocery store in a
community whose demographics have changed.
Tujunga used to be mostly Caucasian, but now the area includes a
growing number of Latinos and Armenians, drawn partly because of more
affordable housing.
For those who can’t afford a few groceries, he extends credit,
marking it in a book behind the counter.
"If they have a problem with their landlord, they come to me," said
the tall man with thin, wispy red hair and a beard. "They come to
me with any problems because I take the time to talk to people. It’s
like the good old days."
He has gained the affection of many in his neighborhood with his warm
smile and generosity.
Near the store, a group of older Armenians has made Little Landers
Park a second home, gathering twice daily for card games, political
debate and mental exercise.
When their peace was broken Nov.9, the day two men in hooded sweat
shirts held them up, they sought out Jerry, "the closest person they
know," he said.
The gunmen first asked if the men were playing for money. After
they said no, the robbers pointed guns at them and demanded whatever
they had.
One gunman pistol-whipped one of the men, Kamalian Khrosrow, breaking
his nose, before disappearing up Samoa Avenue, said Dave Escoto,
a Los Angeles police Foothill Division robbery detective.
Escoto said the park is usually quiet, and the Sunland/Tujunga area
typically sees between two and four robberies a month, but a local
gang is also known to hang out in the area.
"It was pretty brazen," Escoto said. "It’s surprising they’d rob
three older guys sitting there playing in the park."
Hovsepian said one of the victims told him he was visiting from Iran
and knew there were guns in America, but, "I didn’t think they’d use
one on me."
Two nights after the stickup, Hovsepian went to the Tujunga
Neighborhood Council to urge the panel to get cameras installed in
the park.
The next day, he got a visit from Keene, Greuel’s field deputy,
who said she was going to look into it.
Two years ago, the park was remodeled with bond money, and there were
funds available for two cameras.
Escoto is pleased the men had Hovsepian, someone they trusted whom
they could go to for help.
"We don’t have too many Armenian-speaking police officers here in
our division," Escoto said.
"Anytime we can get anyone to help us out, it’s great."