Landlords Agree to Help Thwart Drug Dealing on Blythe Street

Sandra Gallegos has spent most of her life on Blythe Street in Panorama City. The 10-year-old girl already knows to keep clear of drug pushers and their fights with buyers who try to steal drugs, or in her words, “take the dime away.”

A “dime,” in street parlance, is a $10 bag of drugs.

Sandra and her family live in one of four apartment buildings targeted Thursday in the city’s continuing war against drug dealing on Blythe Street, long a hot spot for dealers. Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn filed an injunction Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court requiring the couple who own the buildings to take steps to make drug dealing more difficult in and around the apartments.

Drug Dealing Continued

Calling the buildings a “jungle for rock cocaine, heroin and marijuana dealing,” Hahn said the court action was necessary because drug dealing in the area has continued despite “heavy police activity.”

In 1987, Los Angeles police made 131 drug-related arrests inside the four-building cluster in the 14600 block of Blythe Street, Hahn said. In the last six months of the year, another 110 drug arrests occurred on the streets and sidewalks around the 56-unit complex, he said.

In the court action Thursday, apartment owners Paul and Peggy Kalvo agreed, among other things, to hire a security guard, install outside lights, lock all vacant apartments, remove iron gates sometimes used to block police access to the complex and close a crawl space that had been used for storing drugs.

The Kalvos could not be reached for comment.

Deputy City Atty. Pamela A. Albers said, however, that the couple bought the buildings in November and have been “extremely cooperative” in the city’s anti-drug effort. She said the couple already have begun complying with the order.

Residents say they have noticed improvement.

Lydia Martinez, 38, a 17-year-old resident of the apartment complex, said drug dealers once would hide or sleep in the unlocked, vacant apartments. Now, the drug dealers have been locked out, she said.

Uniformed Patrol

Albers said the court action was an outgrowth of an anti-drug effort, including a special uniformed patrol, launched by police last July.

Although the added patrols have curbed drug sales, the drug problem has not disappeared, residents said. And, they say, the added police have not come without a price. “The cops are out more, so there’s not as much selling any more,” said Minnie Benavidez, 34, who has lived on Blythe Street for four years. But, she added, the high visibility of police in the neighborhood also intimidates some residents. “My family doesn’t come to see me,” Benavidez said. “I go see them.”

Rene Gallegos, Sandra’s 15-year-old brother, said the patrols often keep him and his brother Cesar, 18, off the street. The family has lived in the Blythe Street complex since 1980.

“You can’t be standing around outside too much, or the police will stop you,” he said.