Neighborhood Is Blocked Off to the Cocaine Trade

Unable to halt a tide of drive-through drug traffic in a four-block area of Sepulveda known by cocaine buyers and peddlers as “C Street,” Los Angeles officials blocked off the streets Tuesday to prevent the criminals from getting in.

At 9:30 a.m. police began setting up barricades at entrances to the Columbus Avenue neighborhood at Nordhoff Street, Rayen Street, Sepulveda Boulevard and Parthenia Street.

Officials said a force of 12 police officers will man the roadblocks and patrol the four-block area on foot and in cars 24 hours a day. Police would not say how long the barricades and the officers will stay in the neighborhood.

The street blockade is similar to the “Neighborhood Rescue Operation” launched by police in a drug and gang-riddled neighborhood near MacArthur Park near downtown last month.

Police said the Columbus Avenue neighborhood, just three blocks east of the San Diego Freeway, has been the “hot spot” in the San Fernando Valley for drug dealing. A Valley narcotics unit had been making about 50 arrests a month on the two-block stretch of Columbus.

And while police said the recent addition of officers on foot beats in the neighborhood had slowed drug and gang crimes, the problems have stubbornly persisted, prompting the roadblocks.

“It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in our society that we are closing streets off,” said Police Lt. Gary Rogness, head of a Valley-based narcotics unit. “But it is a measure that needs to be taken in that area to restore the neighborhood.”

The police received no resistance to the barricades from residents of the neighborhood Tuesday. Many who stood by during a press conference at Columbus and Nordhoff termed the efforts overdue but possibly not enough.

Edward Greva, 77, said he welcomed the barricades and the increased police presence. He said he takes daily walks in his neighborhood, but never at night.

“You’d be a fool to go out at night,” he said. “This is a tough neighborhood. At night you hear hollering like mad out on the street. There are gunshots.”

When police put barricades up in a Pico-Union neighborhood near MacArthur Park on Oct. 19, officials reported an immediate slowdown in drug and gang activity.

The same effect was predicted for Columbus Avenue, which has become known as “C Street” among the cocaine buyers and sellers, police said.

“We anticipate it will be controlled almost immediately,” said Capt. Mark Stevens, commanding officer of the Devonshire Division.

Stevens said the streets were closed under a 30-day emergency permit from the city Department of Transportation. He said the Police Department will seek approval of permanent closure of the streets through the City Council.

Stevens said only residents of the neighborhood, their friends and people who have business in the neighborhood will be allowed to enter through a checkpoint at Rayen Street and Sepulveda Boulevard.

However, the checkpoint was informal in practice on Tuesday. Officers did not check the identification of those requesting entrance to the neighborhood. Those who said they lived there were waved through after being told what the roadblock operation was about.

Authorities said neighborhood enforcement efforts will continue even after visible criminal activities drop.

“It can’t be a one-time effort,” said Councilman Joel Wachs, whose district includes the neighborhood. “It has to be sustained. Today is the beginning of an ongoing effort.”