Daily News from New York, New York • 101

By PAUL LA ROSA many residents, said that embarrassing the johns is the only course of action. "We have to let them (the johns) know they're going to be arrested and their families back in New Jersey are going to hear about it," she said. Residents say. that most of the johns drive cars with Jersey license plates, while eying the transvestites. For five years, the West Village around Washington and West Sts.

has been virtually besieged by the men who dress like women. Since Jan. 1, 1981, police from the W. 10th St. stationhouse have made more than 1,000 arrests on the charge of loitering for the purpose of prostitution.

As the area has become more and more residential, community anger has increased proportionately. The real problem, according to Deputy Inspector William Molinari, commanding officer of the W. 10th St. stationhouse, is that the prosti-. tutes are not punished severely enough.

At Monday night's meeting, Molinari tried to appease the angry residents by pointing to the problem of the repeat offenders, who don't seem to care how many times they are arrested. "We have 10 of them who were arrested 119 times since the beginning of the year, including one who has been arrested 24 times," he said. Greitzer got more approval from the crowd by suggesting a campaign against the johns. Her first plan was to have residents take down license plate numbers, find out the owners from the Motor Vehicle Department and send letters to their homes. However, the legality of doing that was questioned, and the flyer idea was hatched.

Greitzer has pre pared a letter she wants handed out that lets the johns know that plainclothes police are in the area and watching the transactions. She hopes the gist of that letter will be included in the flyer. She said at the meeting that she has had discussions with Police Commissioner Robert McGuire and the mayor's office about handing out the flyers. When the program will start and how it will be implemented is uncertain. District Attorney Robert Morgen-thau also attended the meeting and told the crowd that the problem is that repeat offenders are not given jail sentences.

He said that he has proposed legislation that would jail any prostitute arrested three or more times. "It's a first step," Greitzer said of the flyer idea. "We'll see how it works out." rf fTEST VILLAGE residents, II plagued for years by the activities of transvestite prostitutes in their neighborhood, are planning to go after the prostitutes' clients. At a public meeting Monday night, Councilwoman Carol Greitzer proposed that the police give flyers to the drivers who cruise the area in search of casual sex, to let them know that they are being watched. "Going after johns is something that has to be done," Greitzer said at the meeting.

"There are many more of them than prostitutes." The meeting, organized by a group called Villagers Against Crime, was held in the Westbeth Community Hall at 155 Bank and attracted about 200 residents. Greitzer, voicing the sentiment of Continued from cover hotel and later denied the tenants' charges. Swett labeled the Pomander Walk landmark designation "great" yesterday, insisting that from the beginning rumors surrounding his intentions were groundless. "I have no plans to appeal the decision," Swett said, referring to the Board of Estimate. "I think Pomander Walk is attractive property that should be preserved.

I have not nor ever had any plans for selling or changing this property in any way." Swett added that since he took title to the buildings last March, he has invested a considerable sum in the property, cleaning gutters and the buildings' exterior. Last February, when a coalition of tenants, community residents and local politicans asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate Pomander Walk a landmark, Swett said at the time that he had "absolutely no plans" for the complex. Nevertheless, Swett asked for and was granted several delays before appearing before the commission, saying that he needed more time to study the consequences of the landmark designation. "I asked for those delays," he said yesterday, "because I knew that landmark designation puts several obligations on a landlord and I needed time to study them." 4 MJ 1 li i 7r T. 1 1 Pomander Walk, which was built in 1921, sits between W.

94th and W. 95th between Broadway and West End with the houses facing each other, resembling an 18th century London street. Each townhouse, renting at the-bargain rate of $150 to $600 for one-bedroom apartments, has window boxes for flowers and shrubbery, and stone arches and heavy iron gates guarding each end of the entrance. The complex got its name from a 1911 play about' a street named Pomander Walk in Chiswick; a London suburb. It was built by a turn of the century entreprenuer named Tom Healy, a theater buff, who commissioned an architect to design a housing complex exactly like the set of the play.

Over the past 60 years Pomander Walk has served as a retreat for hundreds of New Yorkers, including, such celebrities as Humphrey Bogart, Mary Martin and Lillian Gish, as well as scores of other actors, writers and artists. In related developments, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated as a landmark the Washington Bridge, which spans the Harlem River from W. 181st St. in Washington Heights to University Ave. in the The commission also heard testimony from community residents and Community Board 6, who are requesting that the 100-year former site of Luchow's restaurant be named a landmark.

The restaurant, which was located on E. 14th St for a century, recently moved into new quarters at W. 51st St. and Broadway. The original site has been converted into a disco and a restaurant.

i Pomander Walk: It seems to be safe. DAILY NEWS Manhattan Michael Neill, Manhattan Editor Manhattan editorial offices: 220 E. 424SUNew YorkM-YW.