Bridging a Gap : Youths Take Pride in Being Recognized for Community Cleanup

Until Tuesday, Geronimo Ramirez felt no one at Burbank City Hall would ever care about him.

Ramirez’s world was built around his “homeboys” on Elmwood Avenue, in a low-income, predominantly Latino section of Burbank. His life was a constant cycle of hanging out with his buddies, staying out late and “sometimes gangbanging,” he said.

But on Tuesday night, Ramirez and several other homeboys were saluted at City Hall when council members voted to donate $1,200 worth of athletic equipment to low-income Elmwood Avenue youths.

Council members wanted to express their gratitude for the youths’ efforts in cleaning up their neighborhood and lessening tensions with the nearby middle-class neighborhood, where residents had complained about criminal activity by gang members.

The youths planted grass and trees and cleared litter from the streets to prove that they had pride in their block. Residents of the adjacent neighborhood complained that the gang members had let their block deteriorate and were ruining other parts of the area by painting graffiti and committing crimes.

“We gave it a shot, and it really worked for us,” Ramirez, 18, said Wednesday. “Just like that, we’re being recognized. No one was really willing to help us before. We woke up. We were tired of being looked down upon.”

Mayor Michael R. Hastings said: “What they have done is take the initiative. The city is saying, ‘Maybe we ignored you in the past, but maybe we were a little afraid.’ Now the proof is in the pudding. They have a neighborhood that would rival almost any one in Burbank.”

In recent years, police said gang members would often venture over a footbridge on Elmwood and cause trouble in a predominantly white, middle-class area. Those residents on the western end of the bridge finally became fed up with the graffiti and crime, and pleaded with city officials last September to tear the bridge down, a request that further elevated tensions between the two communities.

Residents on the eastern side of the bridge protested the proposed demolition, saying the bridge was the only quick and safe passage for children and elderly people headed to schools and markets. As they saw it, people on the western side did not like “Mexicans” walking on their street.

As a compromise, officials erected a nine-foot-high gate to restrict passage on the bridge at nights and on weekends.

But instead of retaliating, the youths were persuaded by older former gang members to clean up their act by showing they could do something positive on their own block. Grass was planted on barren lawns. Bottles and cans were picked up. Trees were trimmed.

“We beat them at their own game,” said Miguel Perez, 21, who headed up an informal neighborhood group. “I think everyone expected us to start painting graffiti all over the place. But we used their methods. They’re probably in shock.”

Ramirez, who said he is a former gang member, and other youths apologized to the council on Tuesday for previous problems in the neighborhood. “We think we’ve proved ourselves now,” Ramirez said.

Residents from the western side of the bridge sat silently at the council vote. However, some of them spoke to council members following the meeting, saying they hoped that the council would continue to keep an eye on the neighborhood.

“They told us that they don’t want us to forget about their initial concerns,” Hastings said. He said those residents want the bridge to remain locked at night and on weekends.

But Ramirez said the youths in the neighborhood will be too busy with the new athletic equipment to cause trouble.

“I’ve lived on this street for 17 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen a real change,” he said.

“Those who move in after me will have it a lot better. We’re helping the next generation.”