Optimistic Mead Residents to Celebrate

Tucked away in the shadow of the County Jail, the William Mead Homes housing project has long been neglected and hurt by a reputation as a haven for violence, residents say.

The project’s 50-year history is rife with tales of shootings and stabbings caused by racial tensions among the ethnically diverse residents. But in the past few years, residents say things have changed for the better, with neighbors now helping each other and local children involved in positive activities.

As a result, William Mead residents say they’ll be looking toward the future with optimism as they celebrate the housing project’s 50th anniversary at a community party Friday.

“We’re reuniting people, getting the old and new together,” said Lucy Esquibel, 35, a lifelong resident.

One of 14 federally funded housing projects that opened in Los Angeles in 1942, William Mead cost $2 million to build and was named after a pioneer Los Angeles real estate developer who sought to provide affordable housing for low-income families.

About 1,500 low- to moderate-income residents live in the 24 two- and three-story brick buildings sprawled over 15 acres bordered by railroad tracks, the Los Angeles River and North Main Street. The population is one of the most ethnically diverse among city housing projects at 71% Latino, 22% Asian, 4% African-American and 1% Anglo, according to the Los Angeles Housing Authority. The average monthly family income is $840, and the average monthly rent is $202.

Housing officials said only two other Los Angeles projects have comparable Asian populations--Pueblo del Rio in South-Central Los Angeles, where Asians, mostly Cambodians, make up 20% of the residents, and Mar Vista Gardens at the western end of the city, which is 19% Asian, most of whom are Vietnamese, which is also the case at William Mead. Housing officials attribute the significant Asian population to William Mead’s proximity to Chinatown and the influx of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian immigrants over the past 20 years.

Although the ethnic diversity once spawned clashes, residents say interracial relations have improved from 20 years ago, when violence between Latino and African-American residents was commonplace.

“I have eight children and I try to teach them there’s no black or white or Vietnamese. . . . We’re all people, we all live here,” Esquibel said. “I tell them, ‘You’ve got to get along, because no matter where you go, there are all sorts of nationalities.’ ”

Residents especially credited the Asian American Drug Abuse Program with helping to improve conditions and ease tensions. The program opened a community office last year that offers counseling, sports programs, and drug abuse treatment and prevention programs to all members of the community.

Life at William Mead still isn’t perfect by any means. The heating system and exterior lighting are faulty, rats and roaches from the river constantly invade the homes, and residents want the city to install speed bumps on the streets.

Housing Authority officials recently initiated talks with the residents’ advisory council to gauge interest in eventual resident management of the project, said Ricardo Gerakos, the authority’s deputy director for resident relations. Discussions are in the early stages and there are no formal plans for resident management in the works, he said.