Crime-Ridden Community Hopes New Name Helps With New Image

A recent decision by the Los Angeles City Council has left Booker T. Burgess and some of his neighbors asking the Shakespearean question, “What’s in a name?”

Burgess, 72, says that for more than five years he has felt trapped in the place known as “The Jungle,” a tough, crime-ridden community with a reputation as a haven for violent, drug-dealing street gangs.

“It’s been bad, it’s not a good place for a senior citizen like me,” Burgess said. “People shooting each other, selling drugs on the streets and then threatening to rob you if you go outside. Most of the time, I’m afraid to leave the house.”

Part of the problem, some say, has been the negative image the nickname has cast on the community of 10,000 people living in two-story apartment houses just north of Baldwin Hills.

The City Council decided a name change would help, and voted June 10 to rename the area Baldwin Village--a moniker that draws on the positive image of the more affluent Baldwin Hills neighborhood. But some residents, such as Burgess, are skeptical.

“A new name don’t mean nothing,” he said. “It sounds good, but we need more police protection.”

Tom Reddy Bailey, who has been robbed in broad daylight in front of his home, said he had already stopped telling people he lived in The Jungle, even before the official name change. “As soon as you say that name, they say, ‘Oh, you live over there. We don’t go over there,’ ” he said. “I just say I live on Gibraltar Avenue, and I don’t say anything else.

“I never liked the name ‘The Jungle.’ Baldwin Village sounds a lot better. But we need more than just a new name.”

City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district includes the neighborhood and who proposed the name change, agreed: “Of course it’s not enough. It was never intended to be enough. But it is a step to show city commitment toward helping the community get back on its feet.”

The area was nicknamed The Jungle more than 30 years ago because of lush, tropical foliage surrounding the apartment buildings. The name took on a more sinister meaning years later.

Eric Crumpton, an apartment owner and president of the Crenshaw Apartment Improvement Program, an organization of about 75 landlords and tenants, said he has been using the name Baldwin Village for months when discussing apartments with prospective tenants.

“I receive calls all the time from people who want apartments, but when I say it is in Baldwin Village (and give the address), they say, ‘Oh, that’s The Jungle,’ and they say they are not interested,” he said.

He would like to see police provide greater protection, landlords do a better job screening tenants and taking better care of their properties and tenants take more pride in the community.

Now that the name change has been approved, Baldwin Village will be listed as a distinct community in the city’s General Plan, and signs will be posted to identify the area.

LaRitha Vaughn, 27, is one resident who thinks that the name will help foster change by giving the community a better self-image.

Baldwin Village “sounds classier,” she said. “Maybe people will think better about themselves. Maybe it will help their frame of mind.”