A $2.8-Million Plan for L.A. Parks : Bradley Unveils His Proposal to Reclaim Facilities From Gangs

Mayor Tom Bradley, responding to continuing problems of gang violence, Monday unveiled a $2.8-million plan to hire unarmed rangers and improve recreational facilities at 66 mostly inner-city public parks.

The plan, subject to approval by the City Council, would put unarmed rangers at 27 parks in South-Central and East Los Angeles where widespread youth gangs have chased away many former park users, city park officials said. The move would greatly expand a pilot program that began Feb. 1 with six part-time rangers, said James E. Hadaway, Parks and Recreation Department director.

In addition, the mayor’s budget proposal calls for substantial increases in manpower for recreational programs and maintenance at the 66 targeted parks in low-income areas of the Central City and the San Fernando Valley, Hadaway said.

The additional money will be used for everything from macrame and basketball programs to graffiti removal and tree planting.

Opinion Polls

“We intend to remove the hoodlums and make the parks safe for the children and adults who should use them,” Bradley announced, alluding to recent public opinion polls in which many residents said they fear going to inner-city parks because of rampant crime. “With this kind of commitment, I believe we are going to see a change in the attitude of the people.”

Bradley presented the plan during a tree-shaded press conference at Downey Park. He was accompanied by Los Angeles City Council members Richard Alatorre, Robert Farrell and Gloria Molina. The council members, representing mostly Central City neighborhoods, applauded the mayor’s proposal as a way to bring parks up to par with those in more affluent neighborhoods.

“It’s unfortunate we even have to have park security,” Alatorre commented. “But unfortunately, we live in a society that is very violent. This is an important way to take back an important resource and return it to the families” who should be using the parks.

Parks targeted in the program were selected because of their location in lower-income neighborhoods, according to Hadaway. The proposal, which boosts funding for the selected parks by more than 20%, reflects a new city philosophy in which parks are financed according to need and not according to size, the Parks Department manager said.

That change in approach is designed to satisfy residents of low-income neighborhoods who believed the grass was always greener in affluent sections of town.

“We’re trying to take into account the needs of the park and the number of people using it,” Hadaway said.

Until the city’s pilot ranger program began in February, the city hired the unarmed security officers only at 5,000-acre Griffith Park, Hadaway said.

But so far, he said, the part-time ranger program has drawn favorable response at the six parks where it is in force: Ardmore, Central, Hoover, Normandie, Toberman and Ross Snyder. The rangers, who patrol during afternoon and evening hours, are responsible for spotting problems and alerting sworn police officers when necessary.

Tom Cotter, a supervisor in the ranger program, said preschool classes at Central and Toberman parks have reported increasing enrollment since the rangers appeared. Adult and youth basketball programs have also drawn more interest, he said.

Under the mayor’s proposal, the rangers will be employed at 27 parks on an experimental basis, city officials said. If the program works--and some are skeptical--additional rangers could be hired later.

At South Park, a gang-plagued facility in South-Central Los Angeles, the prospect of unarmed rangers did little to impress Henry Brown, 68, a park patron who has been playing dominoes there for years.

Brown said he no longer visits the park after nightfall, fearful of gangs that sell drugs and tote guns. Last year, he said, he was in the recreation room when rival gangs opened fire on each other, causing him to seek shelter behind a brick wall.

“A ranger with no guns, just a walkie-talkie?” Brown said. “That don’t mean nothing. These kids, they can look at somebody and tell right away if they’re a police officer.”

Radio Contact

Hadaway responded to such criticism by saying the part-time rangers will be in radio contact with Police Department officers. The Parks Department has worked closely with police to establish the program, he said.

“Our rangers . . . are not going to put themselves into the same situations that police will,” Hadaway said. “If they see somebody coming into the park with Uzi machine guns, they are not going to confront those persons. They are simply going to get on the radio and call the police.”