Blythe Street Group Offers to Finance Police Patrols

Apartment owners along a notoriously crime-ridden street in Panorama City took the unprecedented step Thursday of offering private money to increase police patrols in their neighborhood.

The offer met with enthusiasm from a City Council member, but drew a warning from a police official who said it could lead to wealthier neighborhoods buying more security at the cost of less protection in poor areas.

Five owners pledged $1,000 apiece and told city officials they believe another 30 apartment owners along a half-mile stretch of Blythe Street between Van Nuys Boulevard and Brimfield Avenue are willing to pay to get drug dealers and gangs off the street.

Wares Sold From Curb

The street has been plagued for years by drug dealers, who frequently rent local apartments and sell their wares from the curb, a stubborn problem that has returned after a two-year police campaign to crush the trade.

If approved by the City Council, the donation would mark the first time in city history that private money would be used to increase patrols, said Los Angeles Police Cmdr. William Booth.

The department has previously accepted donations of office space, equipment, and clerical and interpretation services for police substations from merchants in such areas as Koreatown and Baldwin Hills, Booth said.

Victor M. Meyerstein, who owns an apartment house in the area and suggested contributing the money, called Blythe Street “an isolated desert in an otherwise prosperous area. If we really want to get rid of the drug dealers, we have to put our money where our mouths are and pay for it,” Meyerstein said.

If the Panorama City apartment owners manage to raise their goal of $35,000, the money would provide two uniformed officers to patrol the neighborhood eight hours a day on overtime pay for about 2 1/2 months, said Los Angeles Police Lt. Ron Seban.

Councilman Ernani Bernardi said he strongly supports the effort, which apartment owners discussed Thursday at a meeting Bernardi called to discuss drug activity in the area.

The money would have to be donated to the city treasury and appropriated for police pay, Booth said.

‘I’ll Try in Every Way’

“I’ll try in every way I can to get this money through the council to the police,” Bernardi said.

“You’ve got a prison on Blythe Street right now, and your guards are the drug dealers. A lot has been done to clean up the area already, but we had to cut back when the money ran out. These people feel that added security is going to help them.”

He was referring to a special narcotics task force, composed of 13 uniformed officers borrowed from police divisions throughout the San Fernando Valley, which combed the area for drug dealers from July, 1987, until May of this year.

$50,000 Donated

Bernardi donated more than $50,000 from his office budget to help pay for the task force, which made more than 500 arrests. At his suggestion, barricades were placed in the street to prevent drive-through traffic.

The special patrol was disbanded in April.

Valley Bureau Cmdr. Chet Spencer praised the apartment owners and managers for coming together to fight problems on Blythe, but said donating money for increased patrols might set an unfair precedent that would allow affluent neighborhoods to get better police protection than poorer areas.

“You could have very wealthy communities make what amounts to political contributions which are earmarked for more security,” Spencer said. “The poorer communities could be slighted.”