Sunset Junction Files Chapter 7

Organizers of Los Angeles’ long running Sunset Junction Street Fair have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy following the cancellation of last year’s event, listing just $500 in assets and more than $928,000 in liabilities.

The city of Los Angeles tops the list as the largest of the Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance’s debt holders with more than $250,000 owed, according to court documents.

Other large debts stand with CBS Radio ($61,500), Alliance President Michael McKinley ($50,000), Groove Tickets ($46,417) and Spaceland Productions ($24,000), along with a number of vendors.

Artists such as Butthole Surfers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, k.d. lang and Ozomatli are all owed more than $20,000 in booking fees, respectively. Other artists listed in the filing include Art Brut, Bobby Womack, Butch Walker, Charles Bradley, Dum Dum Girls, Freddie Pool, Gayngs, Lil Jon, Peaches, Melvins and Tapes N Tapes.

The annual street fair ran for 30 years in the city’s Silver Lake neighborhood until succumbing to permit issues last year.

The Los Angeles Board of Public Works voted unanimously during a meeting in August to deny the permit after the Alliance failed to pony up thousands of dollars in fees to cover city services for the event.

At the time, organizers attempted to have Chase Bank send a fax to the board in a last-ditch effort to show the festival had received a $100,000 deposit to cover fees, but for board Commissioner Andrea Alarcon, it was simply too little, too late.

“This is not an indication to me … that any funds will be available for issuance of a check to support the special events permit,” she said during the meeting. “I do see a deposit of $100,000, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot.

“Fail me once, shame on you. Fail me twice, shame on me,” she added. “This organization has failed the city time and time again.”

The Internal Revenue Service and the state’s Employment Development Department are the only two creditors given priority status in the filing, with claims of $20,000 and $6,511, respectively.